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Welcome

I am Jyoti a mompreneur with multi-faceted, hands-on experience in management, marketing, brand and product development, and business growth. I am a mom to two beautiful kids, who inspire me to better myself in everything I venture into. My husband is an ardent fan of mine and my biggest supporter who makes me believe that I can achieve the unachievable and plays a big role in making me who I am today. Don’t worry, it is not all a bed of roses, he also happens to be my biggest critique and keeps me grounded at all times!

LOVE WHAT YOU DO. DO WHAT YOU LOVE

Follow your passion

I am a techie turned into a Culinary Entrepreneur, my education has been in economics and information technology- I hold masters degrees in each. Initially, I used to work in a software company for a few years, then I held a managerial position in the real estate industry for 5 years. Although I enjoyed the corporate world, I had always been quite fascinated by the culinary world and the opportunity of spreading its richness to the world. So, about 12 years ago I left the corporate world and decided to launch myself on my own career in the food world.

Family traditions

I learned my art of cooking from my mother at a very early age. Like many other moms, she considered herself as an ordinary cook, serving delicious meals years on end, without realizing that she had the most extraordinary flair and expertise. This is exactly where I learned my A B C’s of cooking, in my mom’s little kitchen. I am thankful to her for passing on her prized family recipes to me, and here on my blog, you will see many traces of her recipes.

Cooking has been my passion since childhood. I distinctly remember the first roti (tortilla) that I had made when I was about 7 years old, learning to make them even from all sides to make a complete circle and then cooking it so that each one fluffs up to perfection. It was like learning how to balance yourself on the bike. Once you know how to make it, you never forget it all your life.

Diverse cultural influences

Growing up in India, I experienced culture first hand from all corners of this beautiful country. My dad was in the army, and my childhood time was in places such as the beautiful hilly city, Ladakh in the northern part of India. Delhi, India’s capital with a rich history. Agra, home of the exquisite Taj Mahal. Bhopal the ‘The City of Lakes”. Kolhapur and Pune, the cities of Marathas and Maharajas, warriors of their times, and Bollywood city Mumbai – the modern metropolis where cultures from all over India blend in a melting pot. Being from an army background, I had the exciting opportunity of traveling to different parts of India and meeting with people from different cultures and places. That’s how I got my expertise in different styles and cuisines in Indian cooking.

Kolhapur traditions

Although the army kept me adept at all the different cuisines in India, I was always attracted to my roots. My dad’s origin is Kolhapur, a city in Maharashtra known for its rich heritage and culture. It is a city known for its ancient Mahalakshmi (Goddess Lakshmi) Temple, a Hindu pilgrimage destination. It is also known for its royal palace and museums. Food of course plays a huge role – some dishes from Kolhapur are popular all over the world. Since people used to do a lot of game hunting here you will find many known goat and chicken dishes. Even the vegetarian dishes are quite unique and the food is typically quite spicy. My recipes here are hugely influenced by food from Kolhapur.

The Konkan magic

My mom is a Malwani. Malvan is a town and taluka in Sindhudurg District, the southernmost district of Maharashtra State. The main occupation here is fishing being surrounded by the coast and the staple diet of the local people is mainly seafood and rice. Malwan area produces a huge variety of fruits like the famous Alphanso mangoes, jackfruit, cashew fruits and many more. I grew up eating food from this region as we visited my mom’s maternal home Tiroda near Sawantwadi almost every summer holiday, plus my mom is an expert in making Malwani food so it was obvious I inherited it from her. This place is only 60 kilometers from Goa hence you will see a lot of Goan food influences in its cuisine as well.

Houston Strong

Then I landed up in Houston, where Hispanic and American cultures converge seamlessly. As Houston has a diverse variety of cuisines, I had the opportunity of tasting many different cuisines like American, Mexican, Italian, Asian, to name a few. As much as I enjoyed trying out different cuisines, I also enjoyed recreating them in my Kitchen. Here is how my journey of creating new dishes and documenting them started..

I started capturing the process of creating new dishes in photos and started documenting my best recipes. Once I identified my best recipes, I started making my own home food videos for those recipes in my own kitchen studio. It was a long process and I faced many obstacles but I tried to improve myself each time. The result is SizzlingPots.com, a labor of love and hard work and experience. My home kitchen is where I shot my first magazine, cookbook, cooking course, conducted my first cooking class, both real-time and virtual and here is where I spend my days experimenting with new recipes, photographing my creations, feeding my family, and making an enormous mess in the process. My hope is to inspire a love for food in others by making delicious meals from scratch without spending too much time in their kitchen, as well as to encourage people to challenge themselves to try something new every time.

Bringing quick, simple, healthy, nutritious and authentic, meals using fresh local produce, on the table has always been my utmost priority and that was one of the biggest reasons why I was drawn to the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. In this blog, you will also find several Instant Pot recipes that will truly save your time and let you bring back your life!

My online cooking courses

Here is where you can find my courses:
1. Master the Art of Indian Cooking:
https://www.udemy.com/course/indianculinaryworld/
2. Instant Pot Master Course:
https://www.udemy.com/course/instant-pot-master-course/
3. Cook Indian Food- Restaurant Favorites:
https://www.udemy.com/course/indianrestaurantfavorites/

SizzlingPots.com - a new face

I started this blog in 2008 and since then it has evolved a lot. To have better features, I recently gave SizzlingPots.com a new face and hence you may not find all the old recipes here right now, but I promise you won't be disappointed for long.

SizzlingPots - recipes to love

Blogging and writing for SizzlingPots has always been my first love, and just in case you don’t find me here you will find me creating cooking courses on Udemy.com or teaching as a Chef Instructor at Cocusocial.com. During my journey on SizzlingPots, I realized that I truly enjoyed teaching people how to cook and so I set myself on the path of becoming a culinary instructor. Today I have launched several online cooking courses with more than 5500 students in 115 different countries who learn how to cook from me

Live Virtual Cooking Classes

I know at this time we are caught in these uncertainties of life and are locked down due to the COVID 19 pandemic. To deal with these unforeseen circumstances I have now started my live cooking classes on https://cocusocial.com/. So if you want to join me in my virtual classes, please be my guest. I would love to see you there.

Let's stay in touch!

Have a recipe question, an idea for an upcoming post, an advertising inquiry, or just want to work with me? I would LOVE to hear from you! Email me at jo@sizzlingpots.com

If you want to keep up with me to see what’s new and what’s trendy and what I am up to don’t forget to join my newsletter!!

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