Have You Heard Of Hurda Parties?
In parts of western India, the colder months are synonymous with parties to celebrate hurda or sweet, tender sorghum and its fleeting yet delicious arrival in markets
Harissa — Kashmir’s Winter Staple
A warming and nutritious dish that demands skill and long hours of cooking, harissa is a much-anticipated seasonal speciality of Kashmir
Photographs by Abrar Fayaz
A Delicacy As Wispy As Paper
Painstakingly made of rice flour sheets flavoured with ghee and powdered sugar, pootharekulu is a unique dessert that is synonymous with the village of Atreyapuram in south India
The Learner’s Dumpling
Versatile in form and adaptable by way of filling, kuzhakattais in all their forms are a true showcase of simple pleasures.
A Taste Of The Tropics, Preserved In Perad
A treasured part of the Goan kuswar platter, guava cheese traces the fruit’s long journey to India.
A Sweet Reminder Of A Shared Past
The popularity of sohan halwa — a rich, ghee-laden dessert — both in India and Pakistan is proof that recipes are a shared cultural asset that cannot be contained within boundaries.
Indian Gins: No Longer a Footnote
Once a stodgy, colonial-era drink, gin has now been infused with a dash of coolth. This is no small part due to new-age Indian gin brands, which are scripting a bold and flavoursome new chapter.
Songs Of Survival
In Rajasthan, histories of famine and scarcity are coded into songs, stories and idioms that speak to the resilience of marginalised desert communities.
The Opposite Of Plenty
Rajasthan in India’s northwest is intimately acquainted with famine. Yet projections of the state’s feted cuisine largely exclude the communities that have lived with scarcity for generations.
Forging A Food Friendship With Nature
While forest communities have always had an intimate relationship with foraging, the practice is also becoming more popular in urban India
Who Needs Easter Eggs When You Can Have Appams?
For the Nasrani Christians, a breakfast of appams and ishtoo is the gold standard for Easter celebrations.
A Renewed Quest For Age-Old Foods
A growing number of individuals and organisations in India are interested in reviving nutritionally rich foods that have been forgotten. But this quest for accessible superfoods also runs the risk of creating fads that don’t stand up to scientific scrutiny.
The Pastoral Cheese That is Growing a Larger Footprint
Once the well-guarded secret of the nomadic Gujjar community in Jammu, kalari cheese is now gaining popularity for its unique, mellow flavour.
Meaty Feasts for the Gods
Sacred offerings of meat and fish are a well-entrenched part of several regional Indian cultures. They point at a more inclusive and syncretic tradition of worship.
The Enduring Love for Shutki Maach
Shutki maach or dried fish is a beloved ingredient carried over to India by Bengalis who migrated from Bangladesh. Its divisive popularity also raises important questions about why “smelly foods” often bear the burden of prejudice.
A Spice Mixture Laced with Cultural Meaning
Vaer is a Kashmiri spice cake that served both as a cure for winter ailments and a kind of community glue. But like other time-intensive culinary traditions, vaer also finds itself at a crossroads.
Rajma Chawal Is More Than (Everyone’s) Comfort Food
Wedged between colonial collisions and notions of what defines comfort — and for whom — rajma chawal offers an unlikely prism into the struggle to articulate authenticity and why that is an endeavour that often falls short.
A Sticky Sri Lankan Dessert Steeped in History
Kalu dodol is beloved across communities in Sri Lanka. But this decadent sweetmeat carries the imprint of the country’s miniscule Malay community, and tells the tale of how colonialism has shaped culinary heritage.
Nasto, Farsan And The Pursuit Of The Perfect Snack
Deep-fried, steamed and generously laden with flavour and spice, nasto and farsan add a lot more than crunch to a Gujarati thali. They are a true showcase of skill and seasonal eating.
From The Forest, A Lesson In Fortitude And Fostering Community
In 2017, when civilian protests for identity and statehood reached fever pitch in Darjeeling, sustenance came from an unlikely source. Foraged ingredients and shared recipes stitched together a community that was stretched at the seams.