We are a family of bitter gourd lovers. Give us bitter gourd in any form and we will love it, especially if it has retained that light bitter taste – boiled, mashed and seasoned with mustard oil and salt; crispy fried; stuffed with spices; stir-fried – we heart this green. So much so that each time I am about to…
If the post title has not made you shudder and click away, then consider yourself smothered in a hug from me! I understand that sometimes it takes courage to even read about certain food items, let alone trying them or eating them. Mention squid or muskmelon and I want to run away. And there are several who follow suit when…
As a child, I used to be fascinated with the concept of a red coloured vegetable and immediately made it my favourite. What tickled me pink was the rice turning pink when mixed with red spinach. Seems it was officially my favourite food and the only time I liked the colour pink! Yes, I never appreciated the various hues of…
One of the best things about summer in India is the abundance of mangoes! Walking into a fruit store these days makes me feel like a kid in the candy store – so many varieties of mangoes to choose from! My father tends to go overboard while mango shopping but thanks to my mother, we don’t end up covering every…
I’ve got to start with a random confession… or confessions. It took me a while to figure out what pabda maachis called in English and with it came the realization that despite having grown up with the privilege of speaking and understanding 4 languages, I am not very good at either. Maa helped me fry the fish because all that spluttering…
One of the best parts of cooking is trying to find a way where there is zero or minimal waste of produce. It’s heartening to watch even cookery shows placing emphasis on the concept of zero-waste in an attempt to turn it back into norm rather than a trend. And I am well aware that I used the term ‘turn it…
Those of you familiar with the food recipe I’m sharing today are probably having a good laugh at the translation of the name. And you should! I’ve been chuckling since I translated ‘Doi Boonde’ or ‘Dahi Boondi’ into ‘Golden Sweet Balls with Yoghurt’. I’m honestly at a loss for words here. The emotional connect with the delicious, crispy and sweet boonde are lost…
There is an unwritten rule in the Bhaumick household – if the meal is non-vegetarian, then tomato chaatni (chutney) is a must. And it’s a must when the meal is vegetarian too. It’s a staple at most parties that involve food and an essential part of meals on special days. Few are the times when the refrigerator does not have a…
Think chicken with coconut milk and you’ll think the recipe I’m sharing today is inspired by cuisine in Kerala. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me that the original recipe travelled from the lush green landscape of Kerala to the homes tucked in the bylanes of Kolkata, cooked for the first time by an enterprising traveller who had returned…
It’s the last week of the year for several of us and preparations are in full swing to celebrate the first day of the New Year. Invitations to attend community celebrations have already started making the rounds and the “I’ll-go-if-you-go” discussions have begun. In a week’s time, Bengalis worldwide will step into the New Year on ‘Poila Boishakh’ or ‘First…