Kalojeere diye Doi Mangsho When I read the recipe in Renuka Debi Chaudhurani’s book, I was quite intrigued by it. It seemed like a pretty unusual combination of spices compared to what we usually see going into mutton or goat meat. When I tried it, it is clearly a taste that stands out. This is…
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Continue ReadingWhy do we offer food to the Gods? There would be a lot many reasons assigned to this based on the lens we don while answering the question. One way of looking at it is that our Gods are anthropomorphized forms of our fears and uncertainties. For the primitive society dependent completely upon the elements…
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Continue Reading…or as minions say, “Mughlai Parantha”, to which my response is that there is no such thing! There only exists The Moglai Porota. The tongue twisting finesse of ‘Mughlai’ has long been subsumed by the rounded sweetness of the Bengalified ‘Moglai’! Do not undermine its pedigree. It was born in the royal kitchen of Emperor…
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Continue ReadingEnough has been written and said about the Bengali shukto. So why more? I agree, I might as well not add few more words to a cup that is already overfloweth! But how about a til shukto or shukto made with a paste of white sesame seeds? Might be it deserves a word or two.…
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Continue ReadingThe Social Tables Mini had as auspicious and fun a start as we could have ever hoped for. We brought together people around the tradition of making kasundi – the famous Bengali mustard condiment. Kasundi has always been shrouded in intrigue, bonding and a lot of love. We wanted to bring back all of that…
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Continue ReadingDate: 01 October 2017 Place: Soma Bangalore Vineyards The Cosmic Wedding was as ambitious as one could get while curating special pop-up dinners. The theme was mythology and not food; we wanted to use ingredients that have mention in vedas, puranas and the great epics; we wanted the food to be Indian, yet not quite…
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Continue Readingहे मेघ, मित्रता के कारण, अथवा मैं विरही हूँ इससे मेरे ऊपर दया करके यह अनुचित अनुरोध भी मानते हुए मेरा कार्य पूरा कर देना। फिर वर्षा ऋतु की शोभा लिये हुए मनचाहे स्थानों में विचरना। हे जलधर, तुम्हें अपनी प्रियतमा विद्युत् से क्षण-भर केलिए भी मेरे जैसा वियोग न सहना पड़े। O clouds, in…
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Continue ReadingThe word fusion has been taken to a point where it almost a swear word in the food world. Even more scary is the term ‘deconstructed’. It takes a discussion with a few from the side of the fence which doesn’t have the banner ‘foodies’ hanging from it but camps those who love food and…
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Continue ReadingIn one of our pop-ups, we brought to the table four biryanis from across the sub-continent that are relatively lesser known than their more famous cousins – Dhakai Fish Biryani, Thalessery Chemmeen Biryani, Memoni Keema-Masoor Biryani and the Rampuri Do-Goshta Biryani. We started the evening with a marigold and lemon tea and proceeded to Prince…
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Continue ReadingI had been tinkering with millets, of late, in my kitchen. My fascination wasn’t so much about their recent fad status as super grains but started with their place of pride as ancient grains and the production process, which is more climate sustainable than rice or wheat. However, the nutritional benefits that they bring on…