Mung beans, plus water, plus 72 hours is my kind of maths. Watching the process of mung beans cracking and sprouting over three days has fascinated me since the age of seven and it still fascinates me now I’m 30. The shrill pitter patter of the mung beans being poured into a bowl and the …
Easy Creamy Palak Paneer! I will always order Palak Paneer if it’s on the menu in a restaurant. For me, a bowl of creamy spinach and cheese is mandatory. I could forgo rice and bread and quite simply eat a bowl of Palak Paneer with a spoon. You can tell a good Indian restaurant from …
Indian-Inspired Rocky Road! When special occasions are fast approaching and I’ve run out of time to whip up something sweet, it’s quick and simple Rocky Road to the rescue! What’s in this Indian-Inspired Rocky Road? Truffle-like chocolate studded with pistachios, almonds, dried mango, crystallised ginger, Turkish delight, mini marshmallows and spiced shortbread biscuits. Dried rose …
“Ping!” My ears pricked up like those of a famished fox on bin day. That was the sound of the oven telling us our quick eggless sponge cake was ready. I was seven years old and obsessed with baking with my mum in the little kitchen above our corner shop. It was our home for …
My Makai Paka & Maraghwe Bhajiya is a Swahili-style dish of corn cooked in coconut milk with crispy, spicy kidney bean fritters on top. Makai Paka is the corn stew and Maraghwe Bhajiya are the bean fritters. Maraghwe Bhajiya soak up some of the coconut milk like dumplings, yet still have a crispy, cragginess I …
I had five new recipes lined up, ready to photograph and post but last week when I shared a photo of my dad’s signature Channa Bateta, I was inundated with requests on Facebook and Instagram for the recipe. This made me super nostalgic, thinking back to the days when I’d come home from school and …
Hand me a rose-flavoured dessert over a bouquet of roses any day. I’m a sucker for rose-flavoured everything. It all started back when I was around seven years old when my dad would take our family to our favourite Indian restaurants. Even before looking at the menu I’d know what I wanted to drink – …
My favourite Sunday afternoon snacks consist of anything that goes with with a cup of masala chai. Whether it’s something deep fried and delicious like samosa or kachori, or a pile of fluffy steamed dhokra, I’m a sucker for savoury snacks. These East African-style Mogo Chips are a childhood favourite. It’s the kind of food …
During my lifetime, I’ve been lucky enough to be extremely close to so many wonderful food cultures. The Gujarati cuisine made by my mother’s hands was the stuff that put the skin on my bones, next were my dad’s favourite East African dishes inspired by his childhood in Mombasa. Later came various recipes from other …
