Ruchikala [est.2010] - Kusuma Rao

Bisi Bele Hooli unna - Course 3: I have a lot of layered feelings about courses that are “deconstructed” in plating. Mostly I think they’re silly but I find myself more perturbed when this style is applied to rustic or ancestral foods that aren’t “aesthetically pleasing.” There is this frustrating western compulsion to “elevate” something already elevated beyond ones wildest spiciest dreams. Bisi bele hooli unna is a deeply warming food. Rice, lentils, so many spices, and seeds toasted deeply to get layers of earth to compliment the heat of fiery red chiles and pre-colonial warming spices. The preparation is complex - similar to mole - with several small dishes coming together for this spicy and laborious stew. But for this dinner pairing our family’s food with my father’s art I wanted to be able to break down the components so that it felt like playing around with the color palate that my dad chose for this painting of Swami Vivekananda. The colors in his painting are so striking and warming: oranges and yellows that he rarely uses so liberally. I also wanted to show all the different components that make up this heavy lift of a dish, while giving folks the opportunity to taste how each component is prepared separately and give the option to mix their dish together. I have so much to say about brown food and so many conflicting feelings about food presentation, but I will say that making this dish felt really important last week. This dinner with the artist will stay with me forever.

Bhajiya style Chiles rellenos - stuffed with potato masala, queso Oaxaca, dipped in chickpea batter nestled in a rasam pudi tamarind tomato salsa. ❤️ tucson #aramsay soon!

I go back and forth a bit in this but sometimes i think September is my favorite month. Chile en nogada with Kashmiri inspired black cardamom picadillo ❤️ #aramsay

WOMENS WEEKEND _ DAY 1 Kelly, the founder of @houseof_creature welcomed us to the first evening of her weekend retreat with an amazing dinner by @ruchikala Kumi at the beautiful accommodations @theforestrydepartment in McMinnville. Meet the chef of Ruchikala : Kusuma Rao Bred by traditional Indian cuisine, romanced by Sonoran Mexican street food, and professionally blurring the lines of all that and in between. Book The Forestry Dept. Vacation Home Rental Inspired by the PNW. Located in Downtown McMinnville, the heart of Oregon wine country. Every booking plants a 🌲 . Drinks from @dappledtonic @killdeerdistilling deer This is just the beginning of an epic weekend! Follow these amazing brands and keep an eye out for day 2 of our retreat! . . . @visitmcminnville @gowillamettevalley #oregonexplored #eaterpdx #portlandfoodie

Hello friends! I am teaching classes again! I would love to walk you through how to make a really incredible layered, complex, butter chicken. Yes - we all know that there is so much more to Indian food than butter chicken but one cannot deny this comforting Punjabi staple is still worthy of its adoration. Perfecting a good butter chicken has so many transferrable skills. My cooking classes are about de-mystifying masalas, helping you feel more confident in layering spices. Mastering these dishes will help you adapt recipes in your repertoire to make you a better, more confident cook. My cooking classes are typically small group - 4-5 people, so you’ll be able to get all your questions answered. My classes are technique and sensory focused. The classes are about 2.5 hours long and we sit down together for a meal afterward. The butter chicken classes are $95.00 each. We’re getting together a group of folks this Sunday March 8th starting at 5pm - but also we might add another offering this Friday March 6th if we have enough people on board. Come and grab a friend and bring them this Sunday at 5! Got a group of friends you’d like to share this experince with for a birthday party or gathering? Reach out for private group class offerings!

At 41 I finally feel good about my own beans. I got better at them in the way that feels most aligned with me - a way that feels so similar to mom and dad’s creative process. Cooking something / painting something - trying to achieve a certain taste/texture/feel - working through all the failures until the vision is achieved - a reflection of the deepest dream within. This week has been a beautiful celebration of all the things : love, community, authenticity, tragedy, continued heartbreak, and utter silliness. I am grateful for so many incredible humans that make up the constellation of my family - blood and beyond. May we continue to walk together and cook and heal and care for one another. Eat the spiciest things (and maybe nurture our tender older selves that can’t fire the same we did in our youth). May we tap into our creative spirits, continue connecting with one another around the matters that are most real. Beyond algorithms and AI, beyond extractive patternings, may we find truth and comfort in each other in this sweet earth womb of ours.

