The Last Banana Leaf Meal: Farewell Feasts and Mourning Food
The last time I ate on a banana leaf in my childhood home, no one said it was the last.…
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Food Timing Is Sacred: Why Lunch at 3 PM Feels Emotionally Wrong
There’s a very specific kind of sadness that comes from eating dal-chawal at 3 PM. It’s not about hunger. It’s…
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Why No One Touches the Pickle Jar with a Wet Spoon
In my grandmother’s kitchen in Dadar, the most sacred item wasn’t the tulsi plant or even the framed photo of…
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When a Festival Tastes Like a Particular Sweet
There’s something deeply disappointing about biting into a store-bought gujiya on Holi and realizing it’s just… okay. It’s not bad.…
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Bhog Isn’t Just Food – It’s a Devotional Mood
The first time I made khichuri with the intention of offering it to the gods, it didn’t turn out well.…
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Cooking in Silence: The Forgotten Rituals of Morning Kitchens
In the house I grew up in—an old Mumbai apartment with creaky doors and a calendar permanently stuck on Ganesh…
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The Art of Saying No to More Food (Without Offending Anyone)
It starts with a full plate. Not metaphorically. Literally. A plate already brimming with rice, dal, sabzi, and at least…
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Rice Before Roti or Roti Before Rice? A Cultural Compass
Some families pass down heirlooms. Mine passed down dinner sequences. In our Mumbai home, the order of operations on a…
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The Thali as Philosophy: Why Indian Meals Are Circular, Not Linear
I’ve never trusted plates that ask you to eat in a straight line. Appetizer, main course, dessert—each in neat sequence,…
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The Quiet Politics of Who Serves the Food
Growing up in Mumbai, Sunday lunches at our extended family home followed a choreography so tight it could rival a…