Taste Memory Talks | In the Hills | Kiran Budhiraja

On January 5, 2026January 5, 2026 By DeepiIn interviewsLeave a comment

I walk towards the main road from my homestay while the fresh Peora air soothes my face. It’s a place that is secluded yet not-so-quiet.

As I walk into Ek Satoli, the café, I see a cabin-like structure and broad, grey stairs leading up to it. Kiran Budhiraja, the café owner, is working on her counter, and a young man follows her instructions. I see wooden tables attached to the windows, and a breathtaking view of the hills and the bright sun throwing its light on the green hills. Kiran offers us a lovely drink made of plums, and we know it’s a good holiday.

When I wished to interview Kiran, I had left Peora. Blame it on the star alignment (after her father breathed his last), one of the days when she was with her family for her father’s Bhog ritual in Mumbai, just to distract herself, she decided to come back to me with her answers—a stack of voice notes.

I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop jumping with joy when I saw her messages. I was ready to share her journey with the world; only after about 18 months—here I’m, with her story on my screen.

A journey to the hills

As someone in her early 40s, Kiran Budhiraja worked in Gurgaon as a qualitative consumer market researcher. Things changed when she became a mother in 2016. She moved closer to the mountains (her husband’s home, Haldwani) after her first child was born. Soon, they had their second. It was during her maternity break in Peora that she decided to find a place to live somewhere nearby.

“My push was better to move early than to retire,” says Kiran, who was more than happy to get her kids in a local school. Soon, things started working out for her. Her husband, Parinay, decided to continue working in Delhi, and Kiran wanted to work on a remote basis. And that’s that. “I love it in the mountains. Call it courage or stupidity that made us make this move. I wish it was earlier. This is how I want to live,” she adds.

Mastering the art of baking

Kiran always loved baking, even as a child, and more so, during the lockdown period. She baked, made a cardboard rocket with her children, nailed classic, European-style cakes from the onion tarte tatin and pound cakes to the trendier versions of flourless cakes—all while she enjoyed the perks of motherhood.

“I still don’t believe I have mastered any recipe. Every time I make the same recipe, I play around with the ingredients, be it the sugar or the different vanilla flavours. Mastering a recipe—it doesn’t define the process, as it keeps evolving,” beams a modest Kiran, who was born in Mumbai and grew up in cities like Baroda, Nainital and Pune.

Kiran likes to experiment more with recipes when she has people to relish it. After moving to a village called Satoli in 2020, she continued making cakes every day, without fail, and made folks around her taste them. Her love for baking grew even stronger than before. She was ready to create a permanent place where she could showcase all her baked goodies. But was it all really that easy?

Establishing a café

“I wanted a small, cute, easy-to-manage set-up,” says Kiran. “After banging my head on a wall when I had all the intention, nothing moved. So, suddenly, when everything started working out, I wanted it faster than before. I found these two guys who took not 20 days (the initial deadline) but two months to build this structure. Life works in such ways,” adds Kiran.

Sourcing great ingredients was one of her top priorities. For instance, the chocolate varieties she sources for her cakes and shakes are from artisan cocoa makers (like Oona Cacao & Chocolate in Ranikhet). From Delhi, Haldwani to Baroda (where her friend runs a chocolate factory), her kitchen is well-equipped to offer visitors the best of both worlds, the urban and the local rural landscape.

For Kiran, who has a master’s degree in social work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), it took experimenting day in and day out to master recipes. Her perseverance pays off every time a visitor steps out from her café with a big smile.

“If you use not-so-okay ingredients, you get a not-so-okay cake. If you use great ingredients, you get a great cake,” says Kiran, and adds, “Chocolate is a game-changer. Let me tell you, there are fewer people who use good chocolate. People use compound products like Morde, which are not even real chocolate. Butter is another fabulous addition to cakes, which is why I struggle to make carrot cakes, as they use oil instead. Brown butter can take the flavour a notch higher when it comes to brownies and pound cakes. Vanilla extract (not essence), curd, buttermilk, lemon, fruits—are all amazingly good.”

Food influences

When I visited her café in Peora, I was more than impressed with the menu that had a global influence. Kiran, who loves Asian flavours and plans to move more towards it, says, “I have chosen dishes that I make well with ingredients that are easy to source.” You’ll find Korean food (Japchae, Bibimbap—you name it) and European dishes in her kitchen. “I thought I can’t be only serving baked goodies to travellers, which is why I added savoury items to the menu as well,” adds Kiran.

She continues, “My idea is to serve fresh food—something that doesn’t need preparation. So, when I say pasta, I don’t want the pasta to be made and kept in the fridge for days. I want the pasta to be boiled there and then; the sauce to be made there and then. The same thing goes for sushi. I don’t want to cook my rice overnight. That’s my ambition: to serve food that can be made within half an hour to an hour of getting an order.”

