Did You Know Agra’s Petha Has Its Origins In Shah Jahan’s Royal Kitchens?

<p>This melt-in-the-mouth sweetmeat had inspired several internet memes when self-proclaimed nationalists called out the famous Indian sweet to prove its loyalty to the country by changing its name to Mysore India.</p><h3>One of the oldest</h3><p>The event has Nataraj of Mysore’s Guru Sweet Mart in splits. "If someone has to change the name, it has to be Pakistan because Mysore Pak was born much before Pakistan," he chips in good-naturedly. There is much meat in his joy. One of the oldest sweets in the country, Mysore Pak still holds the royal stage in the world of desserts. This sweet was born in the kitchens of Mysore Palace. Nataraj is the direct descendant of the royal chef or 'Nalapakka' who created this wonderful sweet for the Maharaja of Mysore.</p><h3>Legend has it</h3><p>On a balmy afternoon close to eight decades ago, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the then Maharaja of Mysore, felt like having a sweet unlike any other. He summoned Kakasura Madappa, his royal chef, and shared his desire. Madappa, who could whip up delicacies in a jiffy, decided to go with his trusted ingredients—gram flour, cow's ghee, sugar and cardamom—to create what would turn out to be the Maharaja's favourite sweet.</p><p>The much-delighted king decided to name the pale yellow sweet after his kingdom. "Paaka (a delicious, languorous way of saying Pak where the aa is stretched like viscous sugar syrup) means sweet, syrupy or sugar-coated. A paaka made in Mysore became Mysore Pak," says Nataraj.</p><p>AlsoRead0</p><h3>Original recipe lives on</h3><p>Guru Sweet Mart at Devaraja Market in Mysore still prepares Mysore Pak the way Kakasura Madappa created it. Nataraj, who runs the store with his brothers Kumar and Shivanand, inherited the original recipe. "We are the fifth generation descendents of Kakasura Madapa. Only we have this secret recipe," he states proudly.</p><p>If you are accustomed to the porous, brick-like sweets peddled as Mysore Pak in regular sweet shops, the Mysore Pak at Guru's will have you doubting its originality. It’s very distinct in both taste and texture. The original Mysore Pak is doughy to touch and melts in your mouth instantly. It's so soft that it’s not possible to mould it in any shape. It’s often sliced off as per requirement with a knife from a slab of sweet made on that day.</p><h3>Ghee makes all the difference</h3><p>Nataraj says they use pure ghee to make the original Mysore Pak instead of vanaspati (hydrogenated vegetable oil) which is often used in the commercial variants of the sweet. Not surprisingly, the sweet brings in swift business daily, with the sales peaking during festivals like Dasara and petering out during the monsoon. "On a dull day, we sell about 20 to 30 kg. The sale is often good during Dasara," Nataraj says.</p><p>Guru Sweet Mart also stocks up on other popular Indian sweets like Sonpapdi (which, Nataraj claims, has also been created by his great-grandfather who made Mysore Pak) and Dharwad Peda to name a few. The family-run sweetshop doesn’t have manufacturing units like commercial sweet shops. All the sweets are prepared in their home every day. The brothers, their wives and other family members lend a helping hand to make the stock for the day.</p><p>The family is very proud of their lineage. Most of the members continue to maintain an association with the sweet business despite having full-fledged careers. "My sister is a doctor and so is one of my cousins. My son and my nephew are engineers who have done their M.Tech. But all of them are involved in this business, part-time at least," he says. Do the brothers have any plans to expand their business? "Not at all. We are delighted with what we have," Nataraj signs off with a royal grin.</p>

Find about the rich history of Mysore Pak and discover where to find the best versions of this iconic South Indian sweet with its origins and flavors on Zee Zest.

History of Mysore Pak: Where to Find the Best Mysore Pak

Mysore Pak: There’s An Interesting History Behind This Anti-national Sweet Treat

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Life Of Pao And Other Local Breads From Goa

Finding Food: Cuisine From East And West Bengal

<p>The food scene in India has never looked as diverse and colourful as it does right now, and every gourmand is practically rejoicing! From various kinds of food formats—speciality restaurants, pop-ups, food trucks, blind tastings and more—to new cuisines from different parts of the world, we’re living in a foodie’s paradise.</p><p>Nevertheless, the Indian palate is quite set in its tastes, and only cautiously experimental. That’s why cuisines like Italian, Oriental and Mediterranean with more robust flavours are far more popular than classical French food. A few restaurants and chefs are out to change that by offering both French cuisine classics and elements of French food to new-age consumers who are developing a palate for subtle flavours.</p><p>Here’s what we discovered about French food in India:</p><h3>The Flavours</h3><p>When you dig into French cuisine, you can hardly expect to meet spices and chillies like Indian food. “In our French food, we use spices like pepper, cloves and bay leaves to flavour savoury dishes and cinnamon and vanilla in desserts. We also use a lot of fresh herbs like basil, thyme, mint, parsley and tarragon which are all available fresh in Mumbai,” said Antonia Achache and Jérémie Sabbagh, head chefs and co-founders, Suzette, a modern French café & crêperie chain in Mumbai. Interestingly, the duo hasn’t tried to localise their dishes. “We serve 100 per cent authentic French food, but we have included more vegetarian dishes than in regular French cafés.”</p><p>Chef Milind Dhonsekar of <span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(31,31,31);">Hotel Taj Santacruz</span> believes that French food is known for its elegance and subtle flavours. “Each ingredient is added to a recipe to complement the flavours of the main dish rather than overpower it,” he adds. The smell of fresh coffee, flavourful cakes and pastries, homemade bread, delightful macarons and the excellent taste of hot chocolate at Artisan, Sofitel’s French restaurant, certainly teleport you to a Parisian café. But Dhonsekar does admit that the menu has nuances of Indian flavours that blend with French classics. </p><p>AlsoRead0</p><h3>The Flair</h3><p>The complexity in cooking technique makes up for the simplicity of flavours in French food. The cuisine is known for its cooking styles like braising, poaching, grilling, sautéing and flambéing, and pastry techniques.</p><p>Take, for instance, the classic French croissant. “It looks simple, but it takes seven to eight hours to create the 81 paper-thin layers of dough!” says Sabbagh with pride. No wonder the buttery, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth French delicacy is such a sought-after speciality. The French believe in the simplicity of pairing, he adds, so you won’t find flavours competing in a single dish. They are also exact in their cooking techniques.</p><p>The five mother sauces—Béchamel, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Tomato and Velouté—are the other crucial part of French cuisine. Many argue that every cook of French food must know how to make these sauces. </p><p>AlsoRead1</p><h3>The Technique</h3><p>In French cooking, every technique has a particular purpose. “Braising is one of my favourites because this slow-cooking method keeps all the flavours in,” says Chef Irfan Pabaney, who hosted Good France Week at his restaurant The Sassy Spoon. Catering French food to a primarily Indian clientele, he brought together the best French cuisine elements in his a la carte menu, crafted especially to promote French tourism.</p><p>“We had dishes such as Fig-crusted Norwegian Salmon with Herbed Riz and Dijon Garlic Butter and Carpaccio of Yellow Fin Tuna with Niçoise Salad. These weren’t exactly French food but rather highlighted specific elements of French cuisine,” adds Pabaney. He also raves about the south-western French ‘confit’.</p><figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Id-7-Duck-Leg-Confit_1614176832363.jpg"></figure><p>Confit essentially refers to any type of food that’s been slow-cooked over a long period. In French cuisine, this method was initially meant to preserve the food. The best part about eating a confit is that a well-matured piece of meat can be so tender that it simply comes off the bone. “You can make a confit out of anything - vegetables, duck or chicken,” he notes.</p><p>Sous-vide cooking is another popular cooking technique. It requires marinated food to be vacuum-packed in plastic bags and placed in a water bath to cook at a controlled temperature of about 50 to 78°C. Of course, it sounds tedious, but Chef Dhonsekar explains why it’s such a special technique even today. “Sous-vide cooking is often used to ensure that the item retains its moisture, is cooked properly from the inside without getting overcooked on the outside."</p><h3>The Ingredients</h3><figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Id-7-French-Onion-Soup_1614176659629.jpg"></figure><p>Unlike Indians, the French go easy on the oil, salt and sugar but it’s their exotic ingredients like herbs, speck (fat), Dijon mustard, fleur du sel (hand-harvested sea salt), cheese, wine and loads of butter, that make all the difference!</p><p>All the famous dishes from French cuisine including <i>Sole Meunière</i> (fish fillets dredged in flour, pan-fried in butter and flavoured with parsley and lemon), <i>Gratin Dauphinois</i> (a baked dish with potatoes and fresh cream), French Onion Soup (meat stock and onions topped with croutons and cheese) and Coq Au Vin (chicken braised with wine) contain these ingredients.</p><h3>The Meal</h3><p>Having produced some of the world’s best cheeses and wines for centuries is probably the reason why wine and cheese are almost necessary accompaniments to any French food. “I wish more people gave stronger cheeses like an aged Beaufort or Roquefort a chance,” says Sabbagh.</p><p>Achache adds, “There’s nothing like a good burgundy wine to enjoy your French meal with.” Both agree that the French table is incomplete without “wine, good friends and a discussion about politics”. “Wine is always there on the table, and we love to stick around long after the meal is over.” </p><p>AlsoRead2</p><h3>Plating</h3><figure class="image image_resized image-style-align-left" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Id-7-Carpaccio-Tuna_1614176794633.jpg"></figure><p>Plating is another essential aspect of French cuisine. The food is presented in various courses and served separately to every individual, unlike India, where we combine different specialities in a plate (thali).</p><p>Indians love the concept of sharing, but this is not true of the French. “In France, the typical meal is three courses—hors d'œuvre (appetiser), plat principal (main course) and a dessert—and there’s no such thing as a common plate in French cuisine,” says Chef Pabney.</p><p>“But I encourage my Indian clients to do what they like with French food in my restaurant,” he laughs. And that’s how the Indian palate is slowly but surely discovering the sophisticated simplicity of French cuisine!</p>

Indians are warming up to French food. Deets inside!

Here’s how chefs in India are adapting French cuisine for foodies and where to find it. For more such stories, read Zeezest.com.

All you need to know about French food and cuisine | Zee Zest

Much Ado about French Food    

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<p>Talk of Agra is incomplete without its famous petha - the sugary, syrupy, translucent sweet, made from the very common pumpkin. It may be unique to Agra but Petha is made by halwais all over India. You must especially try the pethas made in the northern belt, where cooks have experimented with various flavours and textures. No visitor to the Taj Mahal city can return without a bundle of this vegetable-based sweetmeat that has quite a fan following.</p><p>Halwais in Agra tell us the story of the ‘petha’, which goes back almost 350 years, to Shah Jahan’s regime, the Mughal emperor. It is said to have been cooked for the first time in the royal kitchens when the Taj Mahal was being built. According to popular folklore, workers at the monument were bored with the daily meal of dal and roti and were not eating properly. It became a matter of concern for the emperor, who confided in the master architect Ustad Isa Effendi. He, in turn, asked the Pir Naqshbandi Sahib for help. The Pir is said to have gone into a trance during prayers one day and received the recipe for the ‘petha’ from the Almighty. Around 500 cooks were pressed into service to make the petha for the workers. Since then, it has remained Agra’s most famous export.</p><p>Today, Agra’s Noori Gate area is home to more than 700 cottage units that manufacture pethas. The most famous and biggest petha supplier of them is Panchhi Petha, with branches all over the country. There are several other stores but Panchhi, started by Seth Pancham Lal Goyal, a 24-year-old entrepreneur, over 70 years ago, remains a favourite.</p><p>The original dry, plain translucent petha is the classic authentic version of the sweet. However, you will now find many varieties of pethas in different flavours. Expect to try chocolate, coconut, kesar angoori, mango, orange, pineapple, paan, almond and cherry, to name a few. There are also variants like Petha Gulab Ladoo, Kancha Petha, Sandwich Petha and Doda Petha.</p><p>Entrepreneurs have also introduced sugar-free varieties of petha. It’s been a long journey for a humble sweet from the emperor’s kitchen made only from ash gourd, sugar and water to the diabetic thali of today!</p><h3>Traditional Petha Recipe</h3><p><strong>Made of:</strong> Raw petha (pumpkin), sugar and original flavour cardamom</p><h4>Ingredients</h4><p>1 kg white pumpkin (firm)<br>2 tsp kitchen lime (calcium hydroxide)<br>1/2 tsp fitkari (alum powder)<br>3 drops kewra (screwpine essence)<br>800 gm sugar<br>1 tsp rose water<br>2 cups of water</p><h4>Method</h4><ul><li>Dissolve alum powder in 1/2 cup of water and keep aside.</li><li>Dissolve kitchen lime in 1 litre of water, strain with a clean cloth and keep aside.</li><li>Wash, peel and deseed the pumpkin. Cut into 1-inch square pieces and prick the pieces with a fork all over.</li><li>Soak the pieces in lime water for 30 minutes.</li><li>Drain the lime water and wash the pieces under clean running water.</li><li>Pour alum water on the pieces till they are evenly coated. Drain the alum water.</li><li>In a heavy-bottomed pan, boil the pumpkin pieces till they become soft and transparent.</li><li>Prepare sugar syrup of two-thread consistency.</li><li>Put the boiled pumpkin pieces in the sugar syrup and boil till the syrup is thick again.</li><li>Turn off the flame and take out the pieces. Keep just the syrup covered with a mesh overnight.</li><li>Next day, once again boil the syrup and add the pieces.</li><li>Cook it for 3-4 minutes and turn off the flame. Let the pieces cool.</li><li>Sprinkle kewra and rose water over the pieces and allow the petha to cool completely before refrigerating.</li></ul>

This popular Indian sweet has a shared history with Agra’s mausoleum for love.

Make the famous Agra pethas in your home kitchen and learn about its rich history. Here’s the full traditional petha recipe.

Traditional Petha Recipe - Agra’s Famous Petha Recipe | Zee Zest

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&lt;p>Here’s a frothy coffee trend to shake you out off that self-quarantine-induced slumber and a much-needed caffeine fix to get through the day. All with three simple ingredients from your pantry, and some muscle power. While the world discovered Dalgona coffee during the COVID-19 pandemic – the beaten latte of sorts that took the internet by storm – for Indians, Dalgona is regular beaten coffee that we make when friends are over. The origin of this coffee is shrouded by ambiguity, in that, some claim that Dalgona coffee rose to fame after a South Korean actor, Jung Il-woo, made it popular on his TV show, &lt;i>Pyunstorang&lt;/i>, having discovered it in Macau; while others, attribute Dalgona’s popularity to a South Korean YouTube channel.&lt;/p>&lt;p>However, Dalgona Coffee’s Wikipedia page says that its genesis lies in India’s &lt;i>phenti hui coffee&lt;/i>, or basically our jugaad-version of Cappuccino from yore, where we vigorously whip sugar and instant coffee powder to form a foamy, creamy mix and top it up with hot milk. Dalgona turns&lt;i> phenti hui coffee&lt;/i> on its head, quite literally, with the coffee foam on top, and the milk under. The other difference is that Dalgona coffee, unlike &lt;i>phenti hui coffee&lt;/i>, makes use of chilled milk. A perfect recipe for Indian summers! &lt;/p>&lt;p>Dalgona coffee went viral once it reached TikTok, where #dalgonacoffee has up to 9M views and subsequently, on Instagram, where the same hashtag has garnered close to 88K hits. Fueled by the combined forces of coronavirus-inflicted social distancing, home quarantine and mass boredom, which is kept everyone hooked to their screens, Dalgona coffee topped the charts with its indulgent popularity.&lt;/p>&lt;p> &lt;/p>&lt;figure class="image image_resized image-style-align-left" style="width:50%;">&lt;img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Dalgona-inside_1612298262184.jpg" alt="DIY Dalgona Coffee viral">&lt;figcaption>© Unsplash&lt;/figcaption>&lt;/figure>&lt;p>Rizwan Amlani, CEO of DOPE Coffee, reiterates this, “From what I’ve understood about this coffee, it’s similar to our &lt;i>phenti hui coffee&lt;/i>, which we’ve been drinking in the Indian subcontinent for a long time. However, it owes its huge burst of fame to the inimitable K Pop’s love for all things beautiful.” Amlani adds that the coffee derives its name from an eponymous Korean sponge-cake-like candy. “Since both, instant coffee and milk, are whipped up into a fluffy froth, it’s a pretty fitting name. Now, with the work-from-home routine keeping so many people indoors, everyone’s open to experimenting and posting their version online. The perfect recipe for a trend,” he shares.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Adding to this, blogger and food expert , Nikhil Merchant, says, “I am actually quite thrilled with this trend. It caught steam in India when social media users realised that it’s our very own &lt;i>phenti hui coffee&lt;/i>, which we all grew up making and drinking as teens. This has a skewed outcome on those who already know about the technique vis-à-vis the younger generation, who are first discovering it on TikTok and then realising that it is our own desi version!” &lt;/p>&lt;p>Wait, is this another case of Haldi Doodh travelling to the West and returning with a dash of maple syrup to become 'Turmeric Latte?' Hmm, sounds like that. But there’s no point dismissing Dalgona coffee, for as Merchant rightly puts it, “What is there not to like about it? Dalgona coffee looks pretty and social media is all about visual appeal. Plus, it tastes so darn good that its natural for people to go into a tizzy.” &lt;/p>&lt;p>Try out these two recipes for a chilled cuppa of Dalgona.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Phenti Hui Dalgona by Nikhil Merchant  &lt;/h3>&lt;h4>Ingredients &lt;/h4>&lt;p>1 tbsp instant coffee&lt;br>1 tbsp white sugar&lt;br>1 tbsp hot water&lt;br>200 ml unsweetened vanilla almond milk  &lt;br>2 to 3 cubes of ice  &lt;/p>&lt;h4>Method  &lt;/h4>&lt;ol>&lt;li>In a large bowl, mix the instant coffee with sugar and hot water. Traditionally, one would take a spoon or a fork, and go to town whisking this like you would beat an egg. The chemical reactions to the sugar-hot water and coffee along with the infusion of air would start thickening the concoction. A good 10 minutes of whipping is required. Or, you can use an electric whisk, which takes 2 minutes.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Fill a cup with the ice cubes and pour the almond milk on it.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Top it up with the whipped coffee and orange zest, and you have yourself a delicious chilled beverage.&lt;/li>&lt;/ol>&lt;p>Tip: For a sugar-free version, replace the white sugar with monk sugar. You can also replace the milk with your choice of dairy.  &lt;/p>&lt;h3>Dalgona Doped by Rizwan Amlani  &lt;/h3>&lt;h4>Ingredients &lt;/h4>&lt;p>150 ml of cold brew concentrate&lt;br>75 ml of almond milk &lt;br>2 tbsp jaggery powder&lt;br>8 cubes of ice &lt;/p>&lt;h4>Method &lt;/h4>&lt;ol>&lt;li>To make cold brew concentrate, all you need to do is steep some fresh roasted coarse ground coffee in water for 12-18 hours. Use a 1:10 ratio to keep it simple and strong. 100 grams of coffee: 1000 ml of water. It’s that easy!&lt;/li>&lt;li>Let the mixing begin! Drop the jaggery powder into the cold brew concentrate and mix until dissolved completely.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Volume Up. Using the hand foamer, whip up the almond milk for about 1-2 minutes until it doubles in volume. Keep the foamer as low in the mixer as you can; bringing it to the top will cause lots of bubbles!&lt;/li>&lt;li>Drop 6-8 ice cubes into a glass (if you have a highball, that works best). Pour in the coffee-jaggery mix and slowly layer in the milk foam.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Sip It! And, we’re done. BRB enjoying our coffee.&lt;/li>&lt;/ol>&lt;p> Tip: Prep the cold brew concentrate overnight in a large batch and you’ll be sorted all week. &lt;/p>

