Watch | Why is this millet eatery in Visakhapatnam so popular?

Watch | Why is this millet eatery in Visakhapatnam so popular? Have you tried millet idlis and dosas? In Visakhapatnam, a growing number of people are making the switch from traditional rice batter idlis, to healthier alternatives offered by millets. This eatery, called Vasenapoli, sees long queues every day, for its special idlis, dosas, jowar roti, millet cakes, and much more. The popularity…

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The Hindu Our State, Our Taste, Masterchef of Telangana finale sees epic battle among 13 contestants

The air at Hotel The Plaza, at Paryatak Bhavan in Begumpet was taken over by the fragrance of festive cooking. All the action was on the hotel second floor for Gold Winner presents The Hindu Our State, Our Taste, Masterchef of Telangana. Inside the cooking hall, one was greeted by various smells and sounds, from the sizzle of onions being fried in hot oil to the whirring of the mixer grinder.…

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Filter kaapi or nothing - The Hindu

Like many Southerners, my childhood memories are tied to waking up to the intoxicating smell of freshly brewing filter kaapi. Intoxicating because I soon fell back asleep when I should have been readying myself for school. My father had an ancient brass-and-wood grinder and filter contraption that he kept alive via wires strung together and faith, no matter how many parts fell off. Recently, a…

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Table in the hills in South goa by Chef Avinash Martins

In Velim’s Salcete village, South Goa, chef Avinash Martins’s farm-to-fork restaurant C’est L’avi – Table in the Hills (TITH) doles out a seasonal menu that’s revised according to the farming cycle of the ingredients used to dish out authentic Goan cuisine. After an hour-and-a-half long drive from Panjim, we trek for about a 100 metres to reach the eatery’s dining area. It neither promises a…

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Seaweed is the latest superfood spicing up Indian fine dining, in dishes from soups and salads to jhaal muri and cocktails

Ulva. Padina.  Sargassum swartzii. What might seem like alien gibberish is a trio that would do us a whole lot of good to get acquainted with. For they very well might be the foods of the future. Also known as ‘sea lettuce’, ‘sea fan’ and ‘sea holly’, respectively, they are just three of over 800 species of seaweed found abundantly in the waters along India’s 7,516 km coastline. Sustainable…

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A four-day Wild Food Festival in the Nilgiris puts the spotlight on sustainability

The United Nations has declared 2023 the International Year of Millets. Millets, an energy-efficient crop, can be grown with minimal use of resources. “It’s ironic that we find millets only at an occasion like a Wild Food Fest,” says Chef Thomas Zacharias leading an enriching conversation on wild foods and communities on a sunny winter morning at habba, a celebration at the green campus of The…

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Five regional recipes to celebrate the harvest season

Five regional recipes to celebrate the harvest season

One of the major festivals of India, the harvest festival, celebrated throughout the nation, is known by various names in different states. Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Sankranti in West Bengal, Karnataka and Andhra, Lohri in Punjab, Makar Sankaranti is Maharastra and other northern states, and Bihu in Assam. Each region has speciality dishes that use newly harvested rice, jaggery, coconut, and lentils…

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Pilgrim’s progress on a food trail in Varanasi

Pilgrim’s progress on a food trail in Varanasi

Chaas, chai, kachori, samosa, chaat, tikki, lassi…. in Varanasi every gali has a speciality. Vegetables get transformed into rich sweets and fruits get a makeover with yoghurt — a veritable treasure trove of vegetarian eats. I ate my way through the city to bring you this tried-and-tested guide to the best street food Varanasi has to offer. 1. Nimbu chai at Assi Ghat On a misty morning, I wait…

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How Denmark’s Michelin-starred Noma inspired Indian chefs to curate fresh, sustainable menus

How Denmark’s Michelin-starred Noma inspired Indian chefs to curate fresh, sustainable menus

How was an exclusive Scandinavian restaurant able influence menus around the world? As Noma closes its doors, we explore its impact on some of India’s best chefs Source link

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From the field to the frying pan: Boliyamanur’s dried vegetable snacks jazz up meals

From the field to the frying pan: Boliyamanur’s dried vegetable snacks jazz up meals