The idea of success

Is it truly a dream to run a café in a place like Satoli? “I don’t know if I’m successful in the worldly definition of success. But I’m successful in my definition of it, which is giving me happiness, not making a loss, not making enough money to run my entire life but being happy. If you want to make a significant profit as a café owner in the mountains, it will never quite work out. If you want to start it as a livelihood, it’s much harder and the fun will go out of the entire process,” says Kiran. For people who aspire to do the same, it’s best to get a reality check.

She adds, “It depends on the intention you start your café with. If you’re retiring in the mountains, totally do it. But it also calls for maintenance of ingredients. Which is why I like the idea of supper-clubs (or private pop-up dine-outs) that happen in the cities nowadays. Just have tables for Saturday and Sunday, with a fixed menu. Let people book it. Work with a minimum investment. In fact, maybe I would go that way. Who knows.”

City versus mountains

“Mountains are tremendously forgiving. I don’t think my food is fabulous. But I can tell you one thing—I strive to get the best ingredients. What I feed my family is what I serve at the café. And, therefore, it tastes what it tastes like. At a mountain café like mine, food is not looked at in isolation. It’s the ambience too. You are on a holiday, and you want to enjoy the experience, the reason it becomes far more forgiving. If I make and bake the same things in Delhi, I will take much longer to catch on with people,” says Kiran.

“I don’t focus on how my dish looks. My focus is on quality and taste. Looks are not important to me, but to a world that eats with its eyes first than tasting anything, I would have been a flop in the cities. The only reason I get the love that I do is because I’m in the mountains and because people who come here are far more tolerant,” smirks Kiran.

The learning curve

As a chef in a higher terrain, there are a few challenges that she has to combat, especially when she is travelling. “I haven’t yet reached the point where the person working with me can simply make the same food. I feel that while there are recipes and measures, there are also a few non-measures involved in terms of getting the taste right. I need to work in terms of delegation, training someone to understand flavours. All so that I don’t have to run on half a menu while I’m away,” she adds.

Treasured food moments

As part of my last notes, I asked Kiran about a few of the ‘Aha!’ food moments she’s had in her life that are close to heart. To which she says, “My ‘Aha!’ food moments are not about taste. They have always been about my mom’s food, when we sat together to eat, getting that umami flavour, eating with your hands—it’s that feeling the food leaves you with at the end. Flavour is just a part of it.”

Picture credits: Kiran Budhiraja. A few of the food shots are clicked by Deepika Nandal.

Recipe: Radish/Mooli ka paratha

On January 1, 2026 By DeepiIn breakfast recipesLeave a comment

It took me more than a decade to nail this recipe that I almost gave up on it. Until one day, I was chatting with my sister-in-law (Garima Bhabhi) in the kitchen (in Rohtak), that I happened to ask the most basic questions. It was the summer of 2025. Luckily, it did not irritate her. And she happily shared how she makes these parathas.

So, the next time you see fresh radish in the Mandi/vegetable market, pick a few and make these parathas. It’s an ideal winter breakfast recipe (funny reason being radish can make you fart a bit later during the day, so mornings are the best time to consume it).

Ingredients: Radish (depending on how many people you cooking for. Ghee. Ajwain/Carom seeds (2-3 pinches). Coriander leaves. Light green chillies. Chat masala. White butter/makhan (optional).

Recipe:

1. Take 1 or 2 radishes. 2 shall be enough for 4-6 parathas. Now grate it. After 3-5 minutes, squeeze out the excess water by pressing it hard between your palms. Use a mul cloth to do the same (if you have time). We want a dry batch of grated radish. DON’T ADD ANY SALT in this entire process.

2. Now, add in your chopped coriander leaves in it. I like to add lots of it. Also add finely chopped green chillies. The more the merrier 😉

3. Now, roll out a dough ball and fill this radish mixture in the centre. Cover it with the rolled out dough and make a flattened ball. Poke it on the sides with a fork to lose out the air and light press it a little with your palms. Dust it in the dry flour and roll out the parathas. We haven’t added any salt in the entire process so your parathas should not tear apart.

4. Once roasted on the griddle with ghee, serve the paratha with some curd and pickle. Drizzle a pinch of chat masala on top of the paratha (as we haven’t added salt in the radish filling). White butter would be wonderful too!

Hope you try this recipe and enjoy it as much as we do.

Winter Special: Slow-cooked Sarson ka Saag

On December 19, 2025 By DeepiIn VegetablesLeave a comment

Motherhood can teach you so many things. For me, it’s this slow-cooked saag that I love to feed my kids in winters—even if it’s made once a year. And the rebel cook in me goes like—why do I kill the veggies in the cooker? Why the speed? Why blend all the greens? It took me a couple of years to nail this recipe. But I now love to make it! Here’s how.

Ingredients:

Sarson (mustard leaves), methi (fenugreek leaves), bathwa, palak (spinach), pudina (mint leaves; optional), maize flour (makai ka aata), onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, green chillies, ghee, homemade butter, salt to taste, kitchen king masala, garam masala, asafoetida, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder. Sometimes, I add a hint of kasuri methi too. Sometimes I skip it.