Whip up this viral coffee at home and let us know what you think.

Tracing the roots of the #dalgonacoffeechallenge , plus a recipe for Dalgona Coffee. 

How to make dalgona coffee at home | Food | Zee Zest

Hot Off The Internet: Dalgona Or Phenti Hui Coffee? 

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&lt;p>If you can only think of Cardi B and Nicki Minaj when you think of rap, you need to know about these Indian female rappers, who are carving a niche for themselves with their swag and struggle in the male-dominant industry. &lt;/p>

&lt;p>The existing literature on the Indian hip-hop movement will offer you a bleak and fragmented view of its history; one that excludes women out of its ambit. So, if you Google about the history of hip-hop in India, the search is likely to throw up names of non-resident Indian male artistes, like Apache Indian, Bohemia and Baba Sehgal. The first mention of an Indian woman in the hip-hop industry comes with Taran Kaur Dhillon aka Hard Kaur, who came to the fore with her wildly popular single &lt;em>Ek Glassy&lt;/em> in 2007 and which went onto top the UK charts for that year.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>For many, Hard Kaur is the OG trailblazer, and as she tells us herself, &ldquo;The first one to do it.&rdquo; But when compared to contemporary female rappers in India &ndash; who have used their art to address burning issues around colour-prejudice and women&rsquo;s rights &ndash; Hard Kaur&rsquo;s music pales. For all it does is encourage you to drink, do bhangra or &ldquo;Move Your Body.&rdquo;  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>That is not to say that Hard Kaur has not played an essential role. The playback singer, actress and rapper shares, &ldquo;When I started, I was the only female hip-hop artiste, and it was much harder for me. Women always get treated as second class citizens. We are intelligent and talented, but the reason why we aren&rsquo;t given opportunities is because if we are, we&rsquo;ll kick everyone&rsquo;s a#$.&rdquo; So, in a way, artistes like her, Baba Sehgal, Apache Indian, Raftaar and Badshah &ndash; however banal and reminiscent of American hip-hop artistes of the &rsquo;90s and 2000s, who ruled MTV with their songs about riches and babes &ndash; paved the way for Indian hip-hop artistes by creating interest in Hindi-English hip-hop.  &lt;br />
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&lt;strong>A change in the scene&lt;/strong> &lt;/p>

&lt;p>Then, came Divine and Naezy, two of the most famous rappers in the current Indian hip-hop scene, who &ndash; with their hard-hitting, vernacular lyrics and gully rap &ndash; helped shift focus to Desi Hip Hop, with the &ldquo;scene&rdquo; being further propelled when director Zoya Akhtar decided to make a Bollywood film on gully rappers who rose to fame from Mumbai&rsquo;s slums. &lt;br />
 &lt;br />
Deepa Unnikrishnan, a Mumbai based indie female rapper, better known as Dee MC, who has garnered a lot of support in the industry and has featured briefly in the Ranveer Singh-and Alia Bhatt-starrer film, reveals that despite being well-known in the underground hip-hop movement in Mumbai, things only began looking up for her, after Gully Boy. &ldquo;I am considered one of the front runners of underground hip-hop in India, and yet, I haven&rsquo;t been approached by a label to date,&rdquo; Dee MC laments.  &lt;br />
 &lt;br />
Dee MC recently released her new album, Dee=MC&sup2;, and has used social reform as a subject in her songs, such as with Rang, for the video for which she tied up with online make-up retail brand, Nykaa. The bilingual number, with Hindi and English lyrics, addresses dark-skin prejudice in India, pulls no punches and goes like: &lt;em>Tan ko mere kuch aisa dikhaya/ Kaali hoon main iska ehsaas dilaya/ Karti bhi kya umar bas thi panch/ Rangeen thi duniya par main lagti daag.  &lt;/em>&lt;/p>

&lt;p>Similarly, Mahima Dayal Mathur, a trained Hindustani classical vocalist, who goes by the moniker Bawari Basanti, isn&rsquo;t an out-an-out hip-hop artiste, but sings about contemporary women in India. &ldquo;I feel like there is a lot of resentment inside me from the deep-seated patriarchy that exists in our country. That is something that no movie will put a disclaimer for, no man will sing about, and no woman should ignore,&rdquo; she says, adding that most of her new work will be about the idea of independence and protest.&rdquo; &lt;/p>

&lt;p>Like Mathur, Dee MC began classical training as a Bharatnatyam dancer at the age of five. She forayed into hip-hop culture through dance, until she, &ldquo;Gradually began paying attention to the lyrics.&rdquo; As someone who wrote poetry in school and danced, she says, &ldquo;Rhythm came naturally to her, but struggled to find female artistes that weren&rsquo;t mainstream.&rdquo; &lt;br />
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&lt;strong>The road to discovery &lt;/strong>&lt;br />
Discovery, despite the undeniably growing intrigue in homegrown hip-hop artistes, continues to be an issue for female rappers in India. Trained in Carnatic, Bengaluru-based rapper Siri Narayan, or Siri (no, not Apple&rsquo;s intelligent virtual assistant) sings in Kannada and English. Siri garnered renown after collaborating with TVF for the web-series &lt;em>Girlyapa&rsquo;s &lt;/em>anthem, Tu Bas Naach and also featured in a song called Shuffle with Varun Dhawan. Highlighting the issues of discovery and representation vis-&agrave;-vis hip-hop in India and women, Siri says that many of the issues in this regard are the same as it would be in any field that is predominated by men. But particularly, &ldquo;The problem with hip-hop in India is that most of the consumers are male, too. And even when I am performing, it&#39;s mostly men.&rdquo;  &lt;br />
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Siri believes that being a feminist rapper isn&rsquo;t simply about having feminist content or lyrics. &ldquo;For me, it&rsquo;s not necessary to put feminist themes directly in my music. I also like working with women in the industry and co-creating a product by having female professionals behind the scenes, or behind the camera,&rdquo; she shares. This comes through in Siri&rsquo;s first video for the song, Live It, which showcases a bunch of girls having fun. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t always have to mean something,&rdquo; she asserts.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>&lt;strong>Mummy, main Gully Girl &lt;/strong>&lt;br />
Despite all odds, however, both mainstream Indian female rappers like Hard Kaur and Rajakumari and indie artistes like Dee MC, Siri and Mc Manmeet Kaur have managed to carve a niche (and an audience) for themselves. But this success was not without initial pushback from the family.  &lt;br />
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&ldquo;They all understand it now, but sometimes my mom&rsquo;s like, &lsquo;Okay, what&rsquo;s happening?&rsquo; And then, at other times, she&rsquo;s curious about my projects and proud. So, she takes turns, because I think it&#39;s a cognitive dissonance for her and my career choice confuses her. My dad however is very supportive," Siri shares.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>For Dee MC, too, things kicked off on a shaky note. &ldquo;I was a chartered accountant (CA) and once I discovered the hip-hop community in Mumbai, it became very clear to me that I cannot sit in a cubicle or do a 9-to-5. So, the most difficult bit was breaking the news about me quitting CA to my parents . But me doing hip-hop is something that happened naturally and gradually until I was suddenly going for international tours to the UK and Canada. I feel that they couldn&rsquo;t envision the future that we saw. Five years ago, no one understood why a bunch of people were going crazy about taking hip-hop forward in India, but now, they do.&rdquo; &lt;/p>

&lt;p>Yes, they do. Atta girls! &lt;/p>

&lt;p> &lt;/p>

&lt;p>&lt;em>Image courtesy: Featured artistes&lt;/em>&lt;/p>


All you need to know about fearless female rappers in India and what it takes to be heard. 

If you ask someone about the most famous rappers in India today, chances are that most people will mention Hard Kaur, Dee MC & Mahima Dayal Mathur. Click here to know more about them. 

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&lt;p>Far away from the mass-produced and overly sweet bars by iconic brands in India, a bunch of homegrown craft chocolate makers are carving out their identity with high-quality cacao, a wide palate of unique flavours, small batches and loads of passion. Focused on transparency and sustainability, bean-to-bar is a long, arduous process where these chocolate makers use locally sourced raw cacao beans that are roasted, winnowed and ground, in a controlled environment to transform into a delectable chocolate bar. These chocolate bars are also infused with local, seasonal ingredients to create concoctions that speak for themselves. Dark chocolate with bhut jholokia chilli and Himalayan pink salt, a zero-sugar milk chocolate with glazed ginger and vegan dark chocolate with black sesame &ndash; you&rsquo;ll be amazed how much they can do with regional and local ingredients.&lt;/p>

&lt;p>The bean-to-bar movement in India goes back to 2014. It was kick-started by two brands, Naviluna (then Earth Loaf) in Mysore and Mason & Co. in Puducherry. In 2020, we are at 15 (and counting) such chocolate makers who are dedicated to producing good-quality and preservative-free chocolate for all ages. &lt;/p>

&lt;p>Here, we bring to you our pick of the best craft chocolate brands in the country. &lt;/p>

&lt;h2>1. Pascati &lt;/h2>

&lt;p>India&rsquo;s first USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) certified organic and fairtrade compliant chocolate maker, Pascati was founded by restaurant manager-turned-chocolatier and entrepreneur Devansh Asher. Asher&rsquo;s tryst with chocolate began in early 2014 and curious to know more, he enrolled himself in a three-month online chocolate-making course that March. After a year of polishing his skills, experimenting with flavours and delving deeper into the Indian cacao, he launched Pascati in 2015. Social responsibility is at the core of everything Pascati does. The brand sources its beans from farmer&rsquo;s collectives in Kerala&rsquo;s Idukki and Malabar regions, which means livelihood for 2000+ farmers, and, over the five years, has developed 14 different types of chocolate. &lt;br />
&lt;br />
&lt;em>Must try: Saffron pistachio dark &lt;br />
Where to buy: www.pascati.com &lt;/em>&lt;/p>

&lt;h2>2. Mason & Co. &lt;/h2>

&lt;p>Organic, vegan and raw, this single-origin chocolate brand was founded in Auroville, Puducherry by Jane Mason and Fabien Bontems, a lawyer and a sound engineer, respectively. It began in 2014, when Mason, a vegan, saw a dearth of good chocolate brands in the country. Mason and Bontems started by making small batches for themselves at home and assessing the flavour and quality of local cacao beans. Soon, their chocolate became popular among friends and family, which eventually motivated the duo to go from a home lab to an artisan factory and launch Mason & Co. They have an all-women team (except Bontems) who work with beans sourced from certified organic farms in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to make chocolate bars that are free of preservatives and emulsifiers. Mason & Co. products come wrapped in elegant cardboard boxes with a coloured band that denotes flavour. Espresso dark chocolate, natural coconut milk and dark chocolate with peanut butter are a few of the flavours on offer here. &lt;br />
&lt;br />
&lt;em>Must try: Black Sesame and Raisin Dark Chocolate &lt;br />
Where to buy: www.masonchocolate.com&lt;/em>&lt;/p>

&lt;h2>3. Naviluna &lt;/h2>

&lt;p>Formerly known as Earth Loaf, Naviluna is one of the pioneers of craft chocolate in India. It is helmed by British mixologists-turned-entrepreneurs David Belo and Angelika Anangnostou. The bean-to-bar chocolate brand was founded in 2012 and it focuses on keeping it as raw and simple as possible. That&rsquo;s one reason they neither roast their single-origin cacao beans nor add butter to their chocolate. The duo believes the lack of roasting preserves its natural benefits and adds a distinct flavour profile to the final product. Just like most bean-to-bar brands, Naviluna&rsquo;s chocolates are small batch and features offbeat flavour pairings such as jackfruit and black pepper, red capsicum and chilli, and Blue Tokai coffee and pineapple.&lt;br />
&lt;br />
&lt;em>Must try: Gondhoraj and Apricot Bar &lt;br />
Where to buy: naviluna.in&lt;/em>&lt;/p>

&lt;h2>4. Soklet &lt;/h2>

&lt;p>Soklet takes the bean-to-bar concept a notch higher by growing their own cacao beans. It is owned by brothers-in-law Karthikeyan Palanisamy and Harish Manoj Kumar and the entire process, from breeding cacao trees to chocolate making and packaging, takes place at their set-up located on the foothills of the Anamalai Hills in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu. Soklet&#39;s offerings, including dark and milk varieties paired with interesting ingredients such as hibiscus, desi rabdi and spiced, come wrapped in an equally interesting packaging that is inspired by Kanjeevaram sari borders. The founding duo also sells cooking chocolate made from their plantation&#39;s beans under the brand name Regal Chocolate.&lt;br />
&lt;br />
&lt;em>Must try: 70% dark chocolate with Bhot Jolokia chilli and Himalayan pink salt &lt;br />
Where to buy: soklet.in&lt;/em> &lt;/p>

&lt;h2>5. Kocoatrait &lt;/h2>

&lt;p>In 2014, when L Nitin Chordia went on a study trip to Belgium, he realised the potential of Indian cacao beans. At the same time, he also got introduced to the concept of bean-to-bar chocolate. Once back, he spent approximately five years educating enthusiasts about the entire process of chocolate-making until he was ready to launch Kocoatrait. Started in October 2019, Kocoatrait is for people who want to binge on quality chocolate but also save the environment. The brand claims to be a zero-waste product, meaning its packaging is made using eco-friendly materials like cotton waste and cacao shells. Most of their products are vegan and are sweetened using khandsari sugar from Uttar Pradesh. Apart from chocolate bars, they also sell bon bons, cocoa powder and cocoa nibs. Apart from chocolate bars, they also sell bon bons, cocoa powder and cocoa nibs. &lt;br />
&lt;br />
&lt;em>Must try: Coconut and Cinnamon Chocolate &lt;br />
Where to buy: cocoatrait.com&lt;br />
&lt;br />
Photo credits: &lt;/em>&lt;/p>


These craft chocolate makers are creating concoctions that speak for themselves.

Here is a list of bean to bar chocolate brands in India that you must try. 

