Bombay Spice

Beets and Borscht March, 2011

The other day I opened my refrigerator to find a few beets staring up at me, their softening flesh and withered skins reproaching me for their condition. I buy more beets than I eat.

A beet Tarte Tatin I once ate at a vineyard in the Yarra Valley in Australia is to blame: It was served with fat tubes of pasta stuffed with local soft goat cheese over a pumpkin sauce and topped with a parmesan crisp. That dish makes it hard for me to walk past beets at the market, so a few sterling specimens will inevitably make their way home with me.

Mirchi! February, 2011

Could there be an ingredient more Indian than the chili pepper? And yet, prior to the arrival of the Portuguese at the beginning of the 15th century, Indians had never seen or tasted a chili – the New World spice called “pepper of the Indies” by Columbus. The heat in Indian dishes came from a red pepper known as long pepper, or, more familiar in the West, black pepper. For an ingredient that entered the annals of Indian cuisine rather late, the chili has had a historic impact.

My Upside Down Hero Dish December, 2010

I was extremely excited when my friend Pinky Chandan Dixit called me in early November to say that the next week, her beautiful little restaurant, Soam, would be starting its undhiyu season. Poetry of Food had just told me the theme for December, and I now knew EXACTLY what I would write about! In fact, I had been waiting for a chance to write about this dish! You see, if there ever was a hero dish for me, it is undhiyu.

Spicy Ideas November, 2010

I always look forward to putting together my homemade gourmet gift hampers every festive season, allowing myself to be carried away on a wave of creativity as the sights, sounds and smells of the kitchen inspire me. And you know what? For those of us who love to cook, the Indian kitchen is a treasure trove of raw material ready to be transformed into homemade holiday treats. Which makes the festive season the perfect time for us!

Diwali October, 2010

“Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye” very tidily sums up the attitude of Indians to “mithai,” or sweets, on a daily basis. A literal translation would result in a grammatically incorrect sentence, but this often-used phrase means “the occasion calls for sweets.” The occasion being celebrated could be anything from a festival, a wedding or the birth of a child to smaller milestones in life such as exam success, a new home, a new car or even just guests for dinner! No happy gathering of any kind – be it a party or a festival – would be complete without sweets in India.

Tomatoes in Indian Cuisine September, 2010

My favourite way to cooking vegetables is in the Pyaaz Tamatar masalla - the ubiquitous gravy made of the trinity of onion, ginger and garlic slowly brouned in ghee or oil, with the tomato added when the mixture is well browned. The tomatoes, add sourness and create a base that carries the spices that will follow and eventually absorb the juices given forth by the main ingredients in the dish.

Icy Pleasures August, 2010

Colourful push-peddle carts abound this time of year throughout perennially hot Mumbai. These carts, know as Golas, feature a local favourite beach-side treat: rustic ice lollies made from big balls of ice shavings stuck on rudimentary bamboo sticks.

Monsoon Cornucopia! July, 2010

July has to be the soggiest month of the year here in Mumbai – a month when life as we know it, with all its inherent rushing about and stopping to breathe only on Sunday, suddenly comes to a standstill as endless curtains of rain curtail all normal activity. It is a month of endless waiting in blocked trains and traffic snarls, a month when everything seems damp – damp clothes, damp hair, even the air seems damp (and redolent with the smell of mould thriving in corners deprived of sunlight). A month of days with no maids, no vegetables, no electricity or sometimes all these together!

Currying Flavour! June, 2010

We have a wealth of greens in Indian cuisine, but June is not the best month for them. In India, June brings the monsoons, and greens are traditionally limited or nonexistent on the plate. But then I remembered a green leaf that is a year-round staple: the aromatic curry leaf, the unsung hero of the Indian kitchen.

Chai Masala Memories May, 2010

I still remember my first foray into the kitchen – not just because it was my first time but more so because of its association with my mother. Afternoon tea was a daily ritual in my maternal home. The entire extended family would congregate in my grandmother’s room for chai (tea) daily. The actual making of the chai was usually the duty of the youngest daughter-in-law, but one afternoon, popular consensus decreed that I would make the chai. It was time – as reasoning went – for me to learn these little household chores.

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