I am Aparna and a stay-at-home mom to our almost 13 year old daughter. My husband, daughter and I belong to the southern Indian state of Kerala (famous for it's coconuts, beautiful backwaters, and Ayurveda)

and now live in Goa. We are vegetarians and if you met me, one look at me would tell you I enjoy good food.

I enjoy cooking, and experimenting with/ exploring recipes from across the world but I wouldn't go as far as saying the kitchen is my favourite place in the house!

How long have you been a Daring Baker/Daring Cook and what’s your favorite thing about being in the group(s) so far?

I joined the Daring Bakers in January of 2008 where my first challenge was to bake a Lemon Meringue Pie. That was quite a challenge considering I had never seen or eaten one before! I would say the best thing about being a Daring Baker (and there are many good things about being a DB) is the support that comes from the members. This support includes suggestions and solutions for questions/ problems, wholesome praise on successfully completed challenges and shoulders to weep on when challenges don't work out well.

Do you have any favorite card games? Board games? Video games?

I'm not a video game player as it has never caught my fancy.

I haven't played card games in a while, apart from the occasional solitaire game on the computer. My favourite card game would be rummy, though my daughter and I used to enjoy playing Memory/ Concentration when she was younger.

Scrabble is my all time favourite board game, with Monopoly coming in a close second.

Are you known for making a certain dish or dessert? If so, what is it?

I really don't think I'm known for any particular dish or dessert, but I have had friends and family tell me I'm a good cook. I think (and my sweet toothed husband agrees) that the best desserts I make are "payasam" which are milk/ coconut milk and jaggery/ sugar based south Indian pudding-like desserts.

Is there any recipe and/or technique that we haven’t covered yet that you’d really like to make/learn?

I know there have been many requests for macarons, so I'm joining that bandwagon too, as I have never made or eaten one. Actually, I've never seen one.

This may sound surprising, but there are some of us who live in other countries outside the U.S. and Europe for whom many of the challenges are true food discoveries!

Baking is not a traditional type of cooking in India (except for flatbreads), so I would welcome any advanced type of bread or pastries from different parts of the world. I would also like a challenge which would improve my cake decorating techniques, though I know this is not strictly baking.

Do you have a favorite movie? Book? Genre of music?

I'm not sure that I have one favourite movie, but a few that come to mind include "Tuesdays With Morrie", "Pirates Of The Caribbean", "Erin Brokovitch", "Mona Lisa Smile", "Dead Poets Society", "Ratatouille". I most definitely do not like gun toting action movies!

I love books and reading is my favourite past-time so choosing one book over the others would be impossible and unfair. I will read any type of book if it can hold my interest though I tend to give long drawn out historicals and biographies a miss.

I know this is getting boring, but I listen to a wide variety of music. This includes Indian and western, whether classical, popular or film music. Instrumental music and the panpipes are particular favourites.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?

As of now, I would say it is Goa and I am lucky enough to be living there.

What is the ultimate comfort food to you?

It is a traditional dish prepared in our homes called "Thayir Chadam". This is nothing but a very lightly spiced rice ("chadam" in my language, Tamil) and plain home-made yogurt ("thayir). It is very a very light yet filling dish and makes a great one dish meal.

Chocolate comes a very close second.

Do any pets own you? If so, what are they and what are their names?

I grew up with dogs in my childhood and we would love to have one with us now, but it doesn't seem fair to a dog to restrict it to an apartment on the second floor. So no, we don't have any pets.

Other than cooking and/or baking.. what hobbies do you enjoy?

I love reading, listening to music, singing (though this hobby is not for public consumption), embroidery, a bit of crocheting, block printing, painting azulejos, doing art and craft projects with my daughter.

You can visit Aparna on her blog My Diverse Kitchen