In conversation with Juhi Bansal of Closet Buddies fame, a first-gen fashion influencer from Gujarat Think first generation bloggers in Gujarat and the one name (and perhaps the only one!) that comes to mind is that of Juhi Bansal a.k.a fashion blogger of the Closet Buddies fame. One of the few among the first set of bloggers to have survived…
Did you read that fancy article I was featured in? Do read I got featured! I got featured! I got featured! that talks about the ‘how and why’ of the Tripcrafters‘ article ‘Top Indian Food Bloggers & Their Favourite Places To Travel For Food’ and give me some more love. I’ve been rather excited about the feature. And the timing…
You’d wonder why there needs to be yet another article on a topic that’s been done to death. I object to your ‘wondering’. There can never be enough aids to help someone get through the relatively stressful act of eating alone in a restaurant. It’s been a few years of solo travelling for me, enough not to have second thoughts when…
Spot a festival marked on the calendar and I immediately start grilling my mother about the food. The latest conversation went something like this… Me: Maa! It’s Janmashtami on September 3. What’s special on the menu for the day?Maa: Hmmm… I could make payesh but then you are lactose intolerant so…Me: Okay. What else?Maa: Your grandmother made delicacies when we…
If Baku is the potpourri of the old and new and Gabala is that beauty spot hidden in the mountains of Azerbaijan, Shaki is an old painting come alive. Cobbled streets, old buildings with exposed bricks, quaint coffee shops and tiny chai khanas, Shaki has held on to the old world charm that pulsed through Azerbaijan. The final destination of…
As a child growing up on classical English literature, I was fascinated by terms like chimneys, fireplaces, scones, etc, and phrases like ‘lush greenery’, ‘rolling hills’, ‘winding roads’, ‘sparkling water’ and ‘gushing streams’. All of these seemed fantastical until, in a clichéd but true manner, travelling broadened my horizon and gave meaning to these fantastical terms. However, it was only last year…
As someone learning how to cook from her mother, there is a sense of achievement when the result of a kitchen encounter gets positive reviews. These cooking lessons are sessions both Maa and I look forward to. At least I hope Maa looks forward to them!
What I love most about our kitchen sessions is when Maa shares tips and tricks from her experience of over 50 years – coz she did not start cooking before she was in her mid-20s you know! She belongs to a generation of cooks who’ve learned without measuring cups and spoons. Her cooking teachers have been her mother, mother-in-law, and experience. And her emphasis is on ‘learning the basics’.
Conversations during these sessions often take a nostalgic turn as Maa regales me with stories from her life. Earlier this week, as I learned how to make chhana payesh, Maa said, “You have it easy. Just run down to the store, buy some paneer and your payesh can be done in a jiffy. When we were younger, chhana had to be made from scratch. And I’ve done it too! Made chhana at home and then made rasgulla, gulab jamun for nearly 30-40 people on your birthdays!”
I gasped in shock. Which made her turn towards me and say, “It’s easy you know, making chhana. Go get a packet of milk and I’ll teach you how.”
And then, ladies and gentlemen, I learned to make chhana.
Chhana is a kind of cheese curd made from milk by adding food acid. Similar to cottage cheese, chhana is the base of several Indian and especially Bengali sweets. It also works well as a healthy snack and is often given to patients – easy to digest, it provides the recovering humans with required nutrition. Just drizzle some honey on it or add a dash of lemon juice and a spoonful of sugar and you are set.
This is the tale of a young princess, a little packet, a treasure chest and a childhood dream of unravelling tales stored in a trunk.
This is the tale of the princess who turned her passion and love for the little packet into a lucrative business.
This is the tale of Snigdha Manchanda, corporate slave-turned-tea sommelier and teapreneur, who is among the handful of people working to guide a nation of chai lovers towards understanding their teas better.
Those of you who’ve been with me for a while might remember my post ‘Tale of three teas’ when I had attempted three tea recipes. I’ve come a long way since. While my love for coffee remains unparalleled, I am now learning to appreciate tea. More after a visit to a tea estate in Munnar, Kerala, and a fun meet-and-greet session with Snigdha in Ahmedabad.
Snigdha’s is not a rags-to-riches story nor is it a saga of a battle-against-evils. Her story is more of a journey that started when her father gifted the young Snigdha his old trunk and a packet of tea that she stored in her precious trunk. This tea packet was joined by several others from across the globe – at one point she owned 100 types of tea – fanning her love for tea. A sabbatical from work, an interest in tea translating into training at a school in Sri Lanka led to Snigdha becoming India’s youngest tea sommelier in 2012.
Since then, through her passion and persistence, the now 33-year-old has shattered the ‘rules’ of the tea industry where, unlike her male counterparts, she has had to prove her ability and efficiency time and again. After all, one does not become a trendsetter with a company like Tea Trunk that curates ‘the finest teas of India and craft them into unique blends with all-natural ingredients without shooting down the odds.
Excerpts from a chat over chai with Snigdha Manchanda, tea sommelier and owner of Tea Trunk…
I am blurry eyed and mighty pissed off this Monday morning. And I have no one to blame but myself. What should have been done yesterday or perhaps a day ago, is being done in the wee hours of the morning. Because somewhere in the last few days, I overstuffed my basket of ‘tasks to finish’, lost focus and forgot…
Ask me about the most ‘stressful’ part of travelling and I would say understanding the local habits/culture to avoid a faux pas and buying souvenirs for those at home. Overtly concerned about the first before my Scotland trip since I was travelling alone, I spent a major chunk of my time at the Bristol Airport – while waiting for the…