Best Artisanal Chocolate Brands Brands in India | Food | Zee Zest

Bean-To-Bar Chocolates that are Raising the Bar in India

&lt;p>For the desi turmeric latte guzzling and makhana snacking #VSCO girl, the perfect wedding comes with shades of green. Not the seven sins variety, but an environmentally-friendly wedding that seals the biggest day of your life with love for Mother earth too.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>The big fat Indian wedding is a dream for every Indian girl who has grown up on a steady diet of blingy Bollywood rom-com. But the hottest trend, right now, is to have an eco-friendly wedding, which despite being extravagant is also mindful.  &lt;br />
 &lt;br />
Compostable confetti, seed paper cards, potted plants and vintage Cadillacs, we have rounded up expert advice on how to plan an eco-friendly wedding in an era of over-consumption and wastefulness. Try one or all of these small changes to make a big impact on your wedding day. &lt;/p>

&lt;p>&lt;strong>Going green with food &lt;/strong>&lt;br />
From carefully choosing eco-friendly cutlery to reducing food wastage at your wedding buffet, , a green wedding is one where you are conscious of food consumption, while minimising waste. &lt;/p>

&lt;p>Look for wedding caterers who focus on local, sustainable, and seasonal cuisine. Chef Sidney Dcunha, Executive Chef, Conrad Pune says, &ldquo;From using fresh organic produce from local farms in Pune to eco-friendly bamboo or coconut cutlery, we have stopped using plastic in all forms and are moving to paper as a substitute.&rdquo; That said, using porcelain and other reusable crockery continues to be an evergreen and ever-so-elegant option for an eco-friendly wedding. Another suggestion he gives is to associate with NGO&rsquo;s and orphanages where the untouched excess food can be donated. &lt;/p>

&lt;p>AlsoRead0&lt;/p>

&lt;p>&lt;strong>Dig out family heirlooms &lt;/strong>&lt;br />
If Kareena Kapoor Khan could wear her mother-in-law, Sharmila Tagore Pataudi&rsquo;s heirloom sharara on her wedding, so can you. Upcycle your silken threads or heirloom pieces to give them a new lease of life!  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>Rather than splashing out big bucks on designer wear that you will wear once in your lifetime, repurpose some of the exquisite couture owned by your parents or grandparents. The same applies to jewellery; nothing better than precious vintage  baubles which are passed down from one generation to another to add a touch of timeless elegance to your wedding trousseau.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>&lt;img alt="sustainable wedding green wedding heirloom jewellery" src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Go-Green-Wedding-Heirloom-Jewellery_1612345722676.jpg" style="height:600px; width:900px" />&lt;/p>

&lt;p>If you&rsquo;ve rummaged through your mother&rsquo;s closets and found nothing suitable to wear for your wedding or reception, Chaithanya Ganesha, CEO and Director of Bangalore-based eco-friendly wedding planner Panigrahana, suggests that you can rent clothes and jewellery from several new-age fashion rental websites or pick separates to mix and match with what&rsquo;s in your closet.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>From being budget-friendly to saving you the hassle of hunting for the perfect outfit, companies such as Stage3, The Stylease, Rent It Bae and Flyrobe offer several options and packages to choose your designer togs for D-Day. What more? They also offer curated looks from bespoke designer wear along with trails and alterations to make your selection process smooth.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>If you want to buy something new, then try and find local brands which are eco-friendly, naturally dyed, handmade, and that support artisan communities, says Nilma Dileepan of Bangalore-based green wedding and event Design Company, With Love, Nilma. &lt;/p>

&lt;p>&lt;strong>An E-vite or seed paper invitation&lt;/strong> &lt;br />
In the digital age, a beautifully designed e-vite followed by a personal phone call or visit are socially acceptable when it comes to wedding invitations. But if you do want to send out invites the traditional way, then choose recycled paper or seed paper which can be later be replanted by wetting the green wedding invitations and throwing them in the soil. Also make sure to use only vegetable dyes for printing.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>&lt;strong>An animal-free wedding &lt;/strong>&lt;br />
The groom comes astride a horse and for pomp and show, a couple of elephants amble on in the background for a baarat is a commonplace sight. But like royalty, these are anachronisms in modern day times. Rather than continuing these outdated practices, Ganesha recommends you to hire a vintage car or a fancy bike, all decked up with bells and whistles, and rev up to the mandap in style. &lt;/p>

&lt;p>&lt;strong>4 R&rsquo;s of wedding d&eacute;cor &lt;/strong>&lt;br />
When it comes to d&eacute;cor, Dileepan suggests picking elegant set-ups rather than blingy throwaways. Bring in the &lsquo;grammable chalkboard and cutesy mason jars, which can be reused. She recommends to reuse drapes, lighting, wooden d&eacute;cor and furniture, rather than build new iron thrones.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>Reduce the use of flowers, which should be locally sourced. Rather than using cut flowers for bouquets or garlands, you can use flower pots at the venue, especially as centerpieces on tables. She also recommends donating flowers to NGOs or organisations that use them to make holi colours or agarbattis. Check out companies like Phool and Green Wave.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>Recycling is a must post the wedding: the flowers and wasted food can be composted or given to a bio-gas plant.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>And finally, refuse anything that is not eco-friendly, after all it is your wedding and you can choose what you want!  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>&lt;strong>Location, location, location &lt;/strong>&lt;br />
Rather than running helter-skelter from one venue in the city to another, a single venue will not only reduce your carbon footprint, but also enable you to save on expenses for the d&eacute;cor. Work with the location itself; if its outdoors, try and fit tables under the shade.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>Choose great weather for your eco-friendly wedding, thus you can enjoy the outdoors and reduce your carbon footprint, without the air-conditioning or heating in full blast.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>You&rsquo;ll score a big win if you host a function during the day, scoring big on the natural light for photographs and reducing the gas-guzzling generators.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>&lt;strong>Get rid of plastic &lt;/strong>&lt;br />
Those pesky plastic bottles have created mountains of waste in our cities and are threatening to choke our oceans. Choose glass bottles instead and keep steel or glass tumblers to cut down on your plastic-footprint.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>&lt;strong>The party favours &lt;/strong>&lt;br />
You&rsquo;re grateful for your bestie in California for having swung half way around the world to be a part of your wedding. So, how can you not gift her a wedding favour? For the travelling crew, a potted plant and seeds will not be practical, so think of something edible, such as mithai from a local halwai or recycled stationery.  &lt;/p>

&lt;p>A growing number of brides also choose to donate to their favourite charity instead of giving away favours. An elegantly tacked up sign board announcing the same will be much appreciated. &lt;/p>

&lt;p>AlsoRead1&lt;/p>

&lt;p>&lt;strong>Go easy on the photo albums &lt;/strong>&lt;br />
Yes, we know you want this day to be well documented. But there is no need for fifteen albums of each of your wedding functions and 1000s of printed images in this wired world. One wedding album for the couple is sufficient, and you can enjoy all your pictures saved on the cloud, they&rsquo;re just a swipe away. &lt;/p>

&lt;p>A small simple wedding by the beach. Or a quiet ceremony in the temple. Your big day should be exactly as you dreamed, and there is nothing more than being surrounded by your loved ones for this occasion. But you can choose how big or small you want it to be. And how gentle you want to be with the Mother Nature which gives so much to you, including infinite love.  &lt;/p>


Let the D-Day of your life be eco-friendly. We show you how...

Throwing an environmentally friendly wedding does not mean you have to do away the dreams of a grand wedding. Zee Zest got in touch with specialists to show you 9 simple ways to have a green wedding. 

How to plan an eco-friendly wedding | Zee Zest

9 Easy Peasy Ways to Go Green at Your Wedding  

Wedding

Sustainability

Pop Culture

&lt;p>Scrolling down contenders of the Word of the Year title by Oxford Dictionary, in the last decade, scarcely scores any confidence in modern day living. Consider these words: climate emergency, climate crisis, eco-anxiety, ecocide and global heating, to name a few. It’s enough to make any VSCO girl scream and discard her bamboo toothbrush, run straight for the hills. But worry not, we speak to experts who help us embrace slow living and a sustainable lifestyle in the first year of the new decade, one doable step at a time. &lt;/p>&lt;h3>Going Farm-To-Fork Gracefully &lt;/h3>&lt;p>The Netflix documentary Game Changers threw the spotlight on the latest edible movement of going plant-based. But whether you are a meat eater, flexitarian, pescatarian or vegan, there are habits that will help you embrace a holistic diet going ahead. We speak to Delhi-based Radhika Khandelwal, Chef-Owner at Fig & Maple and Ivy & Bean, who shares some insights: “The coming decade promises to be one where people will be more conscious about what they eat, how they eat it, and where they procure what they eat from.” &lt;/p>&lt;h4>1. Grow your own produce&lt;/h4>&lt;p>So what if you don’t have a lovely garden? Use your kitchen window sill or balcony for herbs or spices for a bit of home farming. Think lettuce, chillies, spinach, carrots, even beetroots, and herbs such as oregano, basil and parsley. Then you can season your cauliflower and vegan cheese pizza with herbs and tomatoes plucked straight from your flower pots. &lt;/p>&lt;h4>2. Swap a mainstream ingredient&lt;/h4>&lt;p>An easy food swap (like rice or wheat) with an ingredient that's more diverse (like millet, barley, or buckwheat). This will help you stave off possible allergies due to GMOs, and eat locally grown, ethnic produce while supporting marginal farmers. As far as possible, try and choose organic, non-GMO grains.  &lt;/p>&lt;h4>3. Source produce consciously&lt;/h4>&lt;p>Elbow your way to the local farmers’ market that are sprouting up across Indian cities to choose  from the beautiful, knobbly irregular-shaped produce that is fresh and straight from the soil without sweating over the airmiles. It’s time to ditch the perfectly shaped and polished veggies in supermarkets. Don’t forget to carry your own shopping bag with you! &lt;/p>&lt;h4>4. Preserve food&lt;/h4>&lt;p>According to John-Hopkins medicine, there is a very pertinent connection between the mind and the gut. Rather than guzzling down probiotics, why not chomp on gut friendly foods? Khandelwal recommends using techniques like pickling, fermenting, jamming, etc., to get all the good microbes in your tummy doing their bit. &lt;/p>&lt;h4>5. Eat the rainbow!&lt;/h4>&lt;p> “A diverse diet is good for the body and good for the planet!” says Khandelwal. Add generous servings of fruits and vegetables across the colour spectrum on your plate, giving you different vitamins, minerals and fibre, while being low in fat and calories. &lt;/p>&lt;p>AlsoRead0 &lt;/p>&lt;h3>Travelling Responsibly &lt;/h3>&lt;p>Tourism is known to leave a big, fat indelible footprint across earth. But it doesn’t have to be that way. A lot of tourists are becoming aware about their carbon footprint and environmental impact. In fact, reports state that around 38 per cent of Indians will adopt slow travel this year.  &lt;br>Shivya Nath, Author, Blogger and Founder of The Shooing Star, and responsible traveller, set out on her first solo trip in 2011. “In the age of over tourism and in the midst of a climate crisis, responsible tourism is not just a pressing need to protect the incredible natural and cultural heritage of our world, but is also the only way we can still find authentic experiences, engage meaningfully with locals and savour the pristine beauty (or what remains of it) on our planet,” says Nath. &lt;/p>&lt;h4>6. Expand the travel narrative&lt;/h4>&lt;p>We need to transform our guide-book driven travel narrative and embrace something experiential. “We need to expand travel to experiences that stimulate us and move away from the peer pressure of seeing or doing something just because it’s marketed as THE thing to do,” she says. So, the next time you decide a holiday, look at a food experience, the art, the music and culture of a region, rather than vying for a selfie at the ‘in’ spot. &lt;/p>&lt;h4>7. Go off season or choose countries off the beaten track&lt;/h4>&lt;p> Avoid being one of the sweaty hoard of tourists that arrives at a tourist destination during peak season when countless others descend as well. Shimla’s water crisis two years ago is a scary reminder of tourism’s negative impact on a destination. “The most practical tip to fix this imbalance is to prioritise countries or regions where locals are still genuinely curious to meet travellers, and can still reap the positive benefits of tourism,” says Nath. &lt;/p>&lt;h4>8. Opt for eco-friendly, local-run accommodations&lt;/h4>&lt;p>Nath, who has stayed in tiny boutique gems such as The Secret Garden in Goa and Sarmoli in Uttarakhand says, “Staying at eco-friendly homes has enabled me to experience the local culture beyond the tourist track, immerse myself in nature, interact with locals doing meaningful work in the area and gain an understanding of the unique circumstances of the people I’m visiting.” &lt;/p>&lt;h4>9. Walk, cycle or take public transport&lt;/h4>&lt;figure class="image image-style-align-left">&lt;img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Slow-Living-inside-1_1612345798858.jpg" alt="Slow Living Slow Travel Cycling">&lt;/figure>&lt;p>While you can be awfully tempted to jump in the next Uber when you’re on vacation, Nath recommends you slow down and smell the roses, enjoy scenic locales and reduce your carbon footprint. This is the most immersive way to discover a new city. &lt;/p>&lt;h3>Building a Sustainable Home&lt;/h3>&lt;p>Our homes are sanctuaries in a world plagued by busy-ness. In the times of Marie Kondo, a clutter-free home not only keeps good energy flowing, it frees up resources for you to spend on something much more valuable: experiences. Jenny Pinto, Founder of Oorjaa, a design studio that handcrafts sustainable materials into lighting solutions, tells us how to go green at home and incorporate sustainable living practices.  &lt;/p>&lt;h4>10. Be mindful of your purchases&lt;/h4>&lt;p>“Do I really need this?” Pinto asks you to question every purchase, however enticing—home theatre, laptop, cooking stove, and wine cooler. She advises the same restraint when you want to throw something away. “Many things can be recycled, repurposed or restored creatively,” she says. Dispose rubble and household items properly. Rubble can be used to landscape the gardens, or even something innovative like building a feature wall.  &lt;/p>&lt;h4>11. An intelligent home design &lt;/h4>&lt;p>Living within four walls can be restrictive, so if you have the privilege to build or reconstruct your own home, Pinto advises you to design an energy efficient home. Account for ventilation to reduce the use of an AC. Bring in natural light into your home through windows. Add solar heaters and switch to LED bulbs. And finally, add a composting system and use water saving devices in your home.  &lt;/p>&lt;h3>In the Pink of Health&lt;/h3>&lt;p>With stress, lifestyle diseases and depression on the rise, the popularity of holistic healing and wellness is understandable. Managing stress through yoga, meditation and pranayama, and turning inwards can enrich your outer world faster than any blingy bauble. Dr. Hansaji Jayadeva Yogendra, Director, The Yoga Institute, the world’s oldest yoga organisation, tells us to make changes slowly, rather than suddenly and based on the latest fads in glossies. She says, “Always follow what your body is comfortable with. Yoga says to be with yourself, understand yourself. Observe which food suits you and which doesn’t, which routine suits you and which doesn’t and make your life accordingly.” &lt;/p>&lt;figure class="image image_resized" style="width:900px;">&lt;img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Slow-Living-inside-2_1612345816286.jpg" alt="Slow Living Yoga ">&lt;/figure>&lt;h4>12. Eat home-cooked and fresh food&lt;/h4>&lt;p>Focus on ‘Ahar’ eating four times a day, she says. Food needs to be enjoyed, without skipping any meal (breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner). Drink liquids while eating and focus your awareness not only on what you are eating, but also how much.  &lt;/p>&lt;h4>13. Rest and Recreation with a dose of discipline&lt;/h4>&lt;p>A healthy dose of ‘Achar’ or discipline is essential in modern day living where you laze around in the bed past noon on the weekends, or binge watch Netflix the whole day in PJs. “Discipline solves half your problems,” she explains. Add to that some ‘Vihar’ or rest and recreation, says Jayadeva Yogendra, whether it is sports thrice a week, a good stretch with yoga, or a refreshing walk in the neighbourhood park.  &lt;/p>&lt;h4>14. Food for thought&lt;/h4>&lt;p>Think positive thoughts, remain calm and composed in every situation for a balanced state of mind. Meditate. Sit with yourself alone each day for some time, analyse where you are and where you want to go and work towards your goal.  &lt;/p>&lt;h3>Embracing Clean Beauty&lt;/h3>&lt;p>With pictures for the ‘gram and social media having exploded to the stratosphere, naturally looking good is paramount. But in our polluted cities, is there a gentler way of looking good without another layer of chemicals? DIY masks, face scrubs and other grandmother’s recipes are soaring in popularity, so before you reach for the turmeric latte, slather some of the fresh tuber on your face. &lt;/p>&lt;h4>15. Protect your skin with layers&lt;/h4>&lt;p>“Pollution is the biggest aggressor of skin issues that causes inflammation, damages collagen, disrupts the skin barrier, and consequently accelerates ageing,” says Nandeeta Manchandaa, the founder of Enn's Closet. Therefore, it’s important to create a protective layer with a toner, serum, moisturiser, and sunscreen to form a barely-there yet efficient barrier between the pollutants and skin. Manchandaa recommends people switch to natural, safe and chemical free products, so that the harmful ingredients don’t penetrate into the bloodstream and cause harm in the long run.  &lt;/p>&lt;h4>16. Embrace ancient tools&lt;/h4>&lt;p>Whether it is a kansa massage wand, a jade roller or Gua-sha, there are ample traditional beauty tools you can add to your arsenal to give you skin a lift, without resorting to invasive, painful procedures. “These tools offer a holistic approach to beauty and wellness, firmly rooted in their respective cultures. This traditional system believes in prevention and daily tending, helping in regular detox to prevent the onset of disease” says Rajni Ohri, founder of Ohria Ayurveda, which has created the Tridoshic Kansa skin massage wand for clean beauty warriors. &lt;/p>&lt;h4>17. Substitute chemicals with DIY&lt;/h4>&lt;p>Instead of slathering on a body wash with micro beads, use a gram flour and masoor dal ubtan. In place of chemical filled shampoos, use a mixture of &lt;i>amla, reetha&lt;/i> and &lt;i>shikakhai&lt;/i>. Eschew moisturisers, and rather slather on some body oil. The internet is full of granny’s beauty tips, so log on to glean wisdom from our ancestors, with proper precaution.  &lt;/p>&lt;h3>Consume Fashion Responsibly&lt;/h3>&lt;p>The $2.5 trillion fashion industry is touted as the second most polluting industry in the world, accounting for more than eight per cent of the global climate impact, more than the airline and shipping sector. So, before you click on the buy button for your next fast fashion purchase, stop and think of how you’re impacting the planet.  &lt;/p>&lt;h4>18. Embrace smaller, slow fashion labels&lt;/h4>&lt;p>Buy slow fashion labels, which follow ethical practices and are gentle on earth. However, balance consumption by deliberating over every purchase. And if you buy one, give two pre-loved clothes away. “Being conscious of your consumption and buying lesser but better makes you want to automatically pick up clothing that has a story behind it, because you know it’s going to be in your wardrobe for a long time” says Natasha Tyagi Sachdeva, founder and Head of Design and Creatives, Taaka Clothing. &lt;/p>&lt;h4>19. Host clothes and accessories swapping parties&lt;/h4>&lt;p>When you don’t want to repeat an outfit (blame it on social media!), rather than discard it or stuff it at the back of your cupboard, host a clothes swapping party, where you and your friends and siblings can refresh their wardrobes, while it being easy on the pocket, says Tanya Jain, founder of slow fashion label, Pasithea. &lt;/p>&lt;h4>20. Refresh your old clothes&lt;/h4>&lt;p>Give a new lease of life to old clothes says Tyagi Sachdeva, who adds small badges or hand embroiders small hearts, stars or contrast stitch-lines on her old clothes to give them a wee pop. “I also love getting my clothes re-dyed to give them a new life,” says the designer, who also rushes to the &lt;i>darzi &lt;/i>to patch clothes together to remake them with patches or repurpose them.  &lt;/p>