The prep:

Go to a nearby mandi, or wherever you find fresh winter greens. Buy a bunch of each green mentioned.

Now, I usually take half a bunch of each of these greens (for the recipe). Perfect for 2-3 people. But, sometimes, I take the entire bunch that the veggie guy sells. That much is perfect for 4-5 people.

Now, thoroughly wash every veggie and chop it finely. This way, you won’t have to mash it too much. A hint of pudina (mint leaves—even 1 cup works) will add an aromatic flavour to this dish. I love it!

Once you have cleaned and chopped all the veggies, throw it in a big pan with half cup of water. Don’t panic. It will go down to half in 3-5 minutes. Let it simmer. You can put on the lid once the quantity lessens and the cooking process begins. No salt needed here.

Keep checking your greens. As there is the lid allowing it to steam it well, you won’t have to use a blender. Just give it a good mix with your spoon and you should be good.

Second step:

Grate 1 medium-sized tomato. Finely chop 1 medium-sized onion. This measurement is perfect if you take 1 bunch of every green. Now hand-pound 1-2 green chillies, a hint of ginger and 5-8 cloves of garlic. Once this is done, do the tadka and throw it in the pot of greens.

For the tadka, take a small pan. Heat some ghee. Once hot, add cumin seeds. Asafetida. Turmeric powder. Red chilli powder. Coriander powder. And quickly add the green chilly-garlic-ginger paste. After a minute, throw in the chopped onion. After a minute of sautéing, add the tomato paste. Now add salt. When making saag, it’s a bit tricky with the salt. Try not to go overboard. You can always add more later in the cooking process. Also, if you plan to use store-bought butter, you are anyway going to add more salt later.

Add a tsp of kitchen king and two pinches of garam masala as well. Let this cook a bit and throw it all in the pot of greens (when you see that the greens have cooked nicely). Mix it properly. After 2-3 minutes of cooking it with the greens, you may add ½ or 1 cup of warm water to make it a bit runny otherwise it will be too thick to eat.

Don’t miss the ‘Aalan’

This saag is called a saag because of maize flour. Take a small bowl of water (room temperature) and mix 1 tablespoon of maize flour in it. Add this yellow paste to your saag (after you have added the tomato-onion paste). This is going to give it that aroma and make it body. Without this, your saag won’t taste like saag.

Taste. Taste. Taste.

Give your saag a taste. Adjust the flavours if need be. Throw in some homemade butter/makhan for that desi taste. A spoon of ghee on top will make it shine as well. It takes me 30-40 minutes to make it (prep time excluded).

Serve it with makai ki roti (don’t miss the butter on top), a nice salad of onions, carrots and radish, chaas (buttermilk), and, a small chunk of jaggery.

Background music score: Ek Lau by Shilpa Rao, Dhaani and Najaney Kyun by Strings

A laid-back Diwali

On October 27, 2025November 2, 2025 By DeepiIn thoughtsLeave a comment

Flights make me dizzy, pray harder, cuss a bit and more, but here I’m, ready to take a flight to Delhi. At present, we are at the airport. And I’m happy to see so many shopping outlets at the Mumbai airport. I could easily kill two hours at these stores, but today, I plan to skip these entirely. We are situated near our gates. And ten minutes into entering this space, our food bag is wide open. The kids eat some roasted Makhanas and I snack on my roti-achar. I try to see the travellers around me and guess who is taking which flight. After an hour, I kind of guess who’s flying to Delhi with me. A guy who is wearing a nice pair of sunglasses, a family of two couples and kids, and some more people. Ours is a connecting flight, so of course, not all will get down in Delhi. I do pity those people for their long travel hours.

The sun is out and about. We sit near a coffee bar, and I see different folks using the chairs and tables but hardly ordering anything at the bar. There is an infant around, but I can only hear his cry. My son is now showing off his Rubic’s Cube skills. I’m amazed by this family of seven. Looks like two sisters are travelling together with their kids. I LOVE how one of the sisters is conversing with the kids. The kids are partly bored but patient enough to talk to her. It’s so important to enjoy this pause. And perhaps that’s the only reason I sometimes wonder to take my kids on long journeys and show them how to enjoy these pauses we get now and then. To breathe, to look out of the window, to just stare and perhaps read a book. We can’t be always doing something, be it playing games, sharing heavy information, or solving some problem. We still can keep it light.

I have checked my busy bag that I got for my two kids some odd five times. And re-packed everything as our gate calls started off. It was an utterly smooth ride to Delhi. The flight we sat on was an international flight, though our journey was from Mumbai to Delhi only. And hence, we got to explore some maps from our seats and some down- and front-views from our plane.

We are soon united with my father-in-law, and the kids are overjoyed. There is some Roohafza that he got in a bottle. Such a refreshing drink. And in less than 80 minutes, we are home in Rohtak. Thanks to all new roads that have come up recently.

