Food

It is that soft-shouldered time of year in Kolkata, when the rains have gathered their hems and departed, leaving the sun diffused and forgiving. Making our way through the tree-lined avenues of Fairley Place, we arrive at BBD Bagh Railway Crossing. Beyond the railway tracks lies the ferry ghat, a narrow ledge between departure and…

Sunil Kant Munjal remembers the moment precisely. During Serendipity Arts Festival’s (SAF) 2024 edition, he watched a local fisherman’s family spend an entire afternoon at Thukral & Tagra’s Nafrat/Parvah installation, where visitors exchanged packages of hate for acts of care, such as a haircut. The grandmother, who had never attended an “art event” before, told him it…

In every South Indian home, dosa is the go-to dish for breakfast or dinner — comforting and simple. But in Madurai, this dish takes on a richer, meatier form. On the sizzling tawa, the batter meets the heat with a hiss as a ladleful is spread into a circle. A cracked egg follows, gently melding…

David Szalay’s Booker Prize-winning Flesh trains a cold light on the awkward, shame-laced education of a young body in the beginning of the novel. It presents István’s teenage fumblings, cigarettes, mall visits, awkward attempts at reciprocity, and repeatedly returns to the small domestic acts that teach him how to be a man: the shared trolley…

Worcestershire sauce. The first time I heard of this confusing word was while walking in a supermarket aisle mainly filled with tomato sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise, thousand island, you name it, it’s there. I’ll be honest, I had no clue how to say the name, so I kept quiet and slowly googled it later.  Vu·stuh·shuh —…

PHOTO: Skarie20 / Getty Images/iStockphoto There are three things that guarantee a mind of bliss and satisfaction. The resonating yet gratifying sound of solid noodle blocks being cracked before the pieces are dropped into a boiling pot of water. Then there’s the smell that erupts when you mix in the spices and let the noodles…

Delicacies at the Deepavali Sweets Mela organised by Coimbatore-based Friends Catering. There are over 100 varieties of sweets on display, apart from savouries for the festive season. | Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan For the past 14 years, Soundravalli S. has unfailingly placed her order for traditional Deepavali bakshanams (sweets and savouries) with caterer L.V. Pattapa a…

Deepavali parties mean bejewelled guests, bedecked tables with sweets, grazing boards and a bar to match that menu. But, what if you could reinvent the Diwali party with a NoLo (no alcohol-low alcohol) twist? Gen Z is drinking far less than millennials and when it drinks, it chooses lower ABV (alcohol per volume) beverages. In…

A sample of honey (L) besides the coloured ones. | Photo Credit: Reuters Imagine trying to collect some honey and finding it in colours of green, blue and the brightest hues you can find instead of the typical golden yellow. This was exactly the kind of fix that beekeepers in France found themselves in! The…

“Good evening, miss! May I have your phone?” says a burly man at the door. We have just been released from the coils of Marathahalli traffic, edging through the bustle of evening commuters into the sudden, conspiratorial hush of a dimly lit reception. He confiscates my phone, tapes the camera shut and hands it back…