Fasting Isn’t Starving: The Quiet Power of Vrat Ka Khana
As a child, the word “fasting” sounded suspiciously like punishment. Austerity cloaked in piety. Especially when my grandmother, on random…
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The Architecture of the South Indian Banana Leaf Meal
When I was a kid visiting Chennai during summer holidays, I thought the banana leaf was just a fancy plate.…
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Why No One Eats Before the Gods: The Ritual of the First Bite
Growing up in Mumbai, our family dining table wasn’t just about hunger—it was about hierarchy. And at the top of…
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Taste Test: Trying My Childhood Snacks as an Adult
It started with a trip to the Indian grocery store. I had gone in for coriander and left with a…
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My Grandmother’s Ladle Had a Flavor of Its Own
There are kitchen tools you buy, and there are kitchen tools that become family. My grandmother’s ladle was the latter.…
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The Forgotten Food You Remember Too Late
It started with a smell that wasn’t really there. I was chopping onions in my kitchen in Austin, preparing a…
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The One Time I Ate My Feelings (and It Was Worth It)
It wasn’t a dramatic breakup. No shouting, no public scene. Just a mutual, polite unraveling of something that had once…
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Papad Cracks and Door Slams: Sounds That Mean Lunch Is Ready
In my childhood home in Mumbai, we didn’t need anyone to yell “lunch is ready.” The kitchen told you. You…
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Why I Still Tear Up at the Smell of Jeera in Hot Oil
It happens when I least expect it. I’m in my Austin kitchen, sautéing onions or maybe just heating oil for…
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The Katori With the Most Ghee: A Sibling Rivalry
The Katori With the Most Ghee: A Sibling Rivalry In most families, sibling rivalry looks like board game wars or…