I am Padma Kumar - creator, writer, and photographer behind MyGoodFoodWorld. Thanks for being here!
I am an early childhood entrepreneur, recipe developer, blogger, radio chat show host, wife, and mum to two lovely daughters.
I spend my time between England and India. In India, Chennai (Madras) is home and in England it is Manchester 🏡
I have loved cooking ever since I can remember! This love for cooking intensified with the arrival of my daughters.
I have raised them to be healthy eaters (by and large - they do love instant noodles!)
As a mum, I am happy to say that they enjoy a wide range of good food 🙂.
As parents, I believe, it is as much our duty to give our children the gift of a good palate and nutrition as it is to help them to make smart food choices and develop a positive relationship with food.
During the course of my work, in my early learning center, I have worked with children with varied diets, food preferences, allergies, and intolerances and helped scores of parents solve their mealtime battles (besides other parenting woes they face!).
My recipes have helped many children turn from fussy/picky eaters to good, healthy eaters.
As a recipe developer and food blogger, I have set out on this journey to share easy and healthy vegetarian, vegan, and allergy-friendly recipes with you, my readers.
Just because I said healthy, don't expect anything boring here because even my raw carrot salad has truckloads of flavor!
My cooking is all about simplicity, ease, and flavors.
I do this by using spices, herbs, and other store cupboard ingredients which, we often do not give enough credit for, are superfoods in their own right!
Want to know more about me, my cooking style, and what I love to eat? Then read on but be warned that it is a long read and so feel free to use the links below to jump to the sections that you want to read.
Jump to:
What will you find here?
E-A-S-Y vegetarian and vegan recipes with a good mix of grain-free, gluten-free, and allergy-friendly food from India and around the world.
I believe that everyday cooking should be easy, hassle-free, nourishing, and, of course, tasty.
These qualities are reflected in all my recipes. This vegetable pulao and this mild and delicious bottle gourd, for example.
My instructions are simple and detailed enough even for a beginner cook.
What do I cook and eat?
If this question were asked of me 20 years ago, my answer would have come out - almost instantly - "Indian and only Indian"!
Now the answer will be different.
In a nutshell, I will say that my cooking is 80:10:10 - 80% (still) Indian, 10% world cuisine, and 10% fusion cooking.
I am vegetarian, by choice, and a lot of what I eat is vegan. There are days when I feel like having a gluten-free or grain-free meal.
“You are what you eat” is something I believe in strongly and therefore, by far and large, it is good food, that is cooked with a good heart that I believe in.
More about my 80:10:10 cooking
Born and raised in India, I have grown up on (and love!) Indian food.
But what is Indian food?
When I hear people say "I love Indian" I often wonder what their definition of Indian food is because there is so much to it!
Does this single term "Indian food" justify the diversity and variety of the food that 1.4 billion of us eat?!
As you may know, India comprises 28 states and 8 union territories.
The food of each state of quite different from the other - it is like having 28 different countries within one!
And then there are the culinary variations within each state!
India is a melting pot, not only of cultures but also of cuisines.
My roots belong to the state of Andhra Pradesh in South India.
My parents and forefathers hail from this beautiful state where rice and spice are the staples! The food from Andhra is in my DNA 😂.
Long before I was born, my family migrated to the City of Steel, Jamshedpur - an industrial city, where people from all over India migrated for their livelihood.
Jamshedpur, in a sense, is a microcosm of India. Growing up there, I was exposed to food from different parts of India.
My cooking repertoire is, without a doubt, influenced by the varied food and flavors that I have been exposed to since I was a child.
Green beans and potatoes from Bengal; bhindi masala and green moong dal from Punjab, cabbage thoran from Kerala, zucchini kootu and sauteed chickpeas from Tamil Nadu, and this incredibly delicious and unique bitter melon recipe from my home state, Andhra Pradesh are family favorites and make their appearance at our dinner table regularly 😊.
As a family of foodies, we love food from other parts of the world as well - this Moroccan-inspired spiced vegan cous cous salad is one that I make quite often.
Italian food is something we all love the most (next to Indian food, of course!).
