Celebrating Passion for Food
We came across this recipe from Koli cuisine in the cookbook “Rare gems- A non-vegetarian gourmet collection from Maharashtra” authored by Aditya Mehendale. This book in itself is an amazing piece or art which clearly demonstrates the hard work and thorough knowledge applied by author in documenting some popular and some less known recipes from culinary landscape of Maharashtra.
…
Indian mythology is replete with stories, some inspiring, some motivating and some that just tell you a tale of bravery, honesty, patience, dedication, intelligence and numerous other virtues. It is hard to tell whether these stories are based on element of truth or they are just figment of someone’s imagination but they have existed for years and years and would continue to do so because they help us learn these core values and improve as a human race.
…
Varan is Maharashtrian preparation of Dal that uses Tuvar and moong Dal. It is a unique dish which not only forms part of an everyday meal of Maharashtrian family, but also is an important dish to be served in weddings or even as an offering to deity.
…
This time of the year, monsoon gradually spreads across the India and summer lazily packs its bag and lingers around as if it is in no rush to leave the scene. It is akin to that reluctant kid who has been asked to leave but he just hangs around in case if he would be asked to come back in. However, with the end of summer season it is also the end of wedding season in India. In India when every small task is done within the shubh muhurat (auspicious time to perform a ceremony), every job change, house warming, job interview is done as per shubh muhurat, and then it should be no surprise that every wedding is also fixed for a sacred time. In India there are primarily two seasons for wedding summer and winter.
…
Spices, to define them technically, are dried seeds, fruits, root, bark or vegetable substance that is used as a flavoring, thickening, and preserving agent. If I have to define them philosophically, they are the heart and soul of Indian cooking. They have always been an integral part of Indian culture and play an important role in enhancing the richness of this ancient civilization along with our music, art, clothes. You would find mention of spices in ancient Hindu scriptures like Rigveda. Spices have been part of Indian cuisine since time immemorial. Many of these spices like pepper, cloves, cinnamon originated in India, while others like star anise, sesame, saffron were introduced later as trades were setup, new kingdoms were established, older kingdoms destroyed.
…
What happens, when a Konkani visits Kerala for vacation? Well, it is like a home coming which is what I experienced when I took a vacation to Kerala last year. The breath taking beauty of coastlines, canvas of beaches, houses built of laterite stones and the striking resemblance of food items used in the cuisines. The list includes fishes, coconuts and many more food items. However, in today’s blog I would like to discuss about a fruit that is also a vegetable. You must have guessed it by now that I am referring to jackfruit.
…
I love to sleep. In fact my husband is jealous of my sleep, more so when he is prone to even slightest of disturbances like neighbor’s barking dog. I agree barking dog could give many of you sleepless nights especially when other stray dogs decide to join the party and all these canines end up howling and whining entire night for no reason. I do not get disturbed by these unearthly howls and still manage to get sound sleep.
…
I was gifted with Rare Gems: A Non-Vegetarian Gourmet Collection from Maharashtra-By Aditya Mehendale on March 8th the international women’s day, a cookbook that I wanted on my shelves ever since it released and I saw it in Crossword. Pranay must have noticed me gawking at the appetizing images that this book had and must have decided to present me with a copy of this book.
…
As per an old Swedish proverb “A life without love is like a year without summer”. I completely subscribe to the thought behind that lovely proverb, although I am not sure how many Indians would have that feeling for the summers. This month of May sun has been overbearing. As we crank up the air conditioning at home and offices to make it little cooler, I often see people become crankier in summers. As mercury raises so do our temper, which is why we witness increased level of honking in traffic and road rage incidents during summers.
…
Indian cuisine is so vast and diverse that I often wonder it would take a lifetime for me to experience this rich legacy of Indian food. Every state has its own rich food culture that warrants a separate cookbook. Having grown up in a North Indian family I had the privilege of enjoying North Indian food prepared by mom, but then there was a vast gamut of preparations that were unexplored.
…