Slow down, take a moment, learn from ancient wisdom 

From buying from local Farmers' Markets to thinking twice before making any purchase, let the new decade be about being conscious and slow living. 

20 Ideas for Slow Living, Clean Eating and Conscious Travel - Zee Zest

20 Ideas to Live Slow, Eat Clean and Travel Consciously in the New Decade

Slow Living

Wellness

<p>Far away from the mass-produced and overly sweet bars by iconic brands in India, a bunch of homegrown craft chocolate makers are carving out their identity with high-quality cacao, a wide palate of unique flavours, small batches and loads of passion. Focused on transparency and sustainability, bean-to-bar is a long, arduous process where these chocolate makers use locally-sourced raw cacao beans that are roasted, winnowed and ground, in a controlled environment to transform into a delectable chocolate bar. These chocolate bars are also infused with local, seasonal ingredients to create concoctions that speak for themselves. Dark chocolate with bhut jholokia chilli and Himalayan pink salt, a zero-sugar milk chocolate with glazed ginger and vegan dark chocolate with black sesame – you’ll be amazed how much they can do with regional and local ingredients.</p><p>The bean-to-bar movement in India goes back to 2014. It was kick-started by two brands, Naviluna (then Earth Loaf) in Mysore and Mason & Co. in Puducherry. In the new decade, we are at 15 (and counting) such chocolate makers who are dedicated to producing good-quality and preservative-free chocolate for all ages. </p><p>AlsoRead1</p><p>Here, we bring to you our pick of the best craft chocolate brands in the country. </p><h3>1. Pascati </h3><figure class="media"><oembed url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CLGvIZXp3nR/"></oembed></figure><p>India’s first USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) certified organic and fairtrade compliant chocolate maker, Pascati was founded by restaurant manager-turned-chocolatier and entrepreneur Devansh Asher. Asher’s tryst with chocolate began in early 2014 and curious to know more, he enrolled himself in a three-month online chocolate-making course. After a year of polishing his skills, experimenting with flavours and delving deeper into the Indian cacao, he launched Pascati in 2015. Social responsibility is at the core of everything Pascati does. The brand sources its beans from farmer’s collectives in Kerala’s Idukki and Malabar regions, which means livelihood for 2000+ farmers, and, over the last five years, has developed 14 different types of chocolate. </p><p><i>Must try: Saffron pistachio dark </i></p><p><i>Where to buy: www.pascati.com </i></p><h3>2. Mason & Co. </h3><figure class="media"><oembed url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CFytgoxp68E/"></oembed></figure><p>Organic, vegan and raw, this single-origin chocolate brand was founded in Auroville, Puducherry by Jane Mason and Fabien Bontems, a lawyer and a sound engineer, respectively. It began in 2014, when Mason, a vegan, saw a dearth of good chocolate brands in the country. Mason and Bontems started by making small batches for themselves at home and assessing the flavour and quality of local cacao beans. Soon, their chocolate became popular among friends and family, which eventually motivated the duo to go from a home lab to an artisan factory and launch Mason & Co. They have an all-women team (except Bontems) who work with beans sourced from certified organic farms in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to make chocolate bars that are free of preservatives and emulsifiers. Mason & Co. products come wrapped in elegant cardboard boxes with a coloured band that denotes flavour. Espresso dark chocolate, natural coconut milk and dark chocolate with peanut butter are a few of the flavours on offer here. </p><p><i>Must try: Black Sesame and Raisin Dark Chocolate </i></p><p><i>Where to buy: www.masonchocolate.com</i></p><h3>3. Naviluna </h3><figure class="media"><oembed url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKxa7DkJ4up/"></oembed></figure><p>Formerly known as Earth Loaf, Naviluna is one of the pioneers of craft chocolate in India. It is helmed by British mixologists-turned-entrepreneurs David Belo and Angelika Anangnostou. The bean-to-bar chocolate brand was founded in 2012 and it focuses on keeping it as raw and simple as possible -- they neither roast their single-origin cacao beans nor add butter to their chocolate. The duo believes the lack of roasting preserves its natural benefits and adds a distinct flavour profile to the final product. Just like most bean-to-bar brands, Naviluna’s chocolates are small batch and features offbeat flavour combinations such as jackfruit and black pepper, red capsicum and chilli, and Blue Tokai coffee and pineapple.</p><p><i>Must try: Gondhoraj and Apricot Bar </i></p><p><i>Where to buy: naviluna.in</i></p><h3>4. Soklet </h3><figure class="media"><oembed url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CCsn8TbpAdI/"></oembed></figure><p>Soklet takes the bean-to-bar concept a notch higher by growing their own cacao beans. It is owned by brothers-in-law Karthikeyan Palanisamy and Harish Manoj Kumar and the entire process, from breeding cacao trees to chocolate making and packaging, takes place at their set-up located on the foothills of the Anamalai Hills in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu. Soklet's offerings, including dark and milk varieties paired with interesting ingredients such as hibiscus, desi rabdi and spice, come wrapped in an equally interesting packaging that is inspired by Kanjeevaram sari borders. The founding duo also sells cooking chocolate made from their plantation's beans under the brand name Regal Chocolate.</p><p><i>Must try: 70% dark chocolate with Bhot Jolokia chilli and Himalayan pink salt </i></p><p><i>Where to buy: soklet.in</i> </p><h3>5. Kocoatrait </h3><figure class="media"><oembed url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGp5efap8mj/"></oembed></figure><p>In 2014, when L Nitin Chordia went on a study trip to Belgium, he realised the potential of Indian cacao beans. At the same time, he also got introduced to the concept of bean-to-bar chocolate. Once back, he spent approximately five years educating enthusiasts about the entire process of chocolate-making until he was ready to launch Kocoatrait. Started in October 2019, Kocoatrait is for people who want to binge on quality chocolate but also save the environment. The brand claims to be a zero-waste product, meaning its packaging is made using eco-friendly materials like cotton waste and cacao shells. Most of their products are vegan and are sweetened using khandsari sugar from Uttar Pradesh. Apart from chocolate bars, they also sell bon bons, cocoa powder and cocoa nibs. Apart from chocolate bars, they also sell bon bons, cocoa powder and cocoa nibs. </p><p><i>Must try: Coconut and Cinnamon Chocolate </i></p><p><i>Where to buy: cocoatrait.com</i></p>

Best Artisanal Chocolate Brands in India | Food | Zee Zest

Food

Chocolate

Homegrown Brands

Top 10

The Mughal Kitchen: One Man’s Search For The Lost Recipes Of A Dynasty

How Ilish Found Itself In The Midst Of Indo-Bangladesh Diplomacy

The Top 12 Bengali Dishes Every Foodie Must Try When In Kolkata

<p>If there’s one thing all Bengalis have in common, it’s their incorrigible love for food. All kinds of tasty delicacies - ranging from fish to meat and vegetarian preparations - in the perfect blend of sweet and spicy flavours - feature on the Bengali table.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://zeezest.com/food/from-ghugni-to-chingri-bhapa-8-popular-bengali-dishes-to-try-4167">Bengali cuisine</a> characteristics - like the strong hints of mustard, the ever-popular varieties of river fish like hilsa and bhekti and the rice that completes the traditional Bengali meal - are well known. But the way Bangla cuisine changes as one travels from the West to the East of Bengal is quite impressive. </p><h3>Cooking up a Storm</h3><p>“While the spices are very similar in both cuisines, the cooking techniques are somewhat different,” notes Sudeshna Banerjee, the founder of Bengalicuisine.net whose grandparents moved from Bangladesh to India during the Partition in 1947.</p><p>Though her parents were born in India, their cooking habits are still mostly derived from Bangladesh. “After marrying my husband Kalyan, whose parents are from the Bankura district of West Bengal, I noticed quite a few differences between my mother and my mother-in-law’s style of cooking,” she points out.</p><p>A little probing reveals that people from Bengal (Ghotis) are quite liberal with their sugar use. Be it a fish curry or a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://zeezest.com/recipes/watch-champaran-mutton-recipe-by-chef-harpal-singh-sokhi-647">spicy mutton recipe</a>, the use of sugar is almost a must. On the other hand, people from Bangladesh - or those like Banerjee's parents and grandparents who came to India after the Partition (Bangals) - don’t use sugar for its flavour. Instead, sugar adds a reddish-caramelised colour to their curry.</p><h3>The Nawabi Connection</h3><p>Chef Sirajul Rahaman from Novotel Kolkata, an expert in Bengali and other Indian cuisines, confirms that while there are many similarities between Bengali and Bangladeshi food, there are some striking differences as well.</p><p>Rahaman tells us that the food in East Bengal features a more substantial Mughal influence, making Bangladeshi dishes richer than their Western counterparts.</p><p>Oily and decadent, this cuisine uses <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://zeezest.com/food/all-you-need-to-know-about-ghee-and-its-health-benefits-zee-zest-344">ghee generously</a> and other rich ingredients like cashew nuts and coconut milk. “And no <i>tari</i> (a type of oil mixed with red chilli powder that floats on the gravy) means no <i>mazza</i> (fun),” confesses Chef Rahaman. Without generous oil, Bangladeshis will liken the meal to hospital food!</p><p>“Streets are where you find the most authentic Bangladeshi food,” says Chef Rahaman, “but looking at the oil, you might think twice before eating.” <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://zeezest.com/food/expert-speak-bengali-cuisine-is-all-about-zero-waste-and-sustainability-444">Bengali food</a> is certainly less calorific in comparison, but it earns its richness thanks to the famous Jharna ghee’s use. No bong would ever leave home without it. “The popular brand of cow milk-based ghee from the Sundarban Dairy is a reminder of home,” says Chef Rahaman.</p><p>AlsoRead0</p><h3>Meat Matters</h3><p>In general, Bengalis are also hardcore carnivores and Chef Rahaman admits that at a buffet in Kolkata the vegetarian items are sometimes likely to go untouched. From Murgh Do Pyaza (chicken cooked in onions and tempered with mustard seeds) to Bati Chingri (prawns cooked with mustard gravy and spring onions), non-vegetarian dishes are intrinsic to Bangla cuisine. In East Bengal, however, the love for meat is taken to a whole new level.</p><p>“The food here features egg and meat even in dals and vegetables,” says Chef Rahaman. “It’s not surprising to find items like <i>kaleji</i> or <i>bheja</i> (liver or brain) on the breakfast menu,” he adds.</p><p>The Mughal Empire in Bengal is also responsible for Bangladeshi cooking’s heavy dependence on beef. The famous Kosha Mangsho, a beef delicacy, has its origins in Dhaka.</p><p>With the end of the Mughal Empire in Bengal, the Mughal-trained cooks realised that beef would not sell and mutton on the food carts for religious reasons and so they modified the dish. Nevertheless, like Bengalis love their mutton, Bangladeshis still love their beef.</p><p>Banerjee tells us that another significant example of the Mughal influence on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://zeezest.com/food/culinary-delights-must-try-food-in-kolkata-for-a-taste-of-culture-4375">Kolkata’s cuisine </a>is potatoes in biryani.</p><p>Bengali cuisine offers quite a variety of pure vegetarian dishes as well. These include Chanar Dalna (a cottage cheese preparation), Kumror Chokka (pumpkin and black chickpeas cooked in mustard oil), Phulkopir Kalia (cauliflower cooked in mustard paste) and Sobji Dal (lentils cooked with vegetables). “One key difference though is that Ghotis like to cook vegetables to a point where they are almost mashed up in the curry while Bangals like it al dente,” adds Banerjee.</p><p>AlsoRead1</p><h3>For the love of fish</h3><p>Thanks to their location within the Ganges delta, both West Bengal and Bangladesh have one thing in common - the fish connection. “In Bengal, people are not just concerned with what fish is being served but also where it is from,” Chef Rahaman reveals.</p><p>Hilsa from the Padma River is the most popular in Bangladesh, and the head of this fish is often used in some vegetarian preparations. On the other hand, “the tastiest bhekti fish is caught in the Digha River of Kolkata, and a true Bengali would always choose the Gondhoraj variety,” he informs.</p><p>As Ghoti families simply cannot do without <i>posto</i> or poppy seeds in their cooking, Posto Maach (fish cooked in poppy seed paste) is quite a delicacy. “The star of Bangladeshi cuisine is the famous Shutki (dried fish curry),” Banerjee says.</p><p>AlsoRead2</p><h3>Let’s Sweeten the Deal</h3><p>Finally, neither a Bangladeshi nor a Bengali meal is complete without dessert. Common to both is the well-known <i>paayesh </i>(kheer), but this sweet dish also enjoys a little variety as it travels from West to East. The Bengali <i>paayesh </i>is made with glutinous rice, milk and sugar, while the Bangladeshi one uses coconut milk and semolina.</p><p>Almonds, cashews and other dried fruits usually enhance both versions and cardamom and saffron in more sumptuous meals.</p><p>Despite the differences, whether you’re eating at a Ghoti or Bangal home, you’re bound to be served a delectable array of dishes that will wow your tastebuds so don’t forget to wear your stretchy pants!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://soundcloud.com/user-816535788">ZeeZest.Com</a> · <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://soundcloud.com/user-816535788/finding-food-cuisine-from-east-and-west-bengal/s-d0SZ1EagqSq">Finding Food: Cuisine from East and West Bengal</a></p><p> </p><p> </p>

A look at Bangla cuisine from West to East Bengal.

Dive into diverse Bengali cuisine! Explore unique regional specialties, influences, and secrets behind East & West Bengal's distinct flavors.




