A South Indian New Year's Eve: 5 Festive Recipes to Welcome the New Year — South Indian New Year's Eve

Our goal for ringing in the new year? Do it with a flash of color, vibrant flavor, heat, soulfulness, and, of course, sparkle. And no food said that for me this year like the creations coming out of Asha Gomez's kitchen. Last year year, the chef and restaurateur became a cookbook author and published one of the year's most celebrated cookbooks: My Two Souths.

Asha shared a few recipes with us for a New Year's Eve menu inspired by her two souths — Kerala, the southern-most Indian state where she was born, and the American South, the region she now calls home. I chatted with Asha about the power of spice in her cooking, why fusion is considered the "F word," and how food is always about celebration.

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