Winter hasn’t kicked in yet, but this mixed weather can really confuse you. I did miss doing a proper Diwali pooja in my Mumbai home, as I very well know where all the Pooja stuff is kept. In my MIL’s place, it’s nice but I kind of make-do with what we have in hand. But Diwali is truly the time to be with his parents. It feels complete. Shows me what matters the most. Not the decorations or Instagram-worthy home corners but a feeling of togetherness.

The pollution on the next day of Diwali sometimes makes us cuss for the fact that we are out of Mumbai, but the feeling settles down soon. We try to catch up on reading and sleeping early here. It’s also nice to dry your clothes in sun on ropes lined up on huge verandahs. Something that I don’t even dream of in Mumbai.

I like looking at the way people garden here. Mint is everybody’s favourite. Rose is next. Curry leaves. Some people also keep little boxes near their gates to store grains for the birds. Some people are fond of fragrant flowers like Madhu Malti, Raat ki Rani, Harsingar Parijat (night-flowering jasmine). People also like to grow bougainvillea. I also love those white and red brick houses. It just adds to the whole countryside view.

Rohtak is also a birds’ paradise. I see bulbuls, babblers, sparrows, parrots, robins, kingfishers, bee eaters, mynas, drongos and a few other beautiful birds around in gardens and kitchen windows. Once, I happened to spot a pied kingfisher. Didn’t know such monochrome-coloured kingfishers existed too. From the house terrace, the sound of the chattering of parrots is a constant.

When working in the kitchen or sitting in the corridor, I hear various announcement-making vehicles crossing by. Some sell veggies, some buy scrap materials. Some fix khaats (a locally made bed that can be assembled and dismantled in seconds). Around evening time, you’ll see women going to get milk in huge steel cans. It’s kind of an exercise for them and they thoroughly enjoy chatting around.

During winters, you’ll see men and women selling kacharis on their carts around the city. Which is why, it makes entry in our chutneys in the mornings.

The greenery, women sweeping leaves in parks, laid-back schedules, birds chirping around dense trees, the crushing sound of the leaves, ant colonies, droplets of water on grass that you find in the mornings, flowers laid on the roads—every sign of winter in nature is a beautiful revelation.

Exploring a beautiful Konkan village

On July 25, 2025 By DeepiIn TravelLeave a comment

Recently, we went to a beautiful homestay near Ratnagiri.

It took us almost eight hours to reach there. Upon arrival, we were welcomed with some delicious Kokum sharbat. Little did we realise the next four days would be our best time in an offbeat place like this.

Our room was right above the kitchen area, which was nice, because my kids kept asking for something or the other (to drink/eat)! Our room was part of the building where Medha and her mother resided. So, luckily, for us, Medha interacted with the kids till midnight and they had a gala time together! That was our first night at the homestay. Kids already felt like home.

Atithi Parinay is an all-vegetarian place, in fact, you won’t even get garlic and onion in the food. But in spite of it having a satvik kitchen, none of the food items repeated in the course of my four days here. I was in love with the food! Didn’t even miss any Paneer butter masala or Pav bhaji or any of our continental food stuff for that matter. The local recipes of blew my mind. For instance, there would always be a matki or an usal, a salad, a chutney, a dal, roti and rice. Local spice mixtures like Daangar made their way to my plate.

Of course, this being a coastal region, shredded coconut was seen in some dish or the other, but it was all a party for a native food lover like me. Dapde Pohe, Sabudana Khichdi, Sol Kadhi, Dal (with kokum), koshember (every day, a new variety was served), rice flour crepes, a chutney preparation that ranged from raw mango to coconut, local sweets like modaks that were made of rice flour and some sweet coconut-flavoured filling–it just added to our overall homestay experience. Add to that some vibrant talks that I had with Medha that made our meal times so fun!

We went to the nearby beaches (Ware beach and the Malgund beach), where we saw a hornbill and a jackal. A morning treat! We also went to a nearby famous Ganapati temple that is almost 600 years old.

This coastal area is like a sleepy town, and so, you won’t like that touristy vibe here. Which offers a break from the usual commercial spots.

We spent most of our time at the homestay. And absolutely loved it. You can take 1-2 hour beach time in the morning and in the evening, but you really don’t need to bother missing your meals anyway. The food at the homestay is far better than the local restaurants, especially for families with toddlers.

It’s interesting to see how Atithi Parinay is run by an all-women led team. I saw Medha talk about a young guy who is helping with social media marketing, but apart from that, I see women run the place like a pro. From cooking and cleaning to maintaining the open green space of the homestay, these women make sure of an incredible hospitality is being offered to their guests.

It’s also a good idea to take a stroll around and soak in the calm and green of the coastal village.

When here, you can unwind and create some art, read a book, watch the birds (I enjoyed the view of a kingfisher twice from my room’s window), relax on the swings, go on walks, and enjoy the good food.

Note:

1) Visit the Ganapatipule temple around 6AM in the morning, as you’ll be stuck in long queues during the day.

2) Do buy Yojak food products near the temple. During summers, you can pick mangoes from a local farmer.

3) If you are not a homestay fan, check out the Blue Ocean the Fern resort as it offers some scenic beach views.

