2026 – Thewanderingindiangourmet

I have not written in months. Life has been throwing the most delightful surprises at me and I chose to ride the wave, sorely neglecting my blog here.

I spent several months Wintering. Retreating into my home for health, family and healing. And it has worked.

I am filled with fire and energy like never before, after a decade of languishing in melancholia, dealing with heartbreak and immense loss, working a full day job, and balancing the demands of the new Normal of my life.

Finding my Self and my new feet has been a work of immense patience and learning. Learning to let go, learning to be kind to myself, learning to forgive, learning to express my anger ( there was always only overwhelming grief that I could express). Learning to be gentle with myself and those around me, learning to make peace and start over.

All hard lessons. Through love and compassion, the pain and hurting eventually ebbed and new beginnings took root.

I am thrilled to report that the tree of my endeavours is now bearing fruit, nay, buds. Little buds, basking in sunshine, waiting to bloom when the time is right. Buds that have been nurtured, a tree that was sheltered from the storm and encouraged to regrow, is taking deeper root once again.

All of this nurturing was possible through family, my dogs and cats and my rock solid bunch of closest friends, the seven I would call at 4am in an emergency. And food, lots and lots of slow cooked, home cooked nurturing food.

Uppermost is the healing Chicken Congee my child made for me as I recovered from a major surgery. The weather outside was unforgivingly cold and I slipped into it’s warm embrace gratefully. It was made repeatedly-fragrant, gentle and soothing. A veer away from our regular khichdi, the congee was my warmest blanket all season. Of course, it was topped with loads of my favourite chilli oil.

My mother made simple dals, vegetables and curries- easy on the system, and warming for body and soul. We switched to cooking in ghee and mustard oil, more fresh coconut a la mangalore style. There have been lots of winter greens cooked gently in the lightest of ways- simmering sarson ka saag, tel piao beans with fresh coconut, aloo methi, chole, and palak with mushrooms. Sai bhaji, baingan ka bharta, khatti meethi bhindi with aamchoor. Local, fresh and not overloaded with onions, tomatoes and gravy. Eaten with hot jowari chi bhakris, dollops of ghee, jaggery and fresh dahi.

A lot of aloo tuk was devoured often, spiced with chilli powder and haldi. yes, with crispy edges.

New recipes for bhindi, chunky dals barely spiced, fried whole cloves of garlic, caramelised onions, jowari chi bhakris are now de rigeur for lunch. Whole boiled eggs sauteed in ghee and chilli powder, eggs in coconut gravy, old fashioned prawn curry-rice continued to nourish and add heat. Winter was raw and freezing this time. Spaghetti in creamy tomato sauce, sauteed mushrooms, a new mutton curry recipe and a delish madhur Jaffery chicken curry recipe added to the table regularly.

My bestie gifted me with an Insta Pot and it has been a game changer in the kitchen. Suddenly, its easy to make chicken bouillon, a biryani, slow recipes with meat and new ways to eat. I can’t tell you enough how wonderful this gadget is. it reminds me of an old add for Hero honda,”Fill it, shut it, forget it.”

Vegetable soups made with Instant Pot chicken stock continued to nourish us through the cold, providing comfort and warmth. We added pinches of spice, slivers of ginger, fried garlic pods, plenty of herbs to make them even tastier, a trick my mother uses a lot. We happily topped our daily lunch with fried garlic or crispy birista onions, the aroma of hot ghee is tantalizing.

I slowly resumed kitchen hours and enjoyed it. We roasted chickens, we made simple pastas, more congee, and galettes. Rich butter puff pastry was wrapped around spicy apples and rosemary, tender new strawberries and a medley of cheesy veggies or meat. The dogs loved their roasts as I played around with their meals.

Less fancy, more real. I looked into simplicity and taste, nourishment and comfort. Hearty chicken curries, spicy Peddar Road dahi kadi, konkani masala fried prawns, a divine crab curry with coconut- all designed to beat the cold and remind us whence we came from, my mixed roots from Kutch and Mangalore.

The coffee carafe was always hot and full with aromatic dark liquor, ably supplied from the family homestead in Chikmagalur.

I don’t think I stepped out much, except for some sushi, some nikkei, and gelato at the new place in town. We usually ordered in chinese: spring rolls, a gobi manchurian, garlic soy pan fried noodles, soups- lots and lots of chinese fresh sweet corn, wonton, hot and sour.

Everything had to be easy to digest, and good for the gut.

We never made it back to our ramen place across town, too much effort. Or the amazing new thai kitchen- their timings and ours just haven’t worked out.

Christmas season was especially spectacular with several events bringing festivity and good cheer into our home especially after the non-Christmas disaster that last year was. Christmas was finally a time for more culinary adventures. I embraced the invitation to dive into the Season.

We made iced Christmas cookies, beautiful snowflakes in pastel colours with silver glitter. Our traditional Christmas cake, bursting with dry fruit and redolent with irish whiskey. Marzipan, fragrant almond and sugar, makes it Christmas. Marzipan icing on the fruit cake? Absolutely delicious and so special.

We ordered neurios and kulkuls, traditional Christmas sweets from my mother’s childhood memories. We ate our way through a lot of Stollen, feasting on the Chocolate Orange Stollen from Theobroma.

Christmas began with a warm invitation, from old family friends to a party in their home. It was an epic afternoon and the best start to the festivities. Lunch was all homemade and absolutely delicious: sannas, sorpotel, a baked dish, a family chicken recipe, garlic pau, salad. Hot mulled wine, a family recipe, kept us warm to the bones and our spirits high and genial.

Christmas Day lunch was a potluck with the cookbook club. The table groaned under the weight of gravy, mash, a stellar palatter of boozy prawn cocktail, fragrant roast chickens, ldeep and dark amb bourguignon, devilled eggs (hurrah! !), cheese logs, confit garlic and tomatoes and veggies. Dessert included a toasted marzipan plum cake, Ottolenghis fig pavlova, dark chocolate cake and a mix of desi Christmas sweets – neuoriyos, kalkalls, rosa cookies.

I really enjoyed my cooking this time, we made confit garlic and cherry tomatoes, a yummy nutty cheese log, a big veggie galette, my Christmas chocolate strawberry Pavlova and of course, the annual roast ham. This year I made one for a friend who gifted it to Kurush Dalal. The resulting compliments made me blush. The ham was a huge success, and continues to be my signature kitchen dish.

It is already Valentine’s day and I have not posted yet, this I must rectify.

Just remember, easy and slow cooking trumps fussy and elaborate.

The best meals are made with love, at home, and shared with love between friends and family.