Today we’d like to introduce you to Priya Lakshminarayan.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in a suburb in Mumbai, India. Even when young, I was very fond of cooking. I used to host my friends and try different dishes. Mumbai being a cultural melting pot, I got to try my hand at several different cuisines. When I married and moved to the US, I thought it would be nice to have a place to preserve the recipes that were handed down to me by my mother and extended family. That was the beginning of my blogging journey about 10 years ago.
At the time, I did not have a website, I just blogged on a free blog site.
A couple of years in, I realized
1. I wanted to share my family recipes with others and
2. Indian cuisine was perceived in a rather typical way – and I wanted to showcase to the world that there was more to Indian food than just Tikka Masala, Naans, or Samosas.
So I began adding more recipes toward that end. I also purchased my website and thus ‘Cookilicious’ was born.
I was more active on social media by this time, and more and more people who wanted to go ‘meatless’ or ‘vegan’ began reaching out to me asking me for recipes. Since most Indian recipes could be made vegan with a few simple swaps, I started posting vegan options on my blog.
Since its inception, Cookilicious has evolved into a very different place than how I first envisioned it. Today it features very diverse Indian and fusion dishes. I try to keep them healthy and easy to make.
I also promote convenience by making use of gadgets like the Instant Pot and the Air Fryer.
In the time I have been blogging, I have won the Best Recipe Blogger at the South Florida Blogger Awards and also published a cookbook (The Essential Vegan Indian Cookbook)
I also have made a couple of appearances on TV cooking segments and have published a cooking podcast.
It’s been an amazing journey so far, one I never imagined when I first started my blog – and it is far from over! I look forward to new culinary adventures in the future!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There definitely have been challenges. I studied nutrition as a part of my graduate degree in Home Science, and so I had a grasp on preparing healthier dishes. However, writing a recipe for others is infinitely harder than writing for yourself.
When I first posted recipes, the questions from my readers about the recipe made me realize that I needed to keep things simple and clear.
I began adding step-by-step ‘process’ photos that showed the dish at various stages of the prep.
I began adding FAQs for common challenges my readers could face.
I learned photography, so I could post high-resolution images of the dishes that my readers could appreciate.
Believe it or not, the world of food blogging can be very competitive. To keep my blog off Google’s ‘naughty’ list, I learned best practices in SEO, keyword research, and creative writing, along with the technical aspects of blog maintenance.
People underestimate how much goes into writing a food blog post -from the initial planning to making the dish, the photography, presentation and finally putting everything together in a blog post that your readers will appreciate takes a lot of hard work!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am primarily a vegan/vegetarian recipe blogger who focuses on creating healthy and delicious multi-cuisine recipes. I do everything from developing a recipe to making the dish, styling and photographing it, and posting the recipe on my blog Cookilicious for my readers. I also promote these recipes on all my social media channels.
I am proud of how far I’ve come in the past 10 years. What started as a basic blogging site has evolved into an award-winning website with hundreds of delicious recipes.
Along the way, I have published a cookbook and appeared on two TV cooking segments.
I draw on my life experiences when I imagine and create dishes. I try to make dishes that invoke the emotions I felt as a child when eating certain dishes and IMO that’s what sets me apart from other bloggers.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I feel Orlando is very similar to Mumbai in terms of the weather, and people. I love that Orlando has so many fun things to offer. It makes it the most viable tourist spot which means we always have guests from all over the world. I get to host and cook for them. That makes me happy. Even the restaurant scene is booming right now. We have many vegetarian and vegan restaurants opening up. I just wish all the regular and big restaurants were more accommodative to vegetarians and vegans.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cookilicious.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cookilicious/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cookliciousveg/
- Twitter: https://x.com/cookiliciousveg
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Cookiliciousveg
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/cookiliciousveg/
Image Credits
My headshot – Cassandra from Rooted Love Photography
