Grilled Tofu Curry landed in my regular rotation because my sister-in-law asked me to cook something for her that had no meat but still felt like a proper meal, not …
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King Prawn Pulao is the dish my brother-in-law requests every single time he visits. Not biryani, not a curry — this. He made the request so many times that …
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Skate and Spinach Salad came into my regular rotation on a weeknight when I had skate wings sitting in the fridge and completely no plan. I had been buying skate …
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Paneer Egg Peas Kurma was not something I got right the first time. My original version had the coconut going in too early, and by the time the peas were …
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Caramel Custard takes me straight back to the school tuck shop where I first had it — served cold in a small steel bowl, wobbling slightly as it was set …
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Vegetable Paneer Kabab earns a regular spot in my kitchen because it solves a specific problem: what to do with the half cup of boiled carrots, beans, and peas that …
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There is a particular kind of silence that falls over an Indian home the morning after a wedding or a Diwali party. It is the silence of someone standing in …
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The smell hits you before you even walk into the kitchen. Ghee sizzling with cumin, a faint nuttiness from roasting kuttu ka atta, the particular sweetness of sabudana pearls turning …
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Ratatouille Tart was not something I got right the first time. My earliest attempt was a cautionary tale: I skipped the pre-roasting step because I thought the oven would handle …
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Fish in Methi and Garlic is one of those recipes I make when I want something that feels like a proper cooked meal without spending the whole evening in the …
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In Mumbai, the govinda troupes have been practising for weeks, stacking themselves four and five humans high in a park at dusk, working out who goes on top. In Vrindavan, …
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The kitchen goes quiet an hour before midnight, and that’s usually when you smell it: roasted coriander seeds and ghee, somewhere between a temple and a home. Someone’s mother is …
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Seafood Risotto is one of those recipes I return to whenever I want something that feels genuinely good without requiring a full afternoon in the kitchen. I first made this …
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Capsicum and Peanut Curry came into my regular cooking through a photocopied recipe a colleague gave me years ago, scribbled with margin notes about how much tamarind to use and …
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The first sign of jamun season was never the fruit itself. It was your tongue. You’d come home from the terrace or the school ground with a mouth stained deep …
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The lipid panel came back a shade past normal, and your doctor said the word every Indian household dreads: cholesterol. Somewhere in the back of your mind, a chorus of …
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Tangy Tomato Curry is one of those dishes my husband and I genuinely disagree about. He insists his mother’s version used tamarind for the sourness, while I have always made …
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Crab Curry with Coconut was the dish that made me realise I had been rushing seafood my entire cooking life. I first had a version of this at a small …
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The cork leaves Arjun’s hand with a sound somewhere between a gunshot and a giggle, and for half a second nobody on the terrace breathes. Then the foam comes, racing …
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Bhagara Baigan came into my regular rotation because my husband asked for it, specifically. Not a general request for something Hyderabadi or something with brinjal — he asked for this …
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Spinach Mushroom Quiche was the first thing my colleague Priya and I genuinely disagreed about in the kitchen. She insisted the crust needed to be blind-baked with weights before the …