Difference In Bengali Cuisine: East vs West Bengal Foods 

Seafood

Bengali

Main Course

<p>It’s the sound most Goans wake up to each morning. The 'poder’s' honk serves as a morning alarm, signaling the arrival of fresh pao for breakfast. Poder, in the local Konkani language, is the bread seller. Every morning, as the first light of dawn bounces off this emerald green state nestled by the sea, thousands of Poders pedal into sleepy villages and towns on bicycles fitted with large wicker baskets covered with tarpaulin. The honk signals their arrival on your street, waking homemakers and children who rush out to buy their daily pao—or <i>Poi</i>, <i>Unne </i>and <i>Katri</i> pao—traditional varieties that are popular with the locals but haven’t found an audience outside.</p><figure class="image image_resized image-style-align-left" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_ID-166-Life-of-pao-inside_1614250475615.jpg"></figure><p>Generations of Goans have grown up on a breakfast of pao and patal bhaji—a spicy curry of dried peas swimming in ground coconut and garam masala. You’ll find this staple served in all Goan homes, little shacks and fine-dining restaurants. The Pao came to Goa with the Portuguese, who added toddy to ferment the dough in the absence of yeast, a legacy that lent this bread its unique mildly-sour flavour.</p><p>It is perhaps the most popular export of Goa, made famous by the butter-soaked <a href="https://zeezest.com/food/how-to-make-pav-bhaji-at-home-mumbai-pav-bhaji-recipe-zee-zest-696">pav bhaji of Mumbai</a>, which then travelled all over the country. Bakers in Goa also add a touch of sugar to the dough, lending it that faint hint of sweet-sourness.</p><p>Poi is a coarser bread with wheat bran in the dough. In Goa, this flatter, country cousin of the pao is a popular dinner staple for people with diabetes, owing to its high fibre content. Poi lacks the absorbency of a pao but has just the right ruddiness to polish off spicy Xacuti or Sorpotel. Else, slice it across the middle and stuff chicken Cafreal or pork Chorizo in the hollow. </p><p>AlsoRead0</p><p>Traditionally baked in old, wood-fired, laterite-stone furnaces, Goa’s quaint old bakeries are gradually bowing out to mechanised bakehouses and electric ovens. Oven-made pao lacks the toughness of bread baked in stone furnaces. “The electric oven heats up from the bottom. It cannot match how evenly the warm laterite stone of traditional furnaces cooks the ball of dough into bread. Also, pao made in electric ovens has a lower shelf-life,” explains Daisy Gomes of the Gomes bakery in Vasco, the tiny port town of South Goa.</p><p>Work begins early for Shomu baking pao, poi, katri pao and kakana, some of the most popular varieties of Goan bread, for over 17 years at the Gomes bakery. Pao is the top-selling bread, he says. The furnace is heated for a couple of hours, and the firewood then heats the laterite structure. “Poi is the first to go into and come out of the furnace,” Shomu tells us, holding up round and oblong polis.</p><p>It is early evening, and people are trooping in to buy their daily bread. Apart from Pao and Poi, there is Katri pao or Unne, a rectangular bread pinched slightly at the belly, giving it a mildly slender waist. The dough is tougher and baked for a longer time, so it develops a sturdy crunch. </p><p>AlsoRead1</p><p>Kakana, or bangle in Konkani, is an interesting ring-shaped tough bread popular with kids. You can wear it like a big fat bangle around the wrists and munch on it at your own sweet time. You’ll spot Kakana in some of the traditional shops, strung around or stocked behind glass shelves. It has a long shelf life and rusk texture—achieved by pulling it out of the oven, allowing it to cool and then inserting it back to make it crunchy and tough. Dip it in curries or hot tea on a balmy evening. That’s how you experience the quiet and susegaad life of gorgeous Goa!</p>

Meet the traditional Goan pao and an assortment of bread that make scooping out Xacuti a delight!

Pao, poi, poli, kakana, here are the different types of bread that small Goan bakeries still bake. For more such stories, read Zeezest.com. 

Different types of bread in Goa | Local Goan Breads | Zee Zest

Bread

<p>As a young boy growing up in Old Delhi, Osama Jalali watched mundane ingredients transform into magical dishes all around him. In the narrow alleys of Shahjahanabad, the old city built by the Mughal emperor, khansamas curried and cooked up dishes from recipes handed down through generations.</p><p>Mughal queens, such as Jodha, who joined the clan from different regions imbued the kitchens with unique flavours. As more communities settled in the walled city, they brought culinary influences from the kitchens of Rampur, Awadh, even as far as Bengal. The cuisine continued to evolve as workers arrived from several parts of the country. Soon the kitchens of Old Delhi were brimming with unique ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques</p><p>The Muslim khansama around Jama Masjid and Lal Kuan areas have perfected the slow-cooked Nahari, a must for breakfast. They simmer their Biryani in large pots on a slow fire. The kebabs found here are so tender that the meat falls off the bone. The areas around Chandni Chowk were home to the Jain and Baniya communities as well. They introduced various vegetarian fare—samosas, kachori and finger-licking chaats—prepared without onions and garlic.</p><p>Jalali grew up to become a professional food writer for a reputed newspaper, writing over 2,000 food reviews. He noticed a trend in famous Indian cuisines that failed to represent its stunning variety and ancient traditions. “I saw a change in how Indian cuisine was being rebranded as progressive Indian and traditional items were being repackaged,” he says, referring to molecular gastronomy. The latest culinary trend serves up visual treats like chutney foam, yogurt spheres and deconstructed food, and has captured both chefs and foodies’ imagination.</p><p>“To me, this appeared like jugglery around food,” says Jalali, a die-hard traditionalist. “Our cuisine will get lost and youngsters will never know the intricacies of traditional Indian food,” he cautions. Since then, he has dedicated his efforts to restore some of the lost glory to Mughal cuisine. He’s on a mission to release the cuisine from the clutches of popular creamy tomato gravies and bright, spicy tikkas.</p><p>Jalali decided to put the spotlight back on the ancient foods and cooking techniques of India. This kickstarted his full immersion into finding the lost recipes of the Mughal era. He spent long hours pouring over old Persian books in ancient libraries. He dug out old recipes that his mother and wife recreated. Together the Jalalis cooked back a culinary tradition that had been lost to time.</p><h3>Piecing together a story</h3><p>As his work gained recognition, hotels across the country began to invite Jalali to train their chefs in traditional home-style Mughlai food. He launched food festivals, delivered lectures at hotel management institutes, was a jury member for prestigious culinary awards, started master classes in Delhi, and has represented Indian cuisine abroad. “People saw me as someone trying to recreate traditional recipes,” says Jalali, who now has his restaurant, The Masala Trail by Osama Jalali in Delhi.</p><p>If greasy butter chicken has captured popular imagination today, it was peculiar items like Mutanjan, sweet rice, and Gosht ka halwa that simmered in the ancient Mughal kitchens. Tomato didn’t feature in the recipes, but they made liberal use of saffron, dry fruits and black pepper, the only spice known to them for a long time.</p><p> “I met a fourth-generation khansama in old Delhi, who recalled savouring Gosht ka halwa on his wedding night in Rampur, cooked by his mother-in-law,” says the gourmand, who researched and recreated it for an audience of 800 foodies. “Nobody would have guessed that mutton could be turned into a sweet halwa!”</p><p>There are other unusual items like the Khancha kofta (or marble kofta), a meatball, which when cut, you find a marble-spaced void inside. “It makes you wonder how it got there! These are old techniques that are now labelled molecular gastronomy. What we did was freeze a ball of desi ghee, built the kofta around it, and put it in the dum,” reveals Jalali.</p><p>The Masala Trail by Osama Jalali focusses on dying recipes, uses traditional techniques and introduces patrons to regional street food from Bihar, Orissa, Sikkim and Kashmir. “From Dal Petha, Panki, Dabeli to Litti Chokha, our culinary heritage is interesting and varied,” elucidates the gourmand.</p><h3>Conserving a legacy</h3><p>Running the restaurant wasn’t easy. Challenges began from finding the right ingredients to mapping the cooking techniques. “We’re losing the ingredients because they’re not available. Cooking techniques are going extinct because we don’t have the time. Now cooking is more an assembly of food. Mixing packaged masalas and chopped veggies is not cooking. In the old kitchens, while the khansamas did the bulk cooking, it was women who did the cooking at home, and guarded family recipes,” he explains.</p><p>A lot of his guests are people who want to help their kids make that connection with old cooking techniques and flavours that they witnessed in the kitchens of their childhood. For instance, Mughal cooking involves marinating the meat “to the extent the meat would fall off the bone,” says Jalali. Indians have been smoking food, cooking fish in banana leaves and kebabs in guava leaves for enhanced flavours for a long time. These techniques are now in vogue all over the world.</p><p>So the next time you think Mughlai, look beyond Chicken Tikka and you’ll find the vast and fantastic culinary heritage that gave rise to it.</p>

Osama Jalali wants to bring alive the delicious legacy of Mughal kitchens and revive the ancient food traditions of India.

Delhi’s Osama Jalil is on a mission to restore ancient Indian cooking techniques and recipes. Find out more about the Mughal kitchens from the expert.

Discover lost recipes of the Mughal dynasty with Osama Jalali - Zee Zest

Delhi

Mughlai

Indian Recipe

Omar Jalali

&lt;p>As a young boy growing up in Old Delhi, Osama Jalali watched mundane ingredients transform into magical dishes all around him. In the narrow alleys of Shahjahanabad, the old city built by the Mughal emperor, khansamas curried and cooked up dishes from recipes handed down through generations.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Mughal queens, such as Jodha, who joined the clan from different regions imbued the kitchens with unique flavours. As more communities settled in the walled city, they brought culinary influences from the kitchens of Rampur, Awadh, even as far as Bengal. The cuisine continued to evolve as workers arrived from several parts of the country. Soon the kitchens of Old Delhi were brimming with unique ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques&lt;/p>&lt;p>The Muslim khansama around Jama Masjid and Lal Kuan areas have perfected the slow-cooked Nahari, a must for breakfast. They simmer their Biryani in large pots on a slow fire. The kebabs found here are so tender that the meat falls off the bone. The areas around Chandni Chowk were home to the Jain and Baniya communities as well. They introduced various vegetarian fare—samosas, kachori and finger-licking chaats—prepared without onions and garlic.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Jalali grew up to become a professional food writer for a reputed newspaper, writing over 2,000 food reviews. He noticed a trend in famous Indian cuisine that failed to represent its stunning variety and ancient traditions. “I saw a change in how Indian cuisine was being rebranded as progressive Indian and traditional items were being repackaged,” he says, referring to molecular gastronomy. The latest culinary trend serves up visual treats like chutney foam, yogurt spheres and deconstructed food, and has captured both chefs and foodies’ imagination.&lt;/p>&lt;p>“To me, this appeared like jugglery around food,” says Jalali, a die-hard traditionalist. “Our cuisine will get lost and youngsters will never know the intricacies of traditional Indian food,” he cautions. Since then, he has dedicated his efforts to restore some of the lost glory to Mughal cuisine. He’s on a mission to release the cuisine from the clutches of popular creamy tomato gravies and bright, spicy tikkas.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Jalali decided to put the spotlight back on the ancient foods and cooking techniques of India. This kickstarted his full immersion into finding the lost recipes of the Mughal era. He spent long hours pouring over old Persian books in ancient libraries. He dug out old recipes that his mother and wife recreated. Together the Jalalis cooked back a culinary tradition that had been lost to time.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Piecing Together a Story&lt;/h3>&lt;p>As his work gained recognition, hotels across the country began to invite Jalali to train their chefs in traditional home-style Mughlai food. He launched food festivals, delivered lectures at hotel management institutes, was a jury member for prestigious culinary awards, started master classes in Delhi, and has represented Indian cuisine abroad. “People saw me as someone trying to recreate traditional recipes,” says Jalali, who now has his restaurant, The Masala Trail by Osama Jalali in Delhi.&lt;/p>&lt;p>If greasy butter chicken has captured popular imagination today, it was peculiar items like Mutanjan, sweet rice, and Gosht ka halwa that simmered in the ancient Mughal kitchens. Tomato didn’t feature in the recipes, but they made liberal use of saffron, dry fruits and black pepper, the only spice known to them for a long time.&lt;/p>&lt;p> “I met a fourth-generation khansama in old Delhi, who recalled savouring Gosht ka halwa on his wedding night in Rampur, cooked by his mother-in-law,” says the gourmand, who researched and recreated it for an audience of 800 foodies. “Nobody would have guessed that mutton could be turned into a sweet halwa!”&lt;/p>&lt;p>There are other unusual items like the Khancha kofta (or marble kofta), a meatball, which when cut, you find a marble-spaced void inside. “It makes you wonder how it got there! These are old techniques that are now labelled molecular gastronomy. What we did was freeze a ball of desi ghee, built the kofta around it, and put it in the dum,” reveals Jalali.&lt;/p>&lt;p>The Masala Trail by Osama Jalali focusses on dying recipes, uses traditional techniques and introduces patrons to regional street food from Bihar, Orissa, Sikkim and Kashmir. “From Dal Petha, Panki, Dabeli to Litti Chokha, our culinary heritage is interesting and varied,” elucidates the gourmand.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Conserving a Legacy&lt;/h3>&lt;p>Running the restaurant wasn’t easy. Challenges began from finding the right ingredients to mapping the cooking techniques. “We’re losing the ingredients because they’re not available. Cooking techniques are going extinct because we don’t have the time. Now cooking is more an assembly of food. Mixing packaged masalas and chopped veggies is not cooking. In the old kitchens, while the khansamas did the bulk cooking, it was women who did the cooking at home, and guarded family recipes,” he explains.&lt;/p>&lt;p>A lot of his guests are people who want to help their kids make that connection with old cooking techniques and flavours that they witnessed in the kitchens of their childhood. For instance, Mughal cooking involves marinating the meat “to the extent the meat would fall off the bone,” says Jalali. Indians have been smoking food, cooking fish in banana leaves and kebabs in guava leaves for enhanced flavours for a long time. These techniques are now in vogue all over the world.&lt;/p>&lt;p>So the next time you think Mughlai, look beyond Chicken Tikka and you’ll find the vast and fantastic culinary heritage that gave rise to it.&lt;/p>

The Mughal Kitchen: One Man’s Search for the Lost Recipes Of A Dynasty

Indian recipe

Food history

&lt;p>Far away from the mass-produced and overly sweet bars by iconic brands in India, a bunch of homegrown craft chocolate makers are carving out their identity with high-quality cacao, a wide palate of unique flavours, small batches and loads of passion. Focused on transparency and sustainability, bean-to-bar is a long, arduous process where these chocolate makers use locally-sourced raw cacao beans that are roasted, winnowed and ground, in a controlled environment to transform into a delectable chocolate bar. These chocolate bars are also infused with local, seasonal ingredients to create concoctions that speak for themselves. Dark chocolate with bhut jholokia chilli and Himalayan pink salt, a zero-sugar milk chocolate with glazed ginger and vegan dark chocolate with black sesame – you’ll be amazed how much they can do with regional and local ingredients.&lt;/p>&lt;p>The bean-to-bar movement in India goes back to 2014. It was kick-started by two brands, Naviluna (then Earth Loaf) in Mysore and Mason & Co. in Puducherry. In the new decade, we are at 15 (and counting) such chocolate makers who are dedicated to producing good-quality and preservative-free chocolate for all ages. &lt;/p>&lt;p>AlsoRead1&lt;/p>&lt;p>Here, we bring to you our pick of the best craft chocolate brands in the country. &lt;/p>&lt;h3>1. Pascati &lt;/h3>&lt;figure class="media">&lt;oembed url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CLGvIZXp3nR/">&lt;/oembed>&lt;/figure>&lt;p>India’s first USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) certified organic and fairtrade compliant chocolate maker, Pascati was founded by restaurant manager-turned-chocolatier and entrepreneur Devansh Asher. Asher’s tryst with chocolate began in early 2014 and curious to know more, he enrolled himself in a three-month online chocolate-making course. After a year of polishing his skills, experimenting with flavours and delving deeper into the Indian cacao, he launched Pascati in 2015. Social responsibility is at the core of everything Pascati does. The brand sources its beans from farmer’s collectives in Kerala’s Idukki and Malabar regions, which means livelihood for 2000+ farmers, and, over the last five years, has developed 14 different types of chocolate. &lt;/p>&lt;p>&lt;i>Must try: Saffron pistachio dark &lt;/i>&lt;/p>&lt;p>&lt;i>Where to buy: www.pascati.com &lt;/i>&lt;/p>&lt;h3>2. Mason & Co. &lt;/h3>&lt;figure class="media">&lt;oembed url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CFytgoxp68E/">&lt;/oembed>&lt;/figure>&lt;p>Organic, vegan and raw, this single-origin chocolate brand was founded in Auroville, Puducherry by Jane Mason and Fabien Bontems, a lawyer and a sound engineer, respectively. It began in 2014, when Mason, a vegan, saw a dearth of good chocolate brands in the country. Mason and Bontems started by making small batches for themselves at home and assessing the flavour and quality of local cacao beans. Soon, their chocolate became popular among friends and family, which eventually motivated the duo to go from a home lab to an artisan factory and launch Mason & Co. They have an all-women team (except Bontems) who work with beans sourced from certified organic farms in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to make chocolate bars that are free of preservatives and emulsifiers. Mason & Co. products come wrapped in elegant cardboard boxes with a coloured band that denotes flavour. Espresso dark chocolate, natural coconut milk and dark chocolate with peanut butter are a few of the flavours on offer here. &lt;/p>&lt;p>&lt;i>Must try: Black Sesame and Raisin Dark Chocolate &lt;/i>&lt;/p>&lt;p>&lt;i>Where to buy: www.masonchocolate.com&lt;/i>&lt;/p>&lt;h3>3. Naviluna &lt;/h3>&lt;figure class="media">&lt;oembed url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKxa7DkJ4up/">&lt;/oembed>&lt;/figure>&lt;p>Formerly known as Earth Loaf, Naviluna is one of the pioneers of craft chocolate in India. It is helmed by British mixologists-turned-entrepreneurs David Belo and Angelika Anangnostou. The bean-to-bar chocolate brand was founded in 2012 and it focuses on keeping it as raw and simple as possible -- they neither roast their single-origin cacao beans nor add butter to their chocolate. The duo believes the lack of roasting preserves its natural benefits and adds a distinct flavour profile to the final product. Just like most bean-to-bar brands, Naviluna’s chocolates are small batch and features offbeat flavour combinations such as jackfruit and black pepper, red capsicum and chilli, and Blue Tokai coffee and pineapple.&lt;/p>&lt;p>&lt;i>Must try: Gondhoraj and Apricot Bar &lt;/i>&lt;/p>&lt;p>&lt;i>Where to buy: naviluna.in&lt;/i>&lt;/p>&lt;h3>4. Soklet &lt;/h3>&lt;figure class="media">&lt;oembed url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CCsn8TbpAdI/">&lt;/oembed>&lt;/figure>&lt;p>Soklet takes the bean-to-bar concept a notch higher by growing their own cacao beans. It is owned by brothers-in-law Karthikeyan Palanisamy and Harish Manoj Kumar and the entire process, from breeding cacao trees to chocolate making and packaging, takes place at their set-up located on the foothills of the Anamalai Hills in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu. Soklet's offerings, including dark and milk varieties paired with interesting ingredients such as hibiscus, desi rabdi and spice, come wrapped in an equally interesting packaging that is inspired by Kanjeevaram sari borders. The founding duo also sells cooking chocolate made from their plantation's beans under the brand name Regal Chocolate.&lt;/p>&lt;p>&lt;i>Must try: 70% dark chocolate with Bhot Jolokia chilli and Himalayan pink salt &lt;/i>&lt;/p>&lt;p>&lt;i>Where to buy: soklet.in&lt;/i> &lt;/p>&lt;h3>5. Kocoatrait &lt;/h3>&lt;figure class="media">&lt;oembed url="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGp5efap8mj/">&lt;/oembed>&lt;/figure>&lt;p>In 2014, when L Nitin Chordia went on a study trip to Belgium, he realised the potential of Indian cacao beans. At the same time, he also got introduced to the concept of bean-to-bar chocolate. Once back, he spent approximately five years educating enthusiasts about the entire process of chocolate-making until he was ready to launch Kocoatrait. Started in October 2019, Kocoatrait is for people who want to binge on quality chocolate but also save the environment. The brand claims to be a zero-waste product, meaning its packaging is made using eco-friendly materials like cotton waste and cacao shells. Most of their products are vegan and are sweetened using khandsari sugar from Uttar Pradesh. Apart from chocolate bars, they also sell bon bons, cocoa powder and cocoa nibs. Apart from chocolate bars, they also sell bon bons, cocoa powder and cocoa nibs. &lt;/p>&lt;p>&lt;i>Must try: Coconut and Cinnamon Chocolate &lt;/i>&lt;/p>&lt;p>&lt;i>Where to buy: cocoatrait.com&lt;/i>&lt;/p>

