We Indians, never pass up the opportunity to make jaggery-based sweet treats in the cooler months. And the festival of Makar Sankranti gives all the more reason to make these ‘til-gulachi vadi’, as we call them in Marathi or ‘sesame-peanut flapjack’ as my English husband once described them as he popped one in his mouth […]
If there was ever a festival that celebrates the seasonality of produce, it’s Makar Sankranti – the first Hindu festival of the year that’s celebrated across India under various names. And this ‘bhogichi bhaji’ is just a beautiful way to commemorate this festival through food. The day before Makar Sankranti is Bhogi and it’s the […]
We’re looking forward to a green Christmas and we are aiming to reuse and repurpose what we already have to decorate our house this year. Aarya, my daughter, and I made this Christmas tree from sustainably sourced silver birch logs and jute rope. Here are my notes about how we made it: I used 7 […]
If you are lucky enough to be hosting friends at home for a Christmas party (or any other party come to that) you’ll need to think of something for your guests to munch on. A lot of traditional Indian food doesn’t lend itself to the party buffet. Take the pav bhaji, for example, it’s quite […]
They say every snowflake is different, well my hand-made ones certainly are.If you are looking to add a bit of festive cheer to your home and, like me, you want to avoid all the plastic baubles and tinsel this year these are just the thing. All you need is some paper bags, glue and scissors.I […]
Black-eyed beans (also called black-eyed peas or ‘chawli’, ‘chavli’ or ‘lobia’ in India) are a much-underrated legume. Known as ‘usal’ (pronounced ‘oo-sal’) in the region of India I come from, this dish gives me some mean cravings in autumn when the weather starts to get a bit chilly and damp in the UK. These pale […]
I don’t need a festival like Diwali to enjoy my delicious stash of ‘chivda’ or ‘chiwda’. I make it throughout the year whenever my stocks are low, mainly to satisfy my untimely but guilt-free snack hunger pangs. Also, I enjoy savoury breakfasts a tad more than sweet ones and this Maharashtrian chiwda ticks all my […]
If there’s ever been a dessert that springs to mind when I hear someone say ‘melt-in-mouth’, then it’s besan ladoo. For me it’s rather evocative. The thought of it stirs emotions of holding the besan (gram flour) dough and moulding it, using the heat of your palms, until a neat round ball of ‘ladoo’ or […]
The one Diwali treat I can’t do without is chakli. This wonderfully crunchy savoury snack is my favourite; a must-have on my Diwali platter as it offsets the sweetness of the Indian ‘mithai’ that we all consume too many of at this time of year. Chakli (or ‘murukku’ as they call it in South India) […]
I love wild food, there is nothing more sustainable than food that you pick yourself. Whenever there is an abundance of fruit we naturally think about preserving. Chutneys, jams and pickles all spring to mind. So with the local hedgerows groaning under the weight of a bumper wild plum crop, I came up with this […]
Kadhi, needs no introduction to an Indian. It is often about as yellow as a dal but tastes nothing like it. It’s so versatile, that almost every corner of India has whipped up its own version of this dish. This unsung dish can be prepared in just 30 minutes so on hectic days when you’re […]
Celebrating the bounty of my recent (and perhaps the last of the year) harvest on World Vegetarian Day today. But simply eating vegetarian food and harvesting vegetables isn’t enough if you truly care about the planet. One also needs to learn to put the people of the planet first, by accepting their culture and its […]
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Hi, I’m Rieethaa, a food photographer and recipe developer but most of all I just love cooking simple flavourful food that wakes up the sleepiest tastebuds, and I want to share some with you here. So come in and help me chop some onions, will you?
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