Culinary history: A journey called Daulat Ki Chaat

Imagine a bite made of a layer of light foam covered with sweet, fresh mawa and snow-like sugar, sprinkled with a generous layer of slivers of pistachio and almonds, awashed with the fragrant juice of saffron. Now imagine that bite hit the warmth of your tongue and suddenly disappears leaving behind a trail of sweet…

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Story of an Infidel Drink: Origin of Coffee

O Coffee! Thou dost dispel all care, thou are the object of desire to the scholar. This is the beverage of the friends of God.” – An Arabic poem form 1511 AD Almost everyone around the globe sips a cup of coffee to kick-start their day. But my love for coffee goes all the way…

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Tilgul Ladoo (Sesame Seeds Ladoo)

  Sankranti is around the corner and we can easily see packets of TilGul Ladoo in the market. Til is sesame and Gul is jaggery in Maharashtra. In fact, these small ladoos and an old saying are very famous in Maharashtra “tilgul ghya god god bola “which literally means “take Tilgul and talk sweetly”. I think this is how…

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History of Kadak & Garam Chai

Ek kadak garam chai ki cup is what starts the day of a lot of households around the world—some will ask for masala chai while others will call for Earl Grey. In fact, Indian tea is famous all over the world. Every time I am travelling outside India, when people offer me a cup of…

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Mulberry and Honey Oats Cookies

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s December. We see happy people, bright colors and roasted or baked food. Families come together, exchange gifts, chit chat over a glass of wine of humble coffee/tea. December is in fact one of my favorite months. I play my favorite jazz music and cook tirelessly. I…

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Quinoa Thayir Sadam

One myth that North Indians have is that South Indian food is all about Idli and Dosa but they are totally wrong. South has so much to offer to vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Normal to spicy , simple to elaborate, deep fried to steamed. Every dish that South offers has so distinct flavor and unique textures. Curd…

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Sindhi Koki with Akhrot Palak

Indian food has so much to offer to the food lovers. Irrespective of your meal preference, Indian food had and will always have something to please your taste bud. We have spicy and not so spicy food, simple as well as complex dishes. We even know how to make interesting flat bread. I am personally…

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Boondi Ladoo Cheesecake

Diwali is over but Diwali hangover isn’t. You still have all those leftover ladoos and kaju barfis which  you couldn’t recycle or finish on the day. Now what to do? Why worry, let’s cook up something simple, easy and yummy. Cheesecake got invented in Greece and is a very popular dessert all across the globe….

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Mughals, Nawabs and Nihari

For me Eid-ul-zuha (Bakhrid) was not just any celebration, it was a day that I got to go to my Nani’s place and enjoy an unlimited supply of meat—all day long. Eating vegetables is like a sin in a Muslim household on this festival. My prime reason for visiting my hometown was largely based on…

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Paruppu Thogayal

We have Cake Day, Chocolate day and so many other days but not a single day which celebrates Indian food. But on 24th September, I am going to be celebrating Chutney Day. It’s amazing initiative by Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal to celebrate and document chutnies of India. I love South Indian food, I think it has…

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Where Did the Idli Come From?

Idli (and the process of steaming) was known in India by as early as 700 CE. The process of steaming was influenced from Indonesia subsequently between 800-1200 CE, giving rise to the modern-day Idli.(Wiki). This famous south Indian Delicacy has attracted a lot of controversy. There is a serious contention between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as to who can lay claim to the invention of Idli….

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Vapa Pitha/Steamed Rice Cake

Vapa pitha (bhapa pitha) or puli pithe is the most simplest form of pithe made by Bengalis during Poush Parbon Vapa basically means steamed. This amazing dish is a kind of dumpling with the outer shell being made from rice flour and stuffing being prepared with jaggery and grated coconut. There can be several kinds of stuffing for Pitha, I…

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