This super easy and hearty marinara sauce and this versatile vegan pesto are saviors on those days when I already have a lot on my plate and cooking is the last thing on my mind!
This tray-bake teriyaki noodles recipe is a Sunday favorite!
All of these dishes have found a place in our hearts and plates!
Being a recipe developer, I cannot help but tweak recipes!
In the words of my daughters - I find it nearly impossible to follow a recipe without adding my own twist to it 😆.
I love playing with flavors and spices and creating fusion recipes - vegan potato soup, zucchini boats, pumpkin banana bread, and this one-pot spicy pasta recipe are some recipes that are much loved by us.
That is the story of my 80:10:10 cooking 😎
The food scene at home when I was growing up
I grew up in a large household, with about 13 people - family and staff - and food for that many people!
In addition to this, we had, at least, 2 unannounced guests every day!
My grandfather - a devout, pious man - believed that the Lord comes in the form of unannounced guests to test the sense of charity and compassion in his devotees.
Therefore no guest that ever came home was seen off without being offered something to eat.
As you can imagine - there used to be food, food, and more food all around us all the time! And so much variety! Yum!!
The staff at home were mostly from Northern India and so there was food to cater to their palates - dal (lentils), sabzi (vegetable dishes), roti(flatbreads), and so on.
The elders of the family loved their traditional Andhra food.
Then there was the 'fancy food' (as my dad used to call it!) for us kids i.e. anything but traditional Andhra food.
This used to be the food scene on a regular day in our household. And now just imagine how it would have been during festivals and celebrations! 10x 😆
The head chef - mum
I must mention my mother here. A lovely lady, blessed with such culinary skills that can transform basic ingredients into a delectable dish 😍.
Like most ladies of her generation, she has spent most of her life in the kitchen, making sure all our food requirements and demands (read tantrums!) were taken care of - ever so tirelessly, with a smile and so much creativity!
She always had some new dish to surprise us with!
Growing up, every meal time was something to look forward to, all because of her enthusiasm and passion! ❤️
My mum did have some help in the kitchen - for the pre-cooking and post-cooking chores, mainly. Cooking, however, was her department and she was particular about that.
What is most admirable is that years and years of cooking for so many people, day in and day out, have not diminished her love for cooking or her creativity in the kitchen.
When my daughters were born, this is the advice my mum gave me - "no matter how busy you are, make sure you cook fresh, albeit simple, food for your kids".
These words have stayed with me and no matter how busy I am or how crazy our routine gets, I cook simple, fresh food for my family, almost every day (although I have learned some pretty neat batch cooking and ingredients prepping tricks along the way 😃)
P.S.: I must confess - much as I love to cook, I hate cutting veggies! 🤷
My entry into the world of cooking
I have loved cooking since I was a child.
I remember making my first dish, independently, when I was 14 years old.
I wanted to impress the family and so I chose to make a complicated recipe that involved stuffing tomatoes and deep frying them (so much for healthy cooking!!).
Throughout my school and college years, I found this love for cooking deepening.
I used to cook for the family, for friends, for my teachers, and just about anybody that I could!
The internet wasn't born at that time and recipes were not as easily available then, as they are now.
I used to scour cookbooks, magazines, and newspaper columns for recipes and ideas.
My mum was (and still is) my ever-dependable guide and supervisor.
I remember the first ever recipe that I developed - it was an Indo-Chinese dish. Vegetable dumplings in a delicious sauce. I served it with fried rice.
That day is still vividly etched in my mind. I had some friends coming over for a meal and I wanted to create something special for them.
My friends loved it and I remember being so chuffed about it!
Note to self: Remember to find that recipe and recreate it.
Even today, every new recipe that I create excites me the same way as that first experience!
I love the whole process - from conception to the actual dish and the several trials and tweaks in between.
In a sense, every recipe that I create is my baby!
My Family
My family - my husband and two beautiful daughters - fill my world with love, joy, and pride!
Like me, they are foodies as well 😊.
They are also the chief tasters and critics!
Contacting Me
You can reach me at [email protected]
or through my page on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter
You can, of course, subscribe to receive regular updates from me.
See you in my posts. Thanks for reading! 🤗