4) We missed going to the lighthouse near Malgund beach. So either forget things and just chill at the beaches (like we did) or be ready to chase time and visit the lighthouse and head back on time to avoid getting lost without internet connectivity. You can download the map in your phone that can last-time confusion on the road, just in case the connection goes weak.

5) Do take care when exploring the beaches around. You’ll be attracted to clicking pictures on the road, here and there, but you really have to be careful. Avoid the beaches when the tide is high, especially those who have toddlers with them.

6) We travelled here from Mumbai and had two meals made from home that we carried with us (as suggested by Medha). If you too have kids in the car, it’s better to carry homemade food because there aren’t really good food options on the way. You might get a Vada pav or poha or even a dosa but not a proper thali-like meal.

7) Things you can pack when travelling with toddlers: couple of busy bag folders to avoid kids getting cranky, plastic mats for the beach, extra towels, chappals, clothing sets for the kids when heading to the beach. Tiny plastic buckets and shovels to make sand castles. Frisbee? A dump truck toy to help your kid make a mess on the beach sand? Mosquito repellent cream. Binoculars. A fresh loaf of bread and perhaps a tiny jam bottle to save those last-minute hunger pangs.

Let me know how you liked this place. Happy travelling!

Photo courtesy: All clicked by me

How motherhood changed my relationship with food

On July 4, 2025July 4, 2025 By DeepiIn thoughtsLeave a comment

The last three times I made Dal I realised a problem. It was too bland, and the more I tried to play around with the flavours, I could not understand why it still lacked colour. Food was meant to be served. Edible food. Something that was homemade and served on time. Who cares for that dal tadka I craved?

Now, it’s a good run to get the right kind of flavours even with my favourite dishes. The game of ingredients over likings, and daily menu chaos over fancies for world cuisine took over my life in no time. And I taunted my mother how she has changed as a cook. She would laugh at it (like she does over all my weird taunts). Can I laugh on what has happened to me now? But, I know how to nail a good salad in minutes. My survival techniques in the kitchen too.

There is so much I see around. Mums doing videos of what their kids are eating (I can’t, in spite of being at home all the TIME). Beautiful reels of native cooking. I can’t. Why would be a good question. Why, do I find hitting on the sofa with nothing more to do is ever so relaxing?

I’m busy looking for creative things we (I and my kids) can do for an hour or two during the day. The actually creative process is even more tiring. But the end result? Oh. Even if we have something basic to eat, I love the painting we try to do. Or the book we try to read. Or just exploring something about the planet.

I do want to talk about food people I meet around. But even those transcribed notes get lost in notebooks I don’t remember where exactly I arranged while cleaning up the toy-laden flat of ours.

What do I want in life? Nothing much as of now. I want to start making more cookies with my kids. More cake. More cold coffee. And in-between all of this, I want to balance it with bajri or Dal khichdi. Add a dash of pancakes and laadi pavs. Make a good ‘busy bag’ for my kids and just get lost in the streets of the city or a nearby lush hilly villages in the country. That’s my sukoon. And oh. Don’t miss on those midnight sneak-outs in the kitchen. That bag of crispy corn chevda. Aha.

No more do I have the energy to watch interesting food videos. I want to look for veggies beyond aloo at the grocery store. How to hydrate my little girl? She hardly has any water during the day. That’s the topic that doing the rounds in my mind. May be a fancy straw or a coloured plastic bottle can do the trick? Who knows.

For the past four years, I have been settling in cities and then unsettling and settling again. What a storm. With two kids. Sometimes I’m focussed in the kitchen, the other times I struggle to make a basic meal. I have help, but I just want to embrace this city for now. Want to enjoy a good pause. In one place. Where there is no uncertainty. Just a mundane routine. For years or even decades.

Yes, I’m forgetting how to write (the tiny bit that I knew). I find myself anxious throughout the night. Drained before dinner times hit. But, somehow, with magic (thanks to the serious talks I have with the little people at home), I find hope. I find hope even in that school tiffin dabba with a sukhi sabzi and roti.

And here’s what I want to do. Think of ways in which we can sit and learn new words together. And how can i let my children explore this world and find beauty. Constantly. So, what if I can’t find it myself sometimes. I was never this kind of a person, but whatever. We got to find it. So, yeah. Fine dining do I crave? No. Just basic food that has been made well. Don’t get me started on my love for thandi roti and achar/pickle, a roasted slice of white bread with a homemade jam, and khari (a Parsi bakery find) with chai. And while I enjoy a meal, my kids should enjoy a good view. Hills, beaches, hammocks, you name it. Will that be part of the deal? Only then can we talk about good food!

Slowing down

On April 25, 2025April 25, 2025 By DeepiIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I have been hating to read news in the last couple of days. While I understand some things are beyond our control, I still find anxiety hitting my myself every morning. What shall tomorrow bring, I wonder.

