IshitaUnblogged

Dacres Lane | Introducing Kolkata street food in BBC Travel Show UK

I had the honour of presenting Kolkata’s street food to Benjamin Zand for the BBC Travel Show. Although Dacres Lane now face dilapidation, one can't deny that it is still a heritage in the city’s street food landscape – a decaying heritage much like the city’s personal story.

Kovalam Beach | Buying fish at the seashore and a recipe of Beer Battered Squid

Buying fresh fish from the fishermen straight off the seashore in Kovalam… this is kind of an ultimate ode to fish lovers like us, specially after a two year long period of social distancing. The warm glow of the rising sun, the fresh breeze and the excitement of the buyers added to the bustle of the morning.

Recipes

Perfecting the legendary Kolkata Biryani at home

The potato in Kolkata Biryani is my favourite part of the dish. In this Awadhi style of cooking, the dum pukht technique allows the the aromatic juices from the mutton to ooze into the fine grains of rice. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. It’s certainly true in my case, but if I were to be specific about the kind of food, it would be Biryani and Mughlai food. Not any Biryani, but the Awadhi/Lucknowy style Mutton Biryani that we grew up eating in Kolkata. The Bearded Biker’s love for Awadhi Biryani made us hop into Lucknow for an evening, only to eat. His…

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Food Inspiration, Published Work, Recipes

Celebrating Eid with Binangkal – the Filipino version of Middle Eastern Leqaimat

Binangkals are deep-fried dough ball coated with sesame seeds and originates from the Philippines. They are quite similar to the regional favourite Leqaimats which are traditionally consumed during Iftar in the holy month of Ramadan, but less sweet. Eid Mubarak! I am sharing Lady M’s recipe of binangkal that I recently shared with Khaleej Times. Binangkals, according to me, are the Filipino version of Middle Eastern Leqaimats. In the Philippines, binangkals are popular munchies with tea and coffee and sold at roadside stalls and regular bakeries. Lady M has been living with us for for more than 12 years now. Over the years she has learnt to cook Bengali and…

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Food Inspiration, Georgia

Acharuli – Making the boat shaped Georgian Khachapuri at home

Making Acharuli, the stunning boat shaped Khachapuri or Georgian cheese-bread at home was highly thrilling. They turned out exactly how we had tasted them on our trip to Georgia.

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Bengali Food, Recipes

Shubho Noboborsho – Makha Gurer Shondesh and other homemade Bengali sweets

I am sharing the recipe of Makha Gurer Shondesh - it's pretty easy to make. Made from fresh homemade chhena (cottage cheese), this shondesh is called makha because it is simply kneaded until it is soft and not cooked. If you have shondesh moulds at home, they make pretty shapes too.

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Recipes

Homemade Nutty Spreads – Almond, Cashew & Hazelnut

We made nutty spreads from almonds, cashew and hazelnuts over this weekend. Could homemade spreads actually turn out as good as they are made out to be? Oh, absolutely! All of them turned out rich, creamy and magnificently delicious. Specially, the cashew spread.

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Dubai, Recipes

Thai Papaya Salad Recipe – Also reminiscing the Floating Market in Global Village

This is our favourite Som Tam or the Thai Green Papaya Salad … it’s a very easy recipe to stir up. I tweaked the recipe a bit from a fridge magnet that I had collected on my Thailand trip. Every time we make it at home, the familiar sights and sounds from the trip comes alive. Travelling to places – far away or even as close as your neighbour’s house, seem to be a distant memory. So does tasting new cuisines at different restaurants or food events. Every day, I keep rearranging our collection of fridge magnets that hold so many beautiful memories of our travels – our family vacations…

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Recipes

Homemade Bread with Sprinkled Sesame – an ever evolving romance

Amongst all the things baked at home, nothing fills my heart with more gratitude and love than a freshly baked bread loaf just out of the oven. We love cooking different kinds of recipes – simple or elaborate. Inspiration in our kitchen comes from different cuisines, cultures, cookbooks and random recipe discoveries online. Sometimes the menu is influenced by our travels and at times, they are a result of conversation I strike up with people I come across or other foodie friends and of course, from instagram and blog posts of my blogger friends. For years, I have been nervous about making dough, specially for cakes. I guess it’s because…

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Recipes

Stuffed Chilli Spring Rolls – because a little spiciness in life is sweet

These crispy stuffed chilli spring rolls were part of my special birthday menu recently, an extended version of Lady M’s regular spring rolls.

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