Food and Drink

Sorry, Not Sorry

A group of restaurants in New York caters to Indian palates ♦ If a visitor from the USA came to India looking for kudal varuval (spiced goat intestines), one  might point them to a locally famous pitstop, possibly besides a tire repair shop on the side of the highway. Or possibly to the home of …

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For Street Food Fiends in Delhi, Bhawan Is the New Pitstop

Rahul Dua and Kainaz Contractor’s Bhawan finally makes its brick-and-mortar debut in Gurgaon ♦ This story was originally published in Conde Nast Traveller India. In March 2020, Bhawan was “one paint job away” from its much-anticipated opening. Kainaz Contractor and Rahul Dua, the restaurateur couple behind the street food-themed spot, had cracked the capital’s casual dining …

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Home and the World

In 2020, Durga Puja became an opportunity for many Bengalis outside the state to connect with each other through food ♦ This story was originally published in India Today. “Durga Puja is an emotion for Bengalis,” says Arpita Roy, who runs The Lunchbox Co. in Mumbai. As Bijoya, the Bengali festive season, comes to a …

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Links in the Food Chain

In Indranee Ghosh’s memoir, food becomes a metaphor for inclusion ♦ This story was originally published in India Today. In the introduction to her food memoir “placed in the east of India”, Indranee Ghosh astutely notes that when everything else has changed “what we as a family have not lost is the food we ateperhaps the only …

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Mixing it up

How Indian bartenders are taking a shot at entrepreneurship ♦ This story was originally published in India Today. Last April, Ajesh Joseph, head mixologist at Jetlag, Bengaluru, posted a video of himself zooming, literally, up and down a hallway, draped over a wheelie bin. It was captioned ‘Quarantine day 10’. He subsequently shared a slapstick …

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Review: The Biscuit

Lizzie Collingham traces the journey of the biscuit from sustenance to sweet treats ♦ This story was originally published in India Today. This summer, when migrant workers streamed out of India’s locked down cities, one of the recurrent images of their long walks to their home villages was of packets of biscuits: sometimes all they …

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Bringing Home the Bacon

India is seeing the emergence of an enthusiastic culture around pork ♦ A version of this story was originally published in India Today. Being in a close relationship with a pork lover isn’t something you take lightly. Once, at a party, a large ham made a brief appearance before the guests prior to being whisked …

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