Naan bread is a staple diet in Central and South Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and India. The word “naan” traces its etymology to an old Persian word, “nagna,” which means naked or bare, perhaps referring to the style of baking it uncovered. Today the word simply means bread in its land of […]

Khichdi is a common South Asian dish made from rice and lentils. It is generally considered to be a India’s comfort food. The word ‘khichdi’ and its alternate spellings khichri, khicheri, cutcheree, kedgeree and kushari comes from a Sanskrit word ‘khicca‘, meaning rice and pulses based dish. Khichdi has a long history in India, pairing […]

If any dish can be said to be the foundation of a cuisine, then pilaf is for Mughal cuisine. It has a fascinating history and dominates the dinner table as centerpiece. The fragrant pilaf originated in Persia and spread throughout the world with a subtle change of consonants – in India pilau, in Turkey pilav, […]

These are some of my articles that have been featured in the Press. I’m a food columnist for a local daily The Oxford Eagle and a regular contributor to IndiaCurrents, a magazine that caters to the Indian diaspora .   Homer called salt a divine substance. Plato described it as especially dear to the gods. […]

These are some of my articles that have been featured in The Press. I’m a food columnist for a local daily The Oxford Eagle and a regular contributor to IndiaCurrents, a magazine that caters to the Indian diaspora .   Food and culture go hand in hand and cuisine leaves its own imprint on history. […]