My journey of reinventing traditional Indian desserts continue. Growing up in Assam, the state was traditionally not big on desserts and confectionery unless it can to ‘pitha and laru’ during bihu. The one dessert which however was served especially as part of the wedding feasts was Mihidana and cream. It was q very Upper Assam,…
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Continue ReadingSaptapuri is a seven layered confectionery offered to Lord Jagannath in Puri on a particular day of the year – the Saptapuri amavasya. This particular confectionery is steeped in Vedic and folk mythology across Odisha. Saptapuri amavasya The Saptapuri amavasya falls in the Hindu month of Bhadra and it is believed that the seven pitras…
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Continue ReadingWhen we met Sharmistha and Samrat over the idea of Anondomela, I didn’t think long before agreeing to be a part. I instinctively knew that it would be fun and fullfilling. While we were discussing, Sharmistha suggested that I do Odia food, which I was more than amenable to and my heart was set on…
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Continue ReadingThere is a concept in Baishnab families in Bengal – it is the narkeler ‘gangajali’ mishti. It can either be a naru or a sandesh or a chhapa sandesh. The word gangajali eludes to two things – pristine white and dissolves in mouth like water. It is said that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a great…
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Continue ReadingDark Chocolate and Orange Tart topped with caramel shards, dehydrated oranges, caramelised walnuts and sea salt I have been suffering from depression and what can be described loosely as something close to survivor’s guilt. This is owing to nothing personal but yet, something that means a world and more to a lot of us. It…
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Continue ReadingPatishapta is a story to pass on to coming generations, lot of memories to hold on to and a personal experience for me. Such was my father’s love for this deceptively simple looking dessert that I often suspect that if there is anything in this world that my mother felt jealous of, it must have…
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Continue ReadingA Bengalis love for sweet is legendary, and why shouldn’t it be so. After all, the 5th century physician Charaka argued that the word ‘gur’ for jaggery in many Indian languages comes from the word ‘Gaud’, the ancient name of Bengal. That says a thing or two about the antiquity of Bengal’s love for gur.…