&lt;p>Food Stylist Nitin Tandon can change your mood by merely making your food look better. An adventurer at heart, Tandon trained to be a chef and launched some of the most popular Pan Asian restaurants in Mumbai while styling food for some of the most prestigious TV and print commercials in a career spanning almost 30 years. And the ice-cream? This melting goodness continues to be his most challenging and so, most favourite food to style!&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Your journey&lt;/h3>&lt;figure class="image image_resized image-style-align-left" style="width:50%;">&lt;img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Nitin-Tandon_1614178972656.jpg">&lt;/figure>&lt;p>I think I was born in a kitchen, in an ice-cream tub to be specific. At the age of 12, my family crowned me the second ‘omelette’ chef, following in my father’s footsteps. My mom was a gifted cook, whereas my father’s approach to food was more creative.&lt;/p>&lt;p>In the pursuit of big-ticket hotels and restaurants’ glamour, I studied in Food Craft Institute, Pune. I fell in love with everything food-related while working in the kitchens of the Taj Mahal Mumbai and The Oberoi. I was also love-struck with the girl I later married. She was the patisserie chef, and it was love at first bite!&lt;/p>&lt;p>My wife and I embarked on a passionate, entrepreneurial journey in 1992 by launching restaurants and banqueting. This is when I also began styling food for photography in TV commercials and stills for hundreds of brands.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Aspiring food stylists must&lt;/h3>&lt;p>Food styling has two essentials - food and design. Design schools don’t teach food, and culinary colleges don’t expose you to great art and aesthetics. This is a lesser-known profession, and we are just a motley crew.&lt;/p>&lt;p>So if you aspire to be a food stylist, just start styling every platter you can lay your hands on. But remember, styling cannot be your first profession after school. So polish your skills in any one field – food or design – and then let your passion guide you here.&lt;/p>&lt;p>When you’ve hit gold, earning Rs 30,000 to Rs 75,000 per day is not too difficult. World travel, good locations for shoots and decent hotel beds to snuggle into are the added perks!&lt;/p>&lt;h3>To become a better stylist&lt;/h3>&lt;p>Travel. It’s a great teacher. Food design speaks in a language that one understands today. It captures our cultures, socio-economic situations and world influences.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Tools to make everyday meals Instagram-worthy&lt;/h3>&lt;p>Styling creates a mood. So use simple tools to enhance your food: cutlery, crockery, table set-up and lighting. Candle-lit dinners are a big yes! Celebrate food and train your mind to create a mood-setting for anything you wish to celebrate.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Inspire yourself with videos and pictures and recreate them initially as they are or until you create a space that is entirely your own. Observe the design and don’t get swayed by the branding.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>The most difficult foods to style&lt;/h3>&lt;p>Products that melt and misbehave like ice-cream or dessert or chocolate. Some Indian foods have poor shape or form and trouble us. Shooting a lump of rice, burnt-coloured curries, lesser-known cuts of meat or unknown veggies can be a significant challenge at times. Try making chiwda look sexy, especially when you have to shoot with no props!&lt;/p>&lt;p>But there’s a solution. You just have to fall in love with the food you’re shooting. Second, approach your assignment with a team and ask everyone to do their homework. Brainstorm, listen to your team…and watch how you turn runny ice-cream into a showstopper.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>And your inspiration?&lt;/h3>&lt;p>Being an urban atheist, I use God when convenient! But I celebrate his work the most. Nature and natural forms are my biggest inspiration. My constant quest is to take a shape and form and create the unthinkable to provoke you, pleasantly surprise you and influence your mind.&lt;/p>&lt;p>My aesthetics are teased by any grand design, whether its architecture, a landscape, product design. I am continually browsing pictures—every single moment.&lt;/p>&lt;p>I love shooting ice-cream. Every few years, my taste for a specific cuisine changes and with that my desire to experiment intensifies.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Food trends of the future&lt;/h3>&lt;p>Health food has captured the popular imagination. I see a surge in Ayurvedic food practices integrated into our lifestyle. Vegetarianism is on the rise, and since Indian food has the most considerable repertoire of vegetarian food globally, I foresee Indian food gaining prominence in the global market. &lt;/p>

Ace food stylist, Nitin Tandon, shares wisdom he has collected over the last 30 years.

Planning to learn food styling and photography? Hear it from the professionals! Find out all you need to know about food styling from Nitin Tandon

Learn to style your food with award-winning food stylist Nitin Tandon - Zee Zest

Nitin Tandon: The Boy Who Was Born In An Ice-Cream Tub

Interview

Food Styling

food photography

careers

<p>The beautiful city of Mysore lends its name to many brands and products in India. The flagship Mysore silk and fragrant Mysore sandal beauty products are traditional favourites. The famous Mysore Pak, a sweet created in the royal kitchens of the Wodeyars. The most famous export remains Mysore Masala Dosa—a fiery variant of the masala dosa with red chutney smeared over the crispy Indian crepe—a version found on the menus of most South Indian restaurants.</p><h3>The Hero of Mysore Masala Dosa</h3><p>The flaming red chutney smeared on the inside comes as a zingy surprise for first-timers digging into its belly for the familiar potato filling. It is this red, chilli-garlic paste that makes the Mysore Masala Dosa truly special. Like British yoga student Laura Farrier, the sizzle on your tongue comes as a bolt from the blue for newbie fans of this dosa. Before Mysore, she had been in Kerala where she was on a regular diet of Masala Dosas. “When I asked them what the red chilli paste was doing on my dosa, they told me it was the special Mysore Masala Dosa!” recalls Farrier.</p><p>“The Mysore Masala Dosa is special because around 50 years ago, the local restaurants made a red chutney with chillies and garlic. They applied it on the freshly-poured thick dosa batter. Then they fixed the potato palya inside and simply folded it in half,” says Anu Ganesh, a local who runs Anu’s Cafe in the city’s Gokulam area. </p><p>AlsoRead0</p><h3>Twist in the Tale</h3><p>Unlike in other south Indian towns and cities, in Mysore, chutney does accompany your dosa but you won’t find any sambar here. This chutney is a paste of roasted chana ground with coconut. “Sambar did not accompany the Mysore Masala Dosa until the Kamat restaurants came into the scene with their crispy paper-thin dosas dripping with vegetable lard,” adds Ganesh.</p><p>Another distinct quality of the Mysore Masala Dosa is that, unlike the traditional dosa, it is crispy on the outside but slightly spongy on the inside. The other dosas in South Karnataka are crisper and have a subtle sweetness unlike those from Kerala or Tamil Nadu, where a hint of sourness from the batter is conspicuous, and the crepes are a tad slack. </p><p>AlsoRead1</p><h3>Dosa shades of brown</h3><p>You will find dosas in all shades of brown in the rest of south India, starting with off-white to light and dark brown. But the Mysore Masala Dosa always has a standard shade of dark brown.</p><p>Some seasoned home cooks believe that Mysore restaurants add sugar to the dosa batter for its brown colour and signature crispiness. However, this claim couldn’t be verified. The potato used for the filling is boiled to a buttery consistency and then mashed with a generous helping of onion and some more ingredients. After placing the masala neatly in the centre of the dosa, it is folded in half and not rolled, as you’ll find in most places outside Mysore. </p><p>AlsoRead2</p><h3>Migration of the Mysore Masala Dosa</h3><p>How did the Mysore Masala Dosa travel out of its home town and place itself firmly as a much-loved staple on the South Indian menu across India? Mysoreans attribute this to some famous restaurant chains like Kamat, which featured the dosa on their Bengaluru menu. From here, it seems to have travelled to other metros like Mumbai and Delhi followed by other cities and towns.</p><p>The dosa has undoubtedly earned a colourful and fiery reputation along the way. “If you go to Udupi, along coastal Karnataka, the masala dosa looks and tastes completely different,” notes Sachin S of Royal Mysore Walks that conducts heritage walking tours of the city. He adds that the Mysore Masala Dosa stood out because of its distinct South Karnataka flavours. </p><p>Then again, one will find two variants within the city. “In the first type, common to all of south Karnataka, the dosa is smaller yet thicker and has the standard potato-onion filling inside. GTR (Gayathri Tiffin Room) has one of the better versions of this dosa here in Mysore. The second type, unique to Mysore city, has mix-veg saagu (thick curry). Mylari is famous for this variety,” informs Krishna MV, a Mysore local.</p><h3>Taste the fire of Mysore</h3><p>So where should you head to sample the authentic Mysore Masala Dosa? Mylari, with its two outlets run by brothers in Nazarbad is the most famous dosa joint in Mysore. The family that started it makes a signature batter, which is said to be a closely guarded family secret. The dosa restaurant opens early in the morning and closes when the batter is over, which is often quick.</p><p>Apart from Mylari, other iconic restaurants serve the masala dosa. You can head to Gayatri Tiffin Room, famously known as GTR and Hotel Dasaprakash. Locals also recommend Ramya Hotel in Hinkal and Guru Hotel in Nazarbad. Another must-visit is the Dosa Point which has many branches in the city. However, the one on Sayyaji Rao Road comes highly recommended. </p>

We went looking for the zingy Masala Dosa in its birth city and returned with more than just a full belly.

The red chutney makes Mysore Masala Dosa different from other dosas. Find out more about this dosa from Mysore and how it became famous.

How is Mysore Masala Different from other Dosas | Zee Zest

All You Need To Know About Mysore’s Masala Dosa And Where To Find It

South Indian

Food Trail

Karnataka

Breakfast

Masala Dosa

Mysore Masala Dosa

Dosa Types

<p>Food Stylist Nitin Tandon can change your mood by merely making your food look better. An adventurer at heart, Tandon trained to be a chef and launched some of the most popular Pan Asian restaurants in Mumbai while styling food for some of the most prestigious TV and print commercials in a career spanning almost 30 years. And the ice-cream? This melting goodness continues to be his most challenging and so, most favourite food to style!</p><h3>Your journey</h3><figure class="image image_resized image-style-align-left" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Nitin-Tandon_1614178972656.jpg"></figure><p>I think I was born in a kitchen, in an ice-cream tub to be specific. At the age of 12, my family crowned me the second ‘omelette’ chef, following in my father’s footsteps. My mom was a gifted cook, whereas my father’s approach to food was more creative.</p><p>In the pursuit of big-ticket hotels and restaurants’ glamour, I studied in Food Craft Institute, Pune. I fell in love with everything food-related while working in the kitchens of the Taj Mahal Mumbai and The Oberoi. I was also love-struck with the girl I later married. She was the patisserie chef, and it was love at first bite!</p><p>My wife and I embarked on a passionate, entrepreneurial journey in 1992 by launching restaurants and banqueting. This is when I also began styling food for photography in TV commercials and stills for hundreds of brands.</p><h3>Aspiring food stylists must</h3><p>Food styling has two essentials - food and design. Design schools don’t teach food, and culinary colleges don’t expose you to great art and aesthetics. This is a lesser-known profession, and we are just a motley crew.</p><p>So if you aspire to be a food stylist, just start styling every platter you can lay your hands on. But remember, styling cannot be your first profession after school. So polish your skills in any one field – food or design – and then let your passion guide you here.</p><p>When you’ve hit gold, earning Rs 30,000 to Rs 75,000 per day is not too difficult. World travel, good locations for shoots and decent hotel beds to snuggle into are the added perks!</p><h3>To become a better stylist</h3><p>Travel. It’s a great teacher. Food design speaks in a language that one understands today. It captures our cultures, socio-economic situations and world influences.</p><h3>Tools to make everyday meals Instagram-worthy</h3><p>Styling creates a mood. So use simple tools to enhance your food: cutlery, crockery, table set-up and lighting. Candle-lit dinners are a big yes! Celebrate food and train your mind to create a mood-setting for anything you wish to celebrate.</p><p>Inspire yourself with videos and pictures and recreate them initially as they are or until you create a space that is entirely your own. Observe the design and don’t get swayed by the branding.</p><h3>The most difficult foods to style</h3><p>Products that melt and misbehave like ice-cream or dessert or chocolate. Some Indian foods have poor shape or form and trouble us. Shooting a lump of rice, burnt-coloured curries, lesser-known cuts of meat or unknown veggies can be a significant challenge at times. Try making chiwda look sexy, especially when you have to shoot with no props!</p><p>But there’s a solution. You just have to fall in love with the food you’re shooting. Second, approach your assignment with a team and ask everyone to do their homework. Brainstorm, listen to your team…and watch how you turn runny ice-cream into a showstopper.</p><h3>And your inspiration?</h3><p>Being an urban atheist, I use God when convenient! But I celebrate his work the most. Nature and natural forms are my biggest inspiration. My constant quest is to take a shape and form and create the unthinkable to provoke you, pleasantly surprise you and influence your mind.</p><p>My aesthetics are teased by any grand design, whether its architecture, a landscape, product design. I am continually browsing pictures—every single moment.</p><p>I love shooting ice-cream. Every few years, my taste for a specific cuisine changes and with that my desire to experiment intensifies.</p><h3>Food trends of the future</h3><p>Health food has captured the popular imagination. I see a surge in Ayurvedic food practices integrated into our lifestyle. Vegetarianism is on the rise, and since Indian food has the most considerable repertoire of vegetarian food globally, I foresee Indian food gaining prominence in the global market. </p>