Here’s what’s nice though. Us, in his native place, enjoying our vacations. In this part of Haryana, I love how life slows down. Even basic things like white butter feel so heavenly. I feel like my expectations from life take a backseat and I focus on making every day peaceful.

Firstly, the trees and birds here are so beautiful. Hardly find any crows. There are sparrows, purple sunbirds, babblers, grey doves, bulbuls, black drongos and whatnot that I spot here. And it amazes me. The trees make me awestruck too. Fragrant flowers of Madhu malati creepers, beautiful bougainvilleas, wild sunflowers, flowers blooming on Neem trees and whatnot. It’s just amazing how some households have mango trees, ash gourd trees, mint plants and whatnot. Love it all.

I also like how my mother-in-law takes charge of chutneys every morning. Sharing two recipes here:

Red chutney: pound a clove or two of garlic with some salt and red chilli powder. Add a few drops of water. Now throw in some curd and churn again. There you have it! I love it with rotis/parathas.

Mint chutney: Take half a cup of mint leaves that you have thoroughly washed. Take 2 small onions. 2 green chillies. Salt to taste. Anar Dana or raw mango pieces. Half a tomato. And that’s it. Make a coarse chutney and enjoy with rotis.

I constantly remind my kids to paint, colour, cut papers, do something or the other with their hands. Just to keep the anxiety away. I’m not going to deny the fact that here is where they see their highest screen time but what to do. It’s difficult to keep them entertained. But that said, I love it when they enjoy their drawing class (yes, we found a teacher here) and how they love to play with puppies in the parks. The catch-up time with their grandparents is something we all love to see.

My daughter the other day, insisted on making popsicles. So here’s a quick recipe we tried.

Watermelon popsicles: Chop some water melon cubes, hand-blend and strain the juice. Add a tsp of sugar/jaggery/khaand, a pinch of salt and a few drops of lemon juice. Freeze it in small steel glasses. Enjoy!

How are you dealing with vacations? Do you miss your school routine?

Lastly, I want to ask you all: have you tried frying puris in pure ghee? It’s delicious! Puris made in ghee are much, much better than puris made in oil. Do try.

PS. I loved the Jalebis my FIL got from a nearby Vita store. In love with them! It has the perfect sugar, the perfect softness and the perfect crunch.

I hope there’s peace and only peace that we find in future. Do share how vacations are treating you, the recipes you have fallen for and your ways of slowing down.

8 ways to make your kitchen ‘toxic-free’

On March 31, 2025March 31, 2025 By DeepiIn Food articlesLeave a comment

It’s 2025, and we’re still figuring our kitchens out. Here’s a little help to manage those nasties.

1. Get rid of the nasty materials you cook your food in.

The dosas/crepes that you get in no time have a cost attached to it. It is through Teflon that minute plastic and other chemicals enter your food. It’s a hazard for your health! Once you avoid it for a long time, you won’t be able to stand the smell of a hot Teflon pan on the stove. You’d know it! Same goes for microwaves and air-fryers. It’s best to stick to your old ways cooking.

2. The thing about oils

Oil helps in giving flavour to your curries but with time, it takes a toll on your veins by ruining your cholesterol. Use a hint of oil and add a dash of water to cook your veggies/curries. Switch to filtered oil brands (we heard Rujuta Diwekar say it) or wood-/cold-pressed oils (preferably in recycled cartons/glass bottles for better protection of the ingredients). Secondly, once you fry something in oil, try not to use the same batch of oil again.

3. Swap the spices

Find a good resource through which you can get organic/natural spices. It’s something you use daily in your kitchen. I often explore nearby farms whenever I’m travelling to find reliable spice sellers. I once happened to tour the spice market in Delhi and was surprised to find many sellers (on the inner circles) that deal with ‘cleaner spices’. Explore. Explore. Explore.

4. Say no to ‘fridge’ food

Whether you’re working or whether you respect every grain present in your fridge, if it’s there for 24 hours, it’s not good for you! From kneading a fresh dough for your rotis to cooking rice and consuming it in the first three/four hours, eating fresh is a habit that changes the algorithm for your body.

5. Keep an eye out for mold

It’s an art to pick healthy ingredients and tools for your kitchen but guess what, even the healthiest foods rot. In fact, they rot much faster. So, keep an eye on your kitchen stock. Sieve your flour. Sun-dry your grains (don’t let it go too dry under the hot sun. An hour and a half is fine). I was disgusted to find worms in an organic rice bag that I had ordered from a luxury ‘organic’ food brand.

Moreover, taste those nuts and seeds (they should not taste bitter and oily). Keep your stock to a minimum so that you don’t have to finish the ‘expired’ food. Even pearl millet flour goes bitter after a couple of days.

6. Opt for healthier alternatives

A chilly sauce without MSG makes sense. Noodles made locally with healthier ingredients make sense. Coarse salt makes sense. Filtered oil over a refined one makes sense. Sourdough bread over white bread makes sense. Locally made cheese with less ingredients is healthier than that commercial cheese that doesn’t go bad ever! Keep reading the labels for toxic elements, and switch for better.

