No matter how much you try not to get drawn into a carpet-buying trip by a well-meaning Kashmiri man in Delhi, you will probably at some point end up in a carpet shop. On the bright side, the Kashmiri tea they serve is a delicacy, rarely found outside of these shops,...
Travel the length and breadth of India today and you will find lassis of every kind, texture, and flavor. The best one I ever had was from Blue Lassi in Varanasi. This avocado and honey lassi borrows from that one. Creamy and rich from the blended avocado flesh and...
This is Sri Lanka’s favorite breakfast: lacy rice crêpes fashioned into bowls, with an egg nestling in the middle, topped with sweet spicy onion sambol and zingy lime juice. It’s a heavenly combination of flavors. Traditionally, in Sri Lanka, hoppers are made by...
Everyone has their own way of doing scrambled eggs. Akoori is the Parsi way. The Parsis are Iranians who, fleeing persecution, arrived in India in AD 936. Their mantra is “good thoughts, good words, and good deeds,” but they might as well tag on “good eggs” because...
This is a bona fide Mumbai classic, named after the Mr. Kejriwal who used to order it every day for breakfast at the Willingdon Club, thirty years ago. After years of persistence, they finally put it on the menu and millions of Mumbaikers have enjoyed it ever since....
In the heat of summer, the Darjeeling hills are a great shelter from the blistering temperatures of Kolkata. But the journey from Kolkata to Darjeeling is turbulent and long, and all I ever want when I arrive (aside from a medicinal gin and tonic) is a bath and the...
Serves 4 as a side ½-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped½ an Indian green chile3 tablespoons canola oil2 tablespoons lemon juice1/3 teaspoon ground cumin1/3 teaspoon salt¼ teaspoon ground black pepper2/3 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped1 cup loosely packed...
In England, we usually treat mustard as a condiment—highly dangerous and to be eaten in small quantities. But in Bengal they make wonderful dishes using mustard in large amounts, as the lead flavor. In this recipe, the mustard and yogurt come together to make a...
This is a really great dish to make when people come round, as it’s a crowd-pleaser and easy to cook. Normally, the sauce comes together at the same time as the roasted cauliflower, leaving you more time to tell your best jokes or play the spoons to your guests. A lot...
I wrote this recipe at the same time as writing my wedding invites and accidentally burned the artichokes at the bottom of the pan. It tasted so delicious with the charred, crispy bits nestled in among the buttery soft ones that I rewrote the recipe to give the...
