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I’m a trained yoga teacher and nutritionist, but I am a food lover first. I love experimenting with dishes and creating Indian versions that are easy to make. Balance is a key ingredient in my life and cooking - it allows me to enjoy food but sends me exercising every day; it lets me share more and more but never tires me.
This is my first time on a public platform where I am sharing my love for food. Until now, cooking has been a very intimate thing for me – it’s been a way to say ‘I love you’, to uncross a crossed sibling, to share myself with my friends and others, to simply say without saying.
But to be here and share my recipes and thoughts on food is going to be an exciting journey that I can’t wait to begin. I’m a greedy sort and the more people I can share my love with, the better it is!
If you haven’t guessed it yet, I truly believe that if there is one ingredient you can’t do without in the kitchen, it’s LOVE. So you’ll see it mentioned often in my recipes. This love doesn’t necessarily have to be love for a particular person. It could be reliving an old fond memory. It could even be just a longing for love which, when expressed through food, touches the hearts of those who eat it. It’s the best feeling in the world. Trust me on this!
Perhaps as an extension of this personal philosophy, I’ve always had a special fondness for desserts from all parts of the world. But as I got around to making them, I would always get stuck because I couldn’t find many of the ingredients in India. Over the years, I’ve managed to find great substitutes that are easily available in India and which retain the original taste and texture of the dish. So get set to learn how to make Mediterranean kanafe, traditional English scones, patesis de nata from Portugal, Italian tiramisu and all your favourite types of cheesecake.
You will also learn how to bake breads, yeast cakes, cookies and pies. Don’t be scared. I’ll show you how easy it is! Just one warning though – be prepared to have your house bursting with friends every day who’ll refuse to leave until you feed them something!
One last thing – to cook good food, you have to feel good about yourself. So settle down to read my posts when you have some time to spare. By the window as the rain pours down, with a cup of coffee in your hand and a smile on your face. And remember to take that same energy with you into the kitchen when you try out my recipes. And please let me know how well you did and all the praise you got!
As Diwali nears, I've been receiving frantic calls from friends who want my advice on which Indian sweets they should make for the holidays. Interestingly, many of them have asked me for halwa recipes, especially vegetable-based ones. These dense sweet confections are indeed quick and fairly easy to make. If you're not entirely confident about your kitchen skills, halwa is the way you should go.
Located at the end of the Famous Studio lane in Mahalaxmi, Auriga is very clearly aimed at catering to finer sensibilities in a setting that is a pleasant departure from Mumbai's space-starved restaurant scene.