About Samosas & Sunshine

Welcome to Samosas and Sunshine!

The goal of this website is to give readers advice, anecdotes and resources from a non-Indian bride who has recently married into a South Indian family.  From info on where to get your family outfits for the wedding to the hilarious tale of my first puja and from my MIL’s semi-secret samosa recipe to a guide detailing what you’re supposed to call you FIL’s elder sister, Samosas & Sunshine will be a humorous resource for Indians and non-Indians alike.

Why Samosas and Sunshine?

A smiley blond, Sunshine has been my nickname since childhood.  “Samosas” is because they’re delicious!  My MIL (mother-in-law) makes amazing samosas, and I hope to be able to make them one day too!

In college, I became interested in Indian culture and made my first trip to India in 2006.  When I went back to school that fall met and woo’d my now husband with my “extensive” knowledge of Bollywood.  After 8 years and another trip to India, I thought I was pretty knowledgable about Indian culture.  But nothing could prepare me for what happened after my Husband popped the question, and I said yes.

The full force of a new Indian family and the wedding planning process was a crash course in family relations, South Indian traditions, Hinduism, DIL obligations, Indian food, the Indian American community and so much more.  I finally became a South Indian wife in the fall of 2015 (and will be a South Indian mother soon if my grandmother-in-law has her way!).  I hope my experiences could make someone else’s less overwhelming.  Plus, I want to hear from others out there, so I have the tools to cope as I enter this whole new phase of life.

**For those curious, the traditions I will be speaking of are from a family within the Hindu Tamil community.  If I’ve learned anything, it’s that India’s culture and people are extremely diverse and so adaptable each family may follow their own traditions.  So this is just one perspective 🙂

Thanks for visiting!