Growing up in India meant growing up eating Indian food. And eating Indian food meant nearly every dish was garnished with chopped cilantro leaves. I have lived in many cities and towns in India. The most ubiquitous factor in an Indian family’s life is their “sabziwallah” and “keerai-kari”. “Sabziwallah” simply means “vegetable man”. He would [...]

Most people have a love-hate relationship with the much-maligned, most beloved spud – the potato. Since time immemorial, the potato has graced mankind’s table as the number one comfort food. The comfort of eating potatoes, spans cultures, cuisines, class and race. Why is that? For one, it is available year round. Second, it is cheap. [...]

As a child living in India, I had only heard about but never tasted the French Toast. In my imagination, it seemed like a very fancy breakfast dish, somehow akin to the French souffles. It brought to mind romantic images of the Eiffel tower and Notre Dame. For a very long time, I remember, I [...]

It is harvest time in India. A year of hard work has paid off in a golden harvest of rice. This is the rice that will keep the entire village fed for the next year. The paddy is harvested, hulled and stored with great care. And the entire village celebrates. So do the towns and [...]

Back in the days before the world became global, and the local produce store carried vegetables from all over the world regardless of season, we used to eat seasonally and locally grown vegetables. In Southern India, with its arid conditions, it was wonder if you managed to get 7 or 9 different kinds of vegetables [...]