• Homemade Awadhi Biryani
    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…

  • King Fish Biryani
    Recipes

    Press The Freaking Publish Button with This Freaking Fish Biryani!

    Hello – Happy New Year to all of you! I had the pleasure of meeting Gordon Ramsay in October last year and found the above quote of his very compelling, specially for the state of mind I am always in. I am telling myself to absolve the essence of the quote into each and every cell that I have in my body. Otherwise, I will be doling out explanations that I think I owe to my readers and and myself… how could I write more than 30,000 words across 60 articles in 2016, but not a single word for my blog? Or why could I post more than 530 posts…

  • Video

    Grandma’s Recipe Contest | Digging Out Recipes From Family Heirloom

    Cooking is like love; it should be entered with abandon or not at all. ∼  Julia Child With abandon – that’s what makes the thought of Grandmas and their cooking so so special. Last afternoon I had the honour of judging the 7th Grandma’s Recipe Contest that was recently held in Mumtaz Mahal at the Arabian Courtyard Hotel & Spa. A few months back I had been the judge in the Biryani Muqabla organised at the same venue. I have always supported events which inspire me and I am amazed to see how home chefs come out of the comfort zones of their own kitchens and compete in such public…

  • Dubai,  Recipes

    Kolkata Biryani | Cooking The Royal Dish In Lafayette Gourmet

    Biryani. And that too, Kolkata Biryani. Two words that are enough to make my life complete. And I think that I pulled up a great act in holding my Kolkatan head high, cooking a pot full of Biryani in front of a live audience. I didn’t burn the place down as I spoke over the microphone, amidst ridiculous hand movements, trying to churn out somewhat cooked and unburnt Biryani. The audience split up into two groups – my food blogger friends and my Bengali friends. The former made me feel like a star, clicking pictures like Paparazzi and tweeting LIVE and posting some brilliant pictures on Instagram. The latter group,…