Misal Pav Recipe | Maharashtra’s Fiery Sprouted Moth Bean Curry with Pav
The first time I had misal pav was off a steel plate at a roadside stall in Pune, and I remember my eyes watering before I’d even taken a bite, just from the smell of the tarri. What is Misal Pav? Misal pav is a spicy Maharashtrian curry made from sprouted moth beans (matki), simmered […]
Bisi Bele Bath Recipe | Karnataka’s Comforting Spicy Rice and Lentil One-Pot
Bisi bele bath was the dish my friend’s mom always had simmering on the stove whenever we visited, and the smell of that spice powder toasting in ghee still means ‘home’ to me. It’s the kind of one-pot meal that turns rice, dal and whatever vegetables are in the fridge into something deeply comforting. I […]
Tiranga Paneer Tikka Recipe | Independence Day Special Tricolor Snack
Every year around Independence Day, I like to bring a little bit of the tricolor to our dinner table, and this tiranga paneer tikka has become our family’s go-to. It is the same beloved paneer tikka everyone loves, just dressed up in saffron, white and green to match the flag. My kids look forward to […]
Avial Recipe | Kerala’s Onam Special Mixed Vegetable Curry
Every August, as Onam gets closer, my mind drifts straight back to my Kerala friend Meera’s kitchen, where I’d sit on a stool and watch her stir a giant pot of avial for her family’s sadya. The smell of curry leaves and coconut oil crackling together is genuinely one of my favorite kitchen smells of […]
Pesarattu Recipe | Andhra-Style Moong Dal Dosa
Growing up, breakfast at my Andhra friend’s house always meant one thing: a stack of green pesarattu sizzling straight off the tawa, served with a spicy ginger chutney that woke you up faster than any cup of coffee. It took me years and several failed attempts to get the batter right, but now it’s one […]
Litti Chokha Recipe | Bihar’s Roasted Wheat Balls with Smoky Mashed Vegetables
A friend from Patna once told me that no restaurant version of litti chokha ever tastes quite as good as the one made over a wood fire at home, and after making it myself, I finally understood why – the smoky char on the baingan and the toasty, nutty sattu filling are impossible to fully […]
Besan Ladoo Recipe | Easy Rakhi Special Gram Flour Sweets
Growing up, the week before Raksha Bandhan always smelled like roasted besan in our house – my mother would stand at the stove for what felt like forever, stirring gram flour in ghee until the whole kitchen turned warm and nutty. She’d let me roll the ladoos once they cooled just enough to handle, and […]
Dhokla Recipe | Soft and Spongy Gujarati Steamed Snack
The first time I had dhokla was at a friend’s Gujarati wedding breakfast, and I remember being confused that something so light and fluffy was made mostly from gram flour. I went back for thirds. It took me a few tries at home to get the batter and steaming time right, but once I did, […]
Modak Recipe | Ganesh Chaturthi Special Steamed Rice Dumplings
Every year, a few weeks before Ganesh Chaturthi, my grandmother would start practicing her modak pleats, insisting hers had gotten rusty since the last festival. I used to sit beside her on the kitchen floor, stealing spoonfuls of the coconut-jaggery filling before it even made it into the dough. To this day, the smell of […]
Baingan Bharta Recipe | Smoky Roasted Eggplant Mash
There’s a particular smell that means dinner is close in a lot of Indian kitchens — an eggplant charring directly over an open flame, skin blistering, smoke curling up. My grandmother used to roast hers on the gas burner with nothing but a pair of tongs and a watchful eye, and baingan bharta was always […]