7. Mind those habits

Little habits in the kitchen further help you to remove bad bacteria and other nasties from your kitchen environment. A scrub that you might use to wash your utensils can’t be floating in soapy water all day, all night. Dry it after use. Change your kitchen linen once a day. Say no to aluminium foil. I ask my tailor to make mul tissues that I can use and wash.

Lastly, those insulated water bottles: wash those after use. Also, consume your idli batter in a day or two. Don’t keep it for a week. The nutrition levels go down day after day! Your tiffin lids, the strainer you use when serving tea—everything needs to be checked over time. Lastly, wash your chopping boards yourself and change them whenever you spot black patches.

8. Say no to plastic

Getting rid of plastic isn’t easy. You got to practice consistently to steer clear of it. Replace the plastic ones with glass/steel. A wooden spoon is better than a plastic, black-coloured spatula. Also, try to lessen your ‘outside’ food orders so that there is less chance of food coming in plastic/cardboard. Microplastics. You got to tackle it and how.

Just like Rasam

On February 17, 2025 By DeepiIn South Indian foodLeave a comment

There are some recipes that you don’t want to mess up or change, while a few recipes constantly evolve. For me, of late, this has been my Rasam and my homemade pasta sauce.

My days, suddenly, are jam-packed. And there’s a new rhythm at home. My kids are playing mostly on their own. Lots of sketching. Scooter-riding. Basketball dribbling. We have moved to Mumbai. I have lost my sweetest maids, and Yuvi is without his Gurgaon friends. But we have each other to cope with this change.

Amidst our busy evening, when the kids make plans to hit the outdoors, I realised I have to make something different than just Kadi chawal or Dal chawal. So, I made Rasam and we all ate it with all our hearts. Thanks to the next-door food store that delivered Appalam papads that went perfectly with it.

I went back to my cousin, Kanchan Rathi’s audio notes. Found her recipe and there, I was ready to make it.

Recipe: Kanchan’s Rasam

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes
7-10 cloves of garlic
black pepper (1-2 tsp)
Arhar Dal (optional) 1-2 tsp
Cumin seeds – 2 tsp (for spice mix), ½ tsp (for tadka)
turmeric powder
asafoetida
salt to taste
oil/ghee
fresh tamarind pulp (I use around 3/4^th cup)
coriander leaves
mustard seeds
curry leaves
dried red chillies (I never have it when I make rasam)

Method:

1. First up, roast cumin seeds, arhar dal (optional), and whole black pepper in a kadai for 2-3 minutes.

2. Now, clean the garlic and get 6-10 cloves of garlic. It depends on how you like it.

3. Take a mortar and pestle and ground the spice mix. You can also use the grinding machine. This time around, I started pounding with the black pepper, then cumin seeds and the dal, and lastly, in the same mixture, I added in the cloves of garlic and coarsely grinded it too.

4. Now, I take a medium-sized steel vessel. Add some ghee. Let it heat up. Throw in some mustard seeds, asafetida, cumin seeds, dried red chillies (optional), curry leaves and turmeric powder. Mix it a bit and add the spice mix you made with your pestle. Give it a stir.

5. Chop the tomatoes (my cousin squeezes them out with her fingers for a rustic touch) and hand-pound them a bit for a coarse touch. Add these to tadka. Now, add in the tamarind pulp (strain it) and a couple of glasses of water (boil it beforehand if possible).

6. Once the Rasam has boiled for 6-10 minutes, add your chopped coriander leaves, salt to taste. Give it a taste, and if it tastes well, switch off the flame. Kanchan says, the more you boil your rasam, the tastier it is.

7. Serve hot with Appalam papad and hot rice.

I hope you like the dish as we did it tonight. The pasta sauce recipe is coming up tomorrow. Again, it’s an evolved version. And I love it.

A food tour of Chandni Chowk

On December 22, 2024 By DeepiIn food memoirs2 Comments

A long overdue trip to an ancient Delhi area comes into being as I step out for a heritage walk with a friend. It was planned just a night before we took the metro train together from Gurugram to Chandni Chowk. And while life has its own commitments—for me, it’s my two kids—I could still take the trip as my husband pushed me for it. “We are changing cities in less than a month’s time. So, you better go for it,” he said.

Thanks to the changes that happened to the busy area of Chandni Chowk in 2018, we had only E-rickshaws and cycle wallahs around us. Thank God, we had some space to walk. Minutes of us walking a few feet from the metro station, young men start following us as if we were looking for lehengas. “Bhaiya, lehenga nahi lena. Hum shopping ke liye nahi aaye hai,” I told one of the guys after he followed us for a couple of steps.

I skipped my breakfast. Didn’t comb my hair. Just landed at Chandni Chowk with my jacket and a friend. It was a busy morning as my in-laws were stepping out to their city, but I really pushed myself for this local trip. And so, I was hungry.

We started with Matar Kulcha. The freshly cut ginger, onions and tomatoes tricked us to believe that it might be tasty, and boy, we were not wrong. It was lip-smacking! It costed us some 30 to 50 bucks for a plate. The kulchas were thin and freshly roasted.