Food Photography

Careers

<p>Any meal in this part of the country is incomplete without gobbling down a few soft and juicy Rosogollas. The craze for Rosogollas have accelerated ever since West Bengal received the GI tag in 2017. Just for dummies, Rosogolla is one of the most popular sweets found in Bengal. Its primary ingredients are <i>chenna</i> (cottage cheese), semolina dough, and sugar syrup.</p><p>One of the best areas to indulge in this delicacy is the North of Kolkata. Characterised by narrow lanes and hand-pulled rickshaws, this old part of Kolkata is home to some of the most legendary sweet shops including the self-proclaimed Rosogolla inventor!</p><p>Are you all set for the trail? Do not try driving down these narrow lanes. Aim for an authentic experience by flagging down a yellow cab or commute by the vintage trams; or best still, on foot.</p><h3>Nobin Chandra Das: The Baap of K.C. Das </h3><p>Quite literally, father of K.C. Das, Nobin Chandra Das is hailed as the inventor of Rosogollas. It is believed that K.C. Das introduced tinned Rosogollas and made sure it’s easy to carry this spongy sweetmeat from Kolkata to London, but it was his father who perfected the recipe back in the day. </p><p>While the Classic Rosogolla is quite a mouthful here, one must try the Diabetic Rosogolla where sugar is substituted with Sorbitol syrup. Almost the same level of sweetness, lesser the calories. Rejoice! </p><p><i>Address: 77, Jatindra Mohan Ave, Sovabazar, Kolkata</i> </p><h3>Chittaranjan Mistanna Bhandar: Happiness comes in different sizes </h3><p>Next up is Chittaranjan Mistanna Bhandar. Helmed by the sixth generation of the family, it is a small, easy-to-miss shop, but not if you proclaim to be a Rosogolla fan. These happy spheres come in three different sizes here, based on your appetite for a heady sugar rush.</p><p>They also make hot Rosogollas from 9 to 11 am every day, which are sure to make your winters a tad bit warmer. </p><p><i>Address: 34B, Shyambazar Street, Kolkata </i></p><h3>Bhabhatarini: One for the ‘Aam’ janta </h3><p>Barely 25 steps away from the legendary Chittaranjan, rests the 65-year-old establishment of sweets—Bhabhatarini. Their best sellers include the classic spongy Rosogolla and the must-try Raw Mango Rosogolla. </p><p><i>Address: 35, Shyambazaar Street </i> </p><h3>Subodh Chandra Mullick: Dive into a world of flavours </h3><p>Apart from serving the traditional Rosogolla, this fourth generation sweet-makers will tempt you into taking a plunge into the world of flavours. Kesar, Vanilla, Nolen Gur and Orange (also known as Kamala Bhog) are the delectable options to choose from.</p><p>Our personal favourite has to be the much-loved Nolen Gur—one that screams Kolkata! </p><p><i>Address: 64/1, Ram Dulal Sarkar Street</i></p><h3>Putiram </h3><p>If you are the kinds who prefers denser Rosogollas over the spongy variety, then the last spot is just for you! Over a century and a half old, Putiram is nestled in one of the busiest areas of Kolkata, College Square. The Rosogollas here are slightly dense compared to other sweet shops that serve the ultra spongy ones. </p><p>The difference in texture is due to the difference in the ratio of <i>chenna</i> and semolina dough. Owing to its proximity to a lot of colleges, the prices haven’t hit the roof yet, but their Rosogullas hit the right sweet spot. </p><p><i>Address: 12A, Surya Sen Street, College Street, Kolkata </i></p>

We explored the old streets of the City of Joy to find the best places that serve this sweet delight. 

Go on a Rossogolla-Rasgulla Trail in Kolkata to savour the best of the soft and delicious dessert that makes the city and the state of West Bengal proud. 

Where to Find the Juiciest Rasgulla in Kolkata - Food - Zee Zest

Where to Find the Juiciest Rosogollas in Kolkata

Kolkata

&lt;p>The beautiful city of Mysore lends its name to many brands and products in India. The flagship Mysore silk and fragrant Mysore sandal beauty products are traditional favourites. The famous Mysore Pak, a sweet created in the royal kitchens of the Wodeyars. The most famous export remains Mysore Masala Dosa—a fiery variant of the masala dosa with red chutney smeared over the crispy Indian crepe—a version found on the menus of most South Indian restaurants.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>The Hero of Mysore Masala Dosa&lt;/h3>&lt;p>The flaming red chutney smeared on the inside comes as a zingy surprise for first-timers digging into its belly for the familiar potato filling. It is this red, chilli-garlic paste that makes the Mysore Masala Dosa truly special. Like British yoga student Laura Farrier, the sizzle on your tongue comes as a bolt from the blue for newbie fans of this dosa. Before Mysore, she had been in Kerala where she was on a regular diet of Masala Dosas. “When I asked them what the red chilli paste was doing on my dosa, they told me it was the special Mysore Masala Dosa!” recalls Farrier.&lt;/p>&lt;p>“The Mysore Masala Dosa is special because around 50 years ago, the local restaurants made a red chutney with chillies and garlic. They applied it on the freshly-poured thick dosa batter. Then they fixed the potato palya inside and simply folded it in half,” says Anu Ganesh, a local who runs Anu’s Cafe in the city’s Gokulam area. &lt;/p>&lt;p>AlsoRead0&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Twist in the Tale&lt;/h3>&lt;p>Unlike in other south Indian towns and cities, in Mysore, chutney does accompany your dosa but you won’t find any sambar here. This chutney is a paste of roasted chana ground with coconut. “Sambar did not accompany the Mysore Masala Dosa until the Kamat restaurants came into the scene with their crispy paper-thin dosas dripping with vegetable lard,” adds Ganesh.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Another distinct quality of the Mysore Masala Dosa is that, unlike the traditional dosa, it is crispy on the outside but slightly spongy on the inside. The other dosas in South Karnataka are crisper and have a subtle sweetness unlike those from Kerala or Tamil Nadu, where a hint of sourness from the batter is conspicuous, and the crepes are a tad slack. &lt;/p>&lt;p>AlsoRead1&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Dosa shades of brown&lt;/h3>&lt;p>You will find dosas in all shades of brown in the rest of south India, starting with off-white to light and dark brown. But the Mysore Masala Dosa always has a standard shade of dark brown.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Some seasoned home cooks believe that Mysore restaurants add sugar to the dosa batter for its brown colour and signature crispiness. However, this claim couldn’t be verified. The potato used for the filling is boiled to a buttery consistency and then mashed with a generous helping of onion and some more ingredients. After placing the masala neatly in the centre of the dosa, it is folded in half and not rolled, as you’ll find in most places outside Mysore. &lt;/p>&lt;p>AlsoRead2&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Migration of the Mysore Masala Dosa&lt;/h3>&lt;p>How did the Mysore Masala Dosa travel out of its home town and place itself firmly as a much-loved staple on the South Indian menu across India? Mysoreans attribute this to some famous restaurant chains like Kamat, which featured the dosa on their Bengaluru menu. From here, it seems to have travelled to other metros like Mumbai and Delhi followed by other cities and towns.&lt;/p>&lt;p>The dosa has undoubtedly earned a colourful and fiery reputation along the way. “If you go to Udupi, along coastal Karnataka, the masala dosa looks and tastes completely different,” notes Sachin S of Royal Mysore Walks that conducts heritage walking tours of the city. He adds that the Mysore Masala Dosa stood out because of its distinct South Karnataka flavours. &lt;/p>&lt;p>Then again, one will find two variants within the city. “In the first type, common to all of south Karnataka, the dosa is smaller yet thicker and has the standard potato-onion filling inside. GTR (Gayathri Tiffin Room) has one of the better versions of this dosa here in Mysore. The second type, unique to Mysore city, has mix-veg saagu (thick curry). Mylari is famous for this variety,” informs Krishna MV, a Mysore local.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Taste the fire of Mysore&lt;/h3>&lt;p>So where should you head to sample the authentic Mysore Masala Dosa? Mylari, with its two outlets run by brothers in Nazarbad is the most famous dosa joint in Mysore. The family that started it makes a signature batter, which is said to be a closely guarded family secret. The dosa restaurant opens early in the morning and closes when the batter is over, which is often quick.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Apart from Mylari, other iconic restaurants serve the masala dosa. You can head to Gayatri Tiffin Room, famously known as GTR and Hotel Dasaprakash. Locals also recommend Ramya Hotel in Hinkal and Guru Hotel in Nazarbad. Another must-visit is the Dosa Point which has many branches in the city. However, the one on Sayyaji Rao Road comes highly recommended. &lt;/p>

Mysore masala dosa

dosa types

&lt;p>Talk of Agra is incomplete without its famous petha - the sugary, syrupy, translucent sweet, made from the very common pumpkin. It may be unique to Agra but Petha is made by halwais all over India. You must especially try the pethas made in the northern belt, where cooks have experimented with various flavours and textures. No visitor to the Taj Mahal city can return without a bundle of this vegetable-based sweetmeat that has quite a fan following.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Halwais in Agra tell us the story of the ‘petha’, which goes back almost 350 years, to Shah Jahan’s regime, the Mughal emperor. It is said to have been cooked for the first time in the royal kitchens when the Taj Mahal was being built. According to popular folklore, workers at the monument were bored with the daily meal of dal and roti and were not eating properly. It became a matter of concern for the emperor, who confided in the master architect Ustad Isa Effendi. He, in turn, asked the Pir Naqshbandi Sahib for help. The Pir is said to have gone into a trance during prayers one day and received the recipe for the ‘petha’ from the Almighty. Around 500 cooks were pressed into service to make the petha for the workers. Since then, it has remained Agra’s most famous export.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Today, Agra’s Noori Gate area is home to more than 700 cottage units that manufacture pethas. The most famous and biggest petha supplier of them is Panchhi Petha, with branches all over the country. There are several other stores but Panchhi, started by Seth Pancham Lal Goyal, a 24-year-old entrepreneur, over 70 years ago, remains a favourite.&lt;/p>&lt;p>The original dry, plain translucent petha is the classic authentic version of the sweet. However, you will now find many varieties of pethas in different flavours. Expect to try chocolate, coconut, kesar angoori, mango, orange, pineapple, paan, almond and cherry, to name a few. There are also variants like Petha Gulab Ladoo, Kancha Petha, Sandwich Petha and Doda Petha.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Entrepreneurs have also introduced sugar-free varieties of petha. It’s been a long journey for a humble sweet from the emperor’s kitchen made only from ash gourd, sugar and water to the diabetic thali of today!&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Traditional Petha Recipe&lt;/h3>&lt;p>&lt;strong>Made of:&lt;/strong> Raw petha (pumpkin), sugar and original flavour cardamom&lt;/p>&lt;h4>Ingredients&lt;/h4>&lt;p>1 kg white pumpkin (firm)&lt;br>2 tsp kitchen lime (calcium hydroxide)&lt;br>1/2 tsp fitkari (alum powder)&lt;br>3 drops kewra (screwpine essence)&lt;br>800 gm sugar&lt;br>1 tsp rose water&lt;br>2 cups of water&lt;/p>&lt;h4>Method&lt;/h4>&lt;ul>&lt;li>Dissolve alum powder in 1/2 cup of water and keep aside.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Dissolve kitchen lime in 1 litre of water, strain with a clean cloth and keep aside.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Wash, peel and deseed the pumpkin. Cut into 1-inch square pieces and prick the pieces with a fork all over.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Soak the pieces in lime water for 30 minutes.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Drain the lime water and wash the pieces under clean running water.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Pour alum water on the pieces till they are evenly coated. Drain the alum water.&lt;/li>&lt;li>In a heavy-bottomed pan, boil the pumpkin pieces till they become soft and transparent.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Prepare sugar syrup of two-thread consistency.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Put the boiled pumpkin pieces in the sugar syrup and boil till the syrup is thick again.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Turn off the flame and take out the pieces. Keep just the syrup covered with a mesh overnight.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Next day, once again boil the syrup and add the pieces.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Cook it for 3-4 minutes and turn off the flame. Let the pieces cool.&lt;/li>&lt;li>Sprinkle kewra and rose water over the pieces and allow the petha to cool completely before refrigerating.&lt;/li>&lt;/ul>

&lt;p>This melt-in-the-mouth sweetmeat had inspired several internet memes when self-proclaimed nationalists called out the famous Indian sweet to prove its loyalty to the country by changing its name to Mysore India.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>One of the oldest&lt;/h3>&lt;p>The event has Nataraj of Mysore’s Guru Sweet Mart in splits. "If someone has to change the name, it has to be Pakistan because Mysore Pak was born much before Pakistan," he chips in good-naturedly. There is much meat in his joy. One of the oldest sweets in the country, Mysore Pak still holds the royal stage in the world of desserts. This sweet was born in the kitchens of Mysore Palace. Nataraj is the direct descendant of the royal chef or 'Nalapakka' who created this wonderful sweet for the Maharaja of Mysore.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Legend has it&lt;/h3>&lt;p>On a balmy afternoon close to eight decades ago, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the then Maharaja of Mysore, felt like having a sweet unlike any other. He summoned Kakasura Madappa, his royal chef, and shared his desire. Madappa, who could whip up delicacies in a jiffy, decided to go with his trusted ingredients—gram flour, cow's ghee, sugar and cardamom—to create what would turn out to be the Maharaja's favourite sweet.&lt;/p>&lt;p>The much-delighted king decided to name the pale yellow sweet after his kingdom. "Paaka (a delicious, languorous way of saying Pak where the aa is stretched like viscous sugar syrup) means sweet, syrupy or sugar-coated. A paaka made in Mysore became Mysore Pak," says Nataraj.&lt;/p>&lt;p>AlsoRead0&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Original recipe lives on&lt;/h3>&lt;p>Guru Sweet Mart at Devaraja Market in Mysore still prepares Mysore Pak the way Kakasura Madappa created it. Nataraj, who runs the store with his brothers Kumar and Shivanand, inherited the original recipe. "We are the fifth generation descendents of Kakasura Madapa. Only we have this secret recipe," he states proudly.&lt;/p>&lt;p>If you are accustomed to the porous, brick-like sweets peddled as Mysore Pak in regular sweet shops, the Mysore Pak at Guru's will have you doubting its originality. It’s very distinct in both taste and texture. The original Mysore Pak is doughy to touch and melts in your mouth instantly. It's so soft that it’s not possible to mould it in any shape. It’s often sliced off as per requirement with a knife from a slab of sweet made on that day.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Ghee makes all the difference&lt;/h3>&lt;p>Nataraj says they use pure ghee to make the original Mysore Pak instead of vanaspati (hydrogenated vegetable oil) which is often used in the commercial variants of the sweet. Not surprisingly, the sweet brings in swift business daily, with the sales peaking during festivals like Dasara and petering out during the monsoon. "On a dull day, we sell about 20 to 30 kg. The sale is often good during Dasara," Nataraj says.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Guru Sweet Mart also stocks up on other popular Indian sweets like Sonpapdi (which, Nataraj claims, has also been created by his great-grandfather who made Mysore Pak) and Dharwad Peda to name a few. The family-run sweetshop doesn’t have manufacturing units like commercial sweet shops. All the sweets are prepared in their home every day. The brothers, their wives and other family members lend a helping hand to make the stock for the day.&lt;/p>&lt;p>The family is very proud of their lineage. Most of the members continue to maintain an association with the sweet business despite having full-fledged careers. "My sister is a doctor and so is one of my cousins. My son and my nephew are engineers who have done their M.Tech. But all of them are involved in this business, part-time at least," he says. Do the brothers have any plans to expand their business? "Not at all. We are delighted with what we have," Nataraj signs off with a royal grin.&lt;/p>

The direct descendant of the royal chef who invented Mysore Pak tells the interesting history of this popular sweet dish from Mysore. For more such stories, read ZeeZest.com