Fermented dry snacks that are deep-fried or re-cooked have a long history in South Indian cuisine. They are known in Tamil as vadagam, vathal or, in the case of chillies marinated in salted buttermilk, as mor milagai. Until a few decades ago, making vathal was de rigueur in most south Indian households. Homemakers would use the most of summer to dry raw or spiced items as diverse as leftover…

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Chennai Park Hyatt’s Flying Elephant gets a chic face-lift and an exciting new menu

Chennai Park Hyatt’s Flying Elephant gets a chic face-lift and an exciting new menu

Watch | Chennai Park Hyatt’s Flying Elephant gets a chic face-lift Just like many hotels in the city, Park Hyatt’s Flying Elephant also closed its doors for the pandemic. But unlike the rest, it did not reopen until late last year. Under the wraps, the iconic restaurant has had a face-lift, a refreshing new menu and is ready to entertain Chennai.  Structurally, it reminds us of the same Flying…

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Review | Chef Farokh Talati’s ‘Parsi - From Persia to Bombay’ is an aspirational yet approachable cookbook

Review | Chef Farokh Talati’s ‘Parsi – From Persia to Bombay’ is an aspirational yet approachable cookbook

It is 8 a.m., and as Michael Bublé’s rich baritone reminds me that it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, my kitchen fills with the warm, gently-spiced aroma of masala oats. A spicy carb is my favourite way to kickstart the day, and the version in Farokh Talati’s Parsi – From Persia to Bombay: Recipes & Tales from the Ancient Culture is the recipe of choice this morning. Chef Farokh…

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Daily Quiz | On Food Cuisines

Daily Quiz | On Food Cuisines

Daily Quiz | On Food Cuisines 1 / 5 | The Hindi word ‘chaatna’, meaning ‘to lick’, has led to a genre of the popular street. What finger-licking category of food does this refer to? 2 / 5 | A batter made of a mixture of rice and urad dal is steamed to make this soft, spongy, and savoury snack found across over Gujarat. Name this famous dish. 3 / 5 | Goan cuisine is known for its abundance…

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Chennai’s Bayleaf restaurant celebrates 25 years of service with special all-star menu

Chennai’s Bayleaf restaurant celebrates 25 years of service with special all-star menu

Nestled in a narrow lane in Gopalapuram, Bayleaf is remembered by many as “that kathi roll place”. With simple decor, friendly staff and hearty dishes, this Bengali restaurant also serves the feeling of home to its repeat customers. Bayleaf is now celebrating its 25th year with a limited edition special menu with offerings that have been bestsellers through the years.  Nolen Gur Shikanji The…

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Home bakers and chefs in Thiruvananthapuram have spread out a delectable platter for Christmas

Home bakers and chefs in Thiruvananthapuram have spread out a delectable platter for Christmas

Casa Bakes on MP Appan Road is enveloped by the aroma of cookies and cakes. Nitya Bergstrand is busy baking for Christmas. Casabianca, which was opened by her mother, Ingrid Bergstrand, had made a name for authentic pizzas, pasta, cakes and bakes. After a break, it has reopened by Nitya and her brother, Aaron Bergstrand, as an outlet for fresh artisanal buns, cookies and cakes. Cakes and cookies…

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Which came first: marzipan or kaju katli? Ponder this as you savour some desi flavours of the popular Christmas sweet this festive season

Which came first: marzipan or kaju katli? Ponder this as you savour some desi flavours of the popular Christmas sweet this festive season

I could not have chosen a more apt time of the year than Christmas season to write about perhaps one of the greatest hits of the Christmas sweet platter — marzipan. At my home, the much-hallowed sweet I dub, the ‘Queen of the kuswar’ — which is what we Goan folk call our Christmas sweet selection — is the final result of an almost two month-long prep. One that begins its annual journey around the…

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Radisson Blue GRT relaunches with Chennai’s first Anglo Indian restaurant and a humanoid robot named Nanba

Radisson Blue GRT relaunches with Chennai’s first Anglo Indian restaurant and a humanoid robot named Nanba

There is a hushed silence in the Radisson Blu GRT lobby as Vikram Cotah and his robot glide past. After an intensive facelift, the 24-year-old property is unrecognisable, fortunately the CEO has hired Nanba. “She’s Chennai’s first humanoid concierge,” he says proudly, as she guides us across the lobby, manoeuvring deftly to avoid a Thota Tharini sculpture en route. She pauses only to answer…

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