Been a long time since I offered loaves here in Portland. Will be baking a small batch of polenta mustard thadka and cheddar habanero loaves this Thursday and Friday. So special to say I finally have grown enough karipatha to harvest curry leaves from my own tree baby (an offshoot from our 30 year old family tree 😭). The polenta thadka loaf is inspired by upma, fried curry leaves and mustard seeds with fried cashews asafotida and diaspora turmeric. It makes for a really lovely toast and a base for all your amazing home grown tomatoes with a little chèvre or whipped feta. It’s also the perfect compliment to laying in the grass while the wind sways through the trees. I’ve been making this thadka loaf for 13 years now - and honestly I make it a little different each time. I am choosing inconsistency as my practice of staying present.

We are so excited to bring you these desi pies this weekend at @anjaliandthekid 's Holi fest at @topazfarm this weekend! We’ve been having such a blast with our trial runs the past couple weeks, were all dialed in and ready to unveil these three spicy pies for you all: A saag paneer - a delightfully spicy pie with the freshest spinach from @eloisaorganicfarm farms finished with kasoori methi and olive oil. Aloo masala with creamy Yukon gold potatoes and a spicy tandoori masala béchamel, aromatic kasoori methi and finished with Beecher’s cheese Kashmiri lamb bolognese pie with smokey black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, pecorino Romano and @durant_oregon koreneiki olive oil. We’ve got a spice studded spring raita inspired ranch for you all too! All pies are on @scottiespizzaparlor ’s naturally leavened dough baked up beautifully, chewy, crisp - all the good things. Did we mention how excited we are?! 🥳 Holi is a family friendly event - with dance lessons, bhangra performances and three different color throws once at every hour. Come out to the farm this weekend, bring an old light colored shirt that you don’t mind getting splashed in color and enjoy this magnificent sunshine! Saturday 5/31 4-7:30 pm ❤️ See you there! ❤️

Please enjoy this sweet pic of amma offering me a bouquet of fresh picked karipatha from the backyard. 🤗 I’ve missed this place so deeply. My sourdough starter is finally thriving again - and I am feeling so much more creatively inspired than I have been in months. Grateful for hourly PT/legs up the wall/rest break to manage my EDS. Grateful for my mom’s homemade yoghurt and the faces my parents make when they try a new dish I create. Truly the best consultants around. ❤️ This week’s Aramsay dinners have my whole heart and I am thrilled to bring my favorite Portland DJ and sister dearly @anjaliandthekid down here for all to bask in her glow.

Dessert dreams do come true! 🍨 This Mithai Sundae was a burst of flavors—gulab jamun, jalebi, mithai sauce & ice cream in one perfect bite. A must-try for all sweet lovers! 🤤✨ Would you try it??? 📍 @sugarpinedrivein 🧑‍🍳 @ruchikala the woman chef behind this genius creation!

𝑴𝑰𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑰 𝑺𝑯𝑶𝑷 – a new sundae special inspired by the magic of old-school sweet shops and the joy of South Asian childhood treats. ✨ For the latest in our 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐅 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒, we teamed up with @ruchikala (𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐟 𝐊𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐚 “𝐊𝐮𝐦𝐢” 𝐑𝐚𝐨) to create a dessert that transports you to a bustling mithai shop, where glass cases are filled with shimmering sweets, the air is thick with the scent of saffron and rose, and every bite is a little celebration. This sundae is a love letter to the rich, spiced, and syrup-soaked confections of India and South Asia, balancing deep indulgence with a touch of tart, nutty, and floral contrast: 🍨 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 – a cool and creamy base for all the bold flavors to shine 🍯 𝐆𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐛 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐧, those soft, spongey milk-syrup gems, with a secret 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 center—just the right balance of richness and crunch 🌾 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐤𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝, golden and fragrant, adding an earthy, floral depth 🍋‍🟩 𝐉𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐢, crisp and lacy, soaked in a cardamom-lime syrup inspired by 𝐍𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐮 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐢, the sweet-salty limeade that cools you down on a hot day If you’ve ever stepped into a candy shop with wide eyes, searching for the perfect bite, this sundae is for you. Sweet, spiced, bright, and buttery—𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝟑 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬! Part of the proceeds from the sale of this chef sundae will benefit 𝐀𝐏𝐈 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐲𝐚 (@apichayasea ), a non-profit that helps serve survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking by employing culturally competent services to heal immigrant communities. ____________________________________ #MithaiShop #ChefSundae #NostalgicSweets #GulabJamen #Jalebi #NimbuPani #SugarpineDriveIn #YouAreSoGorge 📸: @pdxploration @foundry503 👩‍🍳: @ruchikala @emilys_gorge_life @arie11eira

Habanero cheddar (one of the milder batches I’ve made in quite some time) Feeling immense gratitude for this rain. 🫂