My writing elsewhere and more.

This March you can find my food stories in the following magazines.

Baby's first bite for the BBC GoodFood Middle East.

That first bite when you introduce your little one to the world of solid food is an important time in both the life of a child and the parents. When my little girl became big enough to "eat" I was introduced to  the beautiful ceremony of "Annaprashan" by my Bengali in-laws. From there started my journey to take important decisions; store bought or home made, what veggies/ fruits should or shouldn't be fed to a child who is not even a year old, when can I introduce her to chicken and fish and more. And in that one year I learnt a lot. Also the value of making home cooked baby food for her. So much healthier, cheaper, free of additives and full of love than store bought jars. Read the complete story here

Tea Time Snacks for The Indian Trumpet.

Ask most Indians and they would agree that there is something about garam garam chai that makes chilly winter mornings’ warmer and sultry hot summer evenings tolerable. Weekends when there is no rush are calmer when you have a cup in hand and the breathtaking sunrise for a view. Weekdays when one is running around like a headless chicken the same cup of chai (or cha as my maternal grandmother would say) when multiplied by three or sometimes four helps you keep your sanity. Chai simply makes your life better. Or for me it was always what came with the chai; the conversation, the people, the place and the snacks; yes especially the teatime snacks. Read the complete story here.

Deviled Eggs for Food e Mag dxb

Cooking with kids : Deviled Eggs are so easy and Sara always asks me to “help her make” them when she has her friends over. They are so easy to put together, can be prepared hours in advance, a big hit with all her little friends and really it’s my idea of bite sized heaven. Read the complete story here.

And more.

A couple of weeks back I was invited to attend to cake decorating session at the Top Chef Studio put together by the very talented team at the Lurpak Baking Studio. 

I had so much fun baking and playing with fondant and making pretty flowers to adorn the cake. 

Aren't those cupcakes adorable?

If you are a cake enthusiast I would highly recommend the session. Of course just one session doesn't make you a pro (It would take months and months of practice and learning to produce perfectly decorated cakes) but if you have handled cake before it gives you a fair idea on how to work with the tricky buttercream icing, the numerous tools, the pastry equipment, lots of pro tips, handling fondant and more importantly you begin to appreciate all the back breaking hard work that goes into crafting pretty cakes! I was definitely smitten by it all and plan to return soon to learn more. 

Images : The respective magazines and personal album. While you enjoy reading this post with visuals. Please do not use them without asking. They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.

My writing elsewhere: BBC GoodFood Middle East & The Indian Trumpet

I thought it will be nice to share my writing elsewhere each month.So here goes.

This September find my words in:

Encouraging your little munchkins to prepare their own lunch is perhaps the best way to fill their tummies with healthy meals, bring a smile on their faces as they take pride in their creations, teach them nutritional values and yes, spend quality time with them! The food story helps you get started on walking them down to the kitchen. I talk to nutritionists, pediatricians, psychologists and school teachers about it and we leave you with four easy lunch box recipes to try with your kids.

The first few pictures that come to my mind when I think of Kesar (as was Saffron known in our home) are of the kesar phirni and the kesar pista kulfis that my mother would make for all of us on special occasions. Biryanis too.For me, the way she would bring her index finger and thumb together to take out just a pinch of those deep red threads and then dropping the threads into a bowl of warm milk, mixing it gently with her finger so that the threads don’t get crushed, the kesar then slowly lending its warm redness to the milk and making it a luminous yellow was always a mesmerizing sight. Still is. 

My spice hunt took me to the lovely chefs at Zafran, the restaurant at the Dubai Marina Mall. Chef Ankur Chakraborty and Chef Gaurav Singh. Read the complete story, here.

Have a great weekend.

Images: from the respective magazines.