History of Mysore Pak | Where to get the best Mysore Pak? | Zee Zest

recipe

&lt;p>Most people who have lived and worked in Mumbai will unanimously agree that Matunga is where you find the best filter coffee. Patrons who frequent Matunga’s Udupi cafes call it 'kaapi'. The Udupi cafes’ story is as distinct as the beverage they brew for eager customers each day.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Most of the delicacies you find in the lanes of Matunga trace their origins back to Udupi, a district in Karnataka, 58 km away from Mangalore. It’s also the birthplace of A Rama Nayak, the founder of the first Udupi restaurant in Mumbai.&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Udupi to Matunga&lt;/h3>&lt;p>A Rama Nayak came to Mumbai then-Bombay in the 1930s. He aimed to serve meals to as many people as possible. The benchmark for affordability was set at what a blue-collar mill worker in Bombay could pay for a meal. Soon many more cafes followed suit. Amba Bhavan in 1933, Café Mysore in 1934, Mani’s Lunch Home in 1937 and Café Madras in 1940.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Over the decades, these Udupi cafes have flourished on the mantra of affordability for a healthy and hearty meal. Office goers, mill workers, students and residents alike embraced these Udupi cafes. The cafes have now become an essential stop for a quick meal or cup of coffee. &lt;/p>&lt;h3>Plan a cafe trail&lt;/h3>&lt;p>Café Madras, started by Gopal Kamath in 1940, is the most popular Udupi Cafe in Mumbai. He first began operations with his head chef who came from Madras, giving the café its name. For its 75th anniversary in 2015, the cafe served all its dishes at the first served rates in 1940. A unique gesture and most of the regular patrons retained the bill as a souvenir.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Ramashraya is another Udupi cafe in the area that locals swear by. Just like the others, this cafe too has a Pineapple Sheera on its menu. It’s the cafe’s daily signature dish along with a new sheera every day. Chikoo, strawberry, mango, badam and butterscotch are some of the famous sheera variants. While we’re at it, the Mysore Rava Onion Sada served here is one of the city’s best dosas. &lt;/p>&lt;p>AlsoRead0&lt;/p>&lt;h3>Best filter coffee in Mumbai&lt;/h3>&lt;figure class="image image-style-align-center">&lt;img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Filter-Kaapi_1614230603155.jpg">&lt;/figure>&lt;p>It’s no surprise that with so many cafes, “where do you get the best filter coffee in Matunga?” is the most frequently asked question. The most popular answer is inevitably Amba Coffee Bhavan. The café is named after Goddess Amba who is worshipped in owner Shripati Rao’s native place in Udupi.&lt;/p>&lt;p>Mani’s lunch home is another iconic eatery to add to your list. While the other cafés are run by owners from Udupi or Mangalore, the owners of Mani’s (as it is fondly called) are Brahmins from Kerala. Mani’s, name after the founder, was started in 1937. Raman, an accounts officer in a software company for over a decade, is now taking the family business ahead. He confirms that food cooked here is how it’s cooked in Kerala Brahmin homes. He also informs us that none of the café’s preparations uses jaggery. &lt;/p>&lt;p>AlsoRead1&lt;/p>&lt;h3>What to order at the cafes&lt;/h3>&lt;figure class="image image-style-align-center">&lt;img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Pineapple-Sheera_1614230632242.jpg">&lt;/figure>&lt;p>Arya Bhavan serves excellent Brahmin Idli,  and Bisebele Bhaat. The Dilkhush Dosa at Ayyapans is a must-try. Café Mysore has its version of Dilkhush Dosa and a very innovative Idli Gadbad. &lt;/p>&lt;p>AlsoRead2&lt;/p>&lt;h3>A distinct sub-culture&lt;/h3>&lt;p>It will only be fair to end this story by going back to A Rama Nayak’s restaurant who brought Udupi food to Mumbai. Even after eight decades, the neighbourhood is still famous for its healthy and budget-friendly meals. The cafe owners know most of the regular patrons personally.&lt;/p>&lt;p>People who serve the food at most of these cafes walk without footwear. Patrons are even allowed to step into their kitchens to check how the food is prepared. If you waste their sambar or rasam, you have to pay a fine of Rs 13. The logic behind this is that you’re lucky to have food. Many are not so fortunate, so you must respect food.&lt;/p>&lt;p>I don’t remember any patron referring to the people serving food here as a “waiter” in so many years. It might be a disrespectful term to use here.&lt;/p>&lt;p>With its Udupi food, Matunga completes the South Indian vegetarian palate in Mumbai’s extremely diverse food scene. But one thing that is unique about Matunga that other places struggle with – you can walk into any Udupi Café, and you can be sure of healthy food at great value for money. Every one of the 11 Udupi cafés here delivers on that promise. It’s safe to say that A Rama Nayak’s legacy is well and truly hallmarked in the pantheon of food greats!&lt;/p>

Walk into any Udupi café in Matunga for a healthy and pocket-friendly meal.

Find out why Matunga is famous for its Udupi cafes. Check out the best Udupi cafes to visit in Matunga, their history and what to order. For more such stories, read Zeezest.com. 

Best Udupi Cafes in Mumbai | Udipi Cafes in Matunga | Zee Zest

A Brief History Of Matunga’s South Indian Cafes

Mumbai

Cafes

<p>If you’ve lived in Mumbai, you’ll know that Irani cafés hold a special place its cultural landscape. I was café hopping on a personal mission when I stumbled upon a cheerful bond shared between the quaint old cafes and the city’s biker gangs.</p><h3>The Discovery</h3><figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Id-69-Kyaani-co-inside_1614194647561.jpg"></figure><p>I strolled into Kyani & Co at Fountain in South Mumbai for an early Iranian breakfast at 8:00 AM on a Sunday morning. I spotted a posse of six bullet bikers who entered the café with casual familiarity, greeting the owner with hi-fives. I watched them chow down Bun Maska and Chai. When I overheard them talk of the next Irani café they were headed to, my interest was piqued. Soon, another group of super bikers walked in. Men as old as 20 and as young as 75! Indeed there was some special connection here.</p><h3>Passion on Wheels</h3><p>Dipen Loomba, an entrepreneur and biker who was part of Mumbai bike gangs a couple of decades ago, recalls how their Bullet and Avenger biker groups would hit the roads before sunrise and Irani cafes won most of the votes for a breakfast pit stop. In part because these were the only places that opened their doors in the wee hours. Perhaps the convenience evolved into a habit, snowballing into a trend. Mumbai biker Behzad Gazder adds that most Parsi bikers prefer the Irani cafes post-ride.</p><p>There are two sets of bikers in the city today. Those that prefer taking shorter trips within the city, to ride the roads and build communities. The other prefers longer voyages, taken for the love of travel, thrill and speed. Such groups often ride out of town, discovering great places to eat and experience along the way.</p><p>“From Ahura on NH8 to places like Café Mondegar, Café Madras and even Datta Vada Pav, you’ll find bikers stopping here for their warm hospitality and authentic delicacies,” says Argho Mukherji, co-founder and managing partner at Iron Wheels Bullet Club. He agrees that every biker in Mumbai and Pune has unforgettable memories of Irani Cafes. Mukherji owns three bikes and the 40-member Iron Wheels gang loves to head to Irani <i>addas </i>for a celebratory chai after charity rides. </p><p>AlsoRead0</p><h3>Café Stories</h3><figure class="image"><img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Bun-maska-chai_1614195148846.jpg"></figure><p>We stopped at Good Luck Café in Mumbai’s Bandra, known for their <i>keema pav</i>, to explore this special relationship further. Many connoisseurs from the city and beyond visit this cafe, including bikers who stop here for Sunday brekkie. “Not huge gangs, but yes, they do come by on weekends,” the manager tells us. Adi Mazkoori, of the century-old landmark Café Excelsior in Mumbai’s Fort, shares a similar sentiment. He says that biker gangs do walk in but now not as regularly as the families and office-goers who munch on chicken rolls and mutton cutlets.</p><p>Vroom to the outskirts and you find Parsi da Dhaba, a pit stop for bikers travelling on the busy NH8 at Nariman Nagar in Talasari Taluka. On weekends and public holidays, they are booked in advance with special tables reserved for their patrons on wheels. Parsi da Dhaba has served groups ranging from 10 to 500 bikers, of which nearly 30 per cent are women. The bikers stop here on their journeys from as far as Ahmedabad, Goa, Surat, Pune, Delhi, and even Jammu! The dhaba even makes special arrangements for the travelling bikers, putting out charpoys for them to rest before continuing their journey.</p><p>“This is a usual sight at our dhaba. Last week we had 150 KTM bikers and we customised meals for our biker patrons,” says Vipin Yadav, senior manager at Parsi da Dhaba. Traditional dishes like <i>Baruch akuri, keema,</i> <i>salli doodh, salli boti</i> and Parsi omelette are some of the most popular items on the menu. “We make sure we serve authentic food in a comfortable ambience. Bikers just happen to find their joy in the food and location,” adds Yadav.</p><p>“For us bikers, the journey is as important as the destination,” notes Mukherji agrees. “Refuelling ourselves with their unique food makes the cafes a memorable part of our ride,” he adds. In the end, it is the simplicity and appeal of these quaint old cafes that makes them a clear winner.</p>

These bikers know the best haunts for bun-maska chai in Mumbai

The biker groups of Mumbai have a special relationship with the city’s Irani cafes. Find out why and check out their highly-recommended cafes on ZeeZest.com

Mumbai’s bikers recommend the must-visit Irani cafes in the city - Zee Zest

Why Do Mumbai’s Biker Groups Love The City’s Irani Cafes?

Restaurant

<p>Most people who have lived and worked in Mumbai will unanimously agree that Matunga is where you find the best filter coffee. Patrons who frequent Matunga’s Udupi cafes call it 'kaapi'. The Udupi cafes’ story is as distinct as the beverage they brew for eager customers each day.</p><p>Most of the delicacies you find in the lanes of Matunga trace their origins back to Udupi, a district in Karnataka, 58 km away from Mangalore. It’s also the birthplace of A Rama Nayak, the founder of the first Udupi restaurant in Mumbai.</p><h3>Udupi to Matunga</h3><p>A Rama Nayak came to Mumbai then-Bombay in the 1930s. He aimed to serve meals to as many people as possible. The benchmark for affordability was set at what a blue-collar mill worker in Bombay could pay for a meal. Soon many more cafes followed suit. Amba Bhavan in 1933, Café Mysore in 1934, Mani’s Lunch Home in 1937 and Café Madras in 1940.</p><p>Over the decades, these Udupi cafes have flourished on the mantra of affordability for a healthy and hearty meal. Office goers, mill workers, students and residents alike embraced these Udupi cafes. The cafes have now become an essential stop for a quick meal or cup of coffee. </p><h3>Plan a cafe trail</h3><p>Café Madras, started by Gopal Kamath in 1940, is the most popular Udupi Cafe in Mumbai. He first began operations with his head chef who came from Madras, giving the café its name. For its 75th anniversary in 2015, the cafe served all its dishes at the first served rates in 1940. A unique gesture and most of the regular patrons retained the bill as a souvenir.</p><p>Ramashraya is another Udupi cafe in the area that locals swear by. Just like the others, this cafe too has a Pineapple Sheera on its menu. It’s the cafe’s daily signature dish along with a new sheera every day. Chikoo, strawberry, mango, badam and butterscotch are some of the famous sheera variants. While we’re at it, the Mysore Rava Onion Sada served here is one of the city’s best dosas. </p><p>AlsoRead0</p><h3>Best filter coffee in Mumbai</h3><figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Filter-Kaapi_1614230603155.jpg"></figure><p>It’s no surprise that with so many cafes, “where do you get the best filter coffee in Matunga?” is the most frequently asked question. The most popular answer is inevitably Amba Coffee Bhavan. The café is named after Goddess Amba who is worshipped in owner Shripati Rao’s native place in Udupi.</p><p>Mani’s lunch home is another iconic eatery to add to your list. While the other cafés are run by owners from Udupi or Mangalore, the owners of Mani’s (as it is fondly called) are Brahmins from Kerala. Mani’s, name after the founder, was started in 1937. Raman, an accounts officer in a software company for over a decade, is now taking the family business ahead. He confirms that food cooked here is how it’s cooked in Kerala Brahmin homes. He also informs us that none of the café’s preparations uses jaggery. </p><p>AlsoRead1</p><h3>What to order at the cafes</h3><figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Pineapple-Sheera_1614230632242.jpg"></figure><p>Arya Bhavan serves excellent Brahmin Idli,  and Bisebele Bhaat. The Dilkhush Dosa at Ayyapans is a must-try. Café Mysore has its version of Dilkhush Dosa and a very innovative Idli Gadbad. </p><p>AlsoRead2</p><h3>A distinct sub-culture</h3><p>It will only be fair to end this story by going back to A Rama Nayak’s restaurant who brought Udupi food to Mumbai. Even after eight decades, the neighbourhood is still famous for its healthy and budget-friendly meals. The cafe owners know most of the regular patrons personally.</p><p>People who serve the food at most of these cafes walk without footwear. Patrons are even allowed to step into their kitchens to check how the food is prepared. If you waste their sambar or rasam, you have to pay a fine of Rs 13. The logic behind this is that you’re lucky to have food. Many are not so fortunate, so you must respect food.</p><p>I don’t remember any patron referring to the people serving food here as a “waiter” in so many years. It might be a disrespectful term to use here.</p><p>With its Udupi food, Matunga completes the South Indian vegetarian palate in Mumbai’s extremely diverse food scene. But one thing that is unique about Matunga that other places struggle with – you can walk into any Udupi Café, and you can be sure of healthy food at great value for money. Every one of the 11 Udupi cafés here delivers on that promise. It’s safe to say that A Rama Nayak’s legacy is well and truly hallmarked in the pantheon of food greats!</p>

<p>Here’s a frothy coffee trend to shake you out off that self-quarantine-induced slumber and a much-needed caffeine fix to get through the day. All with three simple ingredients from your pantry, and some muscle power. While the world discovered Dalgona coffee during the COVID-19 pandemic – the beaten latte of sorts that took the internet by storm – for Indians, Dalgona is regular beaten coffee that we make when friends are over. The origin of this coffee is shrouded by ambiguity, in that, some claim that Dalgona coffee rose to fame after a South Korean actor, Jung Il-woo, made it popular on his TV show, <i>Pyunstorang</i>, having discovered it in Macau; while others, attribute Dalgona’s popularity to a South Korean YouTube channel.</p><p>However, Dalgona Coffee’s Wikipedia page says that its genesis lies in India’s <i>phenti hui coffee</i>, or basically our jugaad-version of Cappuccino from yore, where we vigorously whip sugar and instant coffee powder to form a foamy, creamy mix and top it up with hot milk. Dalgona turns<i> phenti hui coffee</i> on its head, quite literally, with the coffee foam on top, and the milk under. The other difference is that Dalgona coffee, unlike <i>phenti hui coffee</i>, makes use of chilled milk. A perfect recipe for Indian summers! </p><p>Dalgona coffee went viral once it reached TikTok, where #dalgonacoffee has up to 9M views and subsequently, on Instagram, where the same hashtag has garnered close to 88K hits. Fueled by the combined forces of coronavirus-inflicted social distancing, home quarantine and mass boredom, which is kept everyone hooked to their screens, Dalgona coffee topped the charts with its indulgent popularity.</p><p> </p><figure class="image image_resized image-style-align-left" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://assets.zeezest.com/images/PROD_Dalgona-inside_1612298262184.jpg" alt="DIY Dalgona Coffee viral"><figcaption>© Unsplash</figcaption></figure><p>Rizwan Amlani, CEO of DOPE Coffee, reiterates this, “From what I’ve understood about this coffee, it’s similar to our <i>phenti hui coffee</i>, which we’ve been drinking in the Indian subcontinent for a long time. However, it owes its huge burst of fame to the inimitable K Pop’s love for all things beautiful.” Amlani adds that the coffee derives its name from an eponymous Korean sponge-cake-like candy. “Since both, instant coffee and milk, are whipped up into a fluffy froth, it’s a pretty fitting name. Now, with the work-from-home routine keeping so many people indoors, everyone’s open to experimenting and posting their version online. The perfect recipe for a trend,” he shares.</p><p>Adding to this, blogger and food expert , Nikhil Merchant, says, “I am actually quite thrilled with this trend. It caught steam in India when social media users realised that it’s our very own <i>phenti hui coffee</i>, which we all grew up making and drinking as teens. This has a skewed outcome on those who already know about the technique vis-à-vis the younger generation, who are first discovering it on TikTok and then realising that it is our own desi version!” </p><p>Wait, is this another case of Haldi Doodh travelling to the West and returning with a dash of maple syrup to become 'Turmeric Latte?' Hmm, sounds like that. But there’s no point dismissing Dalgona coffee, for as Merchant rightly puts it, “What is there not to like about it? Dalgona coffee looks pretty and social media is all about visual appeal. Plus, it tastes so darn good that its natural for people to go into a tizzy.” </p><p>Try out these two recipes for a chilled cuppa of Dalgona.</p><h3>Phenti Hui Dalgona by Nikhil Merchant  </h3><h4>Ingredients </h4><p>1 tbsp instant coffee<br>1 tbsp white sugar<br>1 tbsp hot water<br>200 ml unsweetened vanilla almond milk  <br>2 to 3 cubes of ice  </p><h4>Method  </h4><ol><li>In a large bowl, mix the instant coffee with sugar and hot water. Traditionally, one would take a spoon or a fork, and go to town whisking this like you would beat an egg. The chemical reactions to the sugar-hot water and coffee along with the infusion of air would start thickening the concoction. A good 10 minutes of whipping is required. Or, you can use an electric whisk, which takes 2 minutes.</li><li>Fill a cup with the ice cubes and pour the almond milk on it.</li><li>Top it up with the whipped coffee and orange zest, and you have yourself a delicious chilled beverage.</li></ol><p>Tip: For a sugar-free version, replace the white sugar with monk sugar. You can also replace the milk with your choice of dairy.  </p><h3>Dalgona Doped by Rizwan Amlani  </h3><h4>Ingredients </h4><p>150 ml of cold brew concentrate<br>75 ml of almond milk <br>2 tbsp jaggery powder<br>8 cubes of ice </p><h4>Method </h4><ol><li>To make cold brew concentrate, all you need to do is steep some fresh roasted coarse ground coffee in water for 12-18 hours. Use a 1:10 ratio to keep it simple and strong. 100 grams of coffee: 1000 ml of water. It’s that easy!</li><li>Let the mixing begin! Drop the jaggery powder into the cold brew concentrate and mix until dissolved completely.</li><li>Volume Up. Using the hand foamer, whip up the almond milk for about 1-2 minutes until it doubles in volume. Keep the foamer as low in the mixer as you can; bringing it to the top will cause lots of bubbles!</li><li>Drop 6-8 ice cubes into a glass (if you have a highball, that works best). Pour in the coffee-jaggery mix and slowly layer in the milk foam.</li><li>Sip It! And, we’re done. BRB enjoying our coffee.</li></ol><p> Tip: Prep the cold brew concentrate overnight in a large batch and you’ll be sorted all week. </p>