We left that lane (a few metres from the metro station), and towards the end of the lane was Natraj. So my friend, Namisha Singal, asked me if I was up for a plate of Dahi Bhalla. Though the plate was a bit cold for a cold December morning like this, we still liked it. She was wanting an aloo tikki or something with it, but we could easily finish the plate. The spice mix that went on the Dahi Bhalla made the cut. “My mother used to save this spice mix and use it on salads later on,” Namisha told me. Her father came to Chandni Chowk almost every month, and he went back to Faridabad with a little bag of Dahi Bhallas.

After a few minutes, we met our heritage walk leader, Jibin George. It was amazing how he had these old paintings to show us on his iPad and we could clearly compare the changes. Soon we tasted our third dish.

Jalebis. The shop’s name is Jalebi Wala. It had a board nearby that said Haveli Dharampura. So don’t get confused when you see 12 more Jalebi walas in the area. I was not so excited about this, but I was totally blown away by these jalebis! Two reasons I loved them: The chaashni or the sugar syrup was not so sweet. Plus, it had a runny texture, and not your typical sticky texture. Second, the labelis were both moist and crispy. And these were not too sweet either. So, the key for a really yum plate of jalebis is, hold on to that sugar. It really refrains you from having more. It is one of the best things I have tried in my lifetime! Imagine, I’m almost 40! So, you don’t have to miss these ever! I was told this shop has been running for 3-4 generations. And it’s the simplicity of these shop owners who make you respect them even more.

My fourth dish came about in the same lane. Daulat ki Chaat. When people told me about it, I imagined a big blob of aloo tikki with mithi chutney or something. But it was way beyond it. Daulat ki Chaat is basically milk froth. It stays as is thanks to the cold weather. Some of it is white, while some of it tastes of Kesar and is yellow in colour. It had a spoon of mawa too and a sprinkle of dry fruits like pistachio. Did I like it? It was too sweet for my palate, but I still managed to complete half a plate. The guy took 200 Rs for three plates of this Chaat.

We entered a lane called Dariba Kalan. Interestingly, we happened to spot a Pani Puri wala. His cart looked super clean. He was also wearing gloves. So, I went ahead and asked my friend if she was up for a plate of Pani Puri. She ended up finishing her plate, but I couldn’t go beyond one puri. Even so, I didn’t finish that either. And I realised, if a cart is neat, it still doesn’t guarantee the best taste. Pani Puri is truly a tricky dish. She grabbed a nice cup of ginger tea, and we moved on to Parathe Wale Gali. Wow! I almost pinched myself here. As a mum of two toddlers, living in one of the best areas in Gurugram, what am I doing here? How could I manage to come so far? Am I mad? And I realised, it was one of the best decisions of my life. This heritage walks. We should take such walks often in life. Jibin explained the lanes and the history of the place so well—I could connect it so well; I will never get confused about any of the lanes next time. Delhi is truly beautiful if you take a chill pill and get the hang of it. Don’t just keep walking. Wait. Ask someone for the best way out, and you should manage to walk out of it with a smile! I don’t know if I make sense here, but anyway, here I was. Trying not to think of my elder child’s cough or the other child’s pick-up time from school.

Enters: Pandit Gaya Prashad Shiv Charan. I have seen fried parathas on TV. Of course, I had my doubts if I would like any Parathas here. But I was wrong. The parathas were lip-smacking. But what truly made it work for me was the way it was presented. We get out seats early on, and are served a plate full of everything but parathas. We have tari wali aloo ki sabzi, sukhi aloo, hari chutney, mithi chutney, circa pickle (veggies in vinegar), and kaddu ki sabzi (pumpkin sabzi). The tables were wiped well, and the place looked tolerable in spite of the line outside the shop. The menu was damn confusing, but we somehow ordered two types of parathas. Lemon paratha was the first one. I was curious to see their style of serving lemons in a paratha and they were smart. There was a simple spread of lemon pickle inside the paratha. It tasted okay, and an eye-opener of a dish for me. Simple yet a bit complex. Next was a mixed veg paratha. And I totally enjoyed finishing my thali here. Will I go there again? Hell, yes. This is magic!

The next dish in your list should be Chole Bhature. But we were too full for it. Of course, the next time I’m here, I’m going to try it. But Jibin pointed out the two places that serve the best Chole Kulche in Chandni Chowk. Kanwarji Bhagirath Mal and Tiwari Ji Chole Bhature. Life is simple, if we keep it simple. Going to the busy lanes of Chandni Chowk was so different than just reading about it on Instagram. We should go out there, more often. We shouldn’t abandon our historic, old corners of the city. It really brings so much together for me. Makes me feel small but valued. We got to value this. Do you know what I mean?

End your trip with a glass of Falooda Kulfi at Gianis di Hatti.

All pictures credit: Deepika Bhutra Nandal

TASTE MEMORY

Author: Deepi