Anatomy of a Masterpiece (Part 2) Last week, we commenced a long, meandering journey through the intricacies of a particular dish from a particular restaurant in central London, a dish that put the vegetable front and center: a piece of cabbage that is cooked in butter and charred on the grill. The charred piece of…
Tag: christmas
On Vegetables, Umami, and Blackening
Anatomy of a Masterpiece (Part 1) This year’s Christmas offering isn’t exactly Christmas themed, but a deep-dive into a dish that screams winter, among other things. I’ve dissected dishes on my blog before, but this one has to be the most elaborate. With generous forays into a variety of aspects that ultimately converge onto a…
A Very Mangalorean Christmas (Part 2)
Yesterday, we began our Christmas Odyssey in Mangalore, exploring some of the special dishes of the cuisine in general. We talked about the array of porcine delicacies, and chicken dishes like the kori gassi. Another simple and delicious chicken preparation is the sukka, although it can be made with any protein. The USP of a…
A Very Mangalorean Christmas (Part 1)
Bangalore is a melting pot of cultures and communities, with enthusiastic celebration of everything from Durga Puja and Eid to Onam and Christmas. Having explored aspects of Christmas in my previous years, with the Calcutta Christmas Cake and the Western-style Christmas dinner, this time, I decided to focus on the Christmas food of the Mangalorean…
A Tale of Pear, Fig, and Cinnamon
Poached Pears with Fig “Custard” and Cinnamon “Crumble”: A “Recipe” Christmastime calls for something special. So far, during Christmas, I’ve looked back at my first ever food article called Food and the Senses in 2019, dissected the Calcutta Christmas Cake in 2020, and collaborated with Nodee di on the Christmas dinner in 2021. This time,…
The Roast Dinner Equation (Part 3)
It’s Christmas day, and time for the final part of our series on the roast dinner, and the final article of the year. 2021 has been a difficult year, especially in the early months, and I haven’t been able to post regularly. Well, here’s to ending the year right, and hoping for a brighter one…
The Roast Dinner Equation (Part 2)
In Part 1 of our exploration of the Christmas roast dinner, we talked about the bird, the buying, and the brining. Now, it’s finally time to get cooking…… Utsav: Alright, flavours. What are some of the traditional flavours used when making a roast chicken? Nodee: The baseline has to be a fat with some aromats….
The Roast Dinner Equation (Part 1)
I’ve always posted something special during the Christmas season. In 2019, I went down memory lane and posted my first draft of Food and the Senses, one of my first proper attempts at food writing. And in 2020, it was all about exploring the one thing all Calcuttans associate with Christmas: the Christmas cake. This…
Christmas, Calcutta, and Cake
Yesterday, we examined the basics of cake science, understanding the role each ingredient plays in the making of a simple pound cake. With the basics sorted, let’s crank the level up a notch. I like to think of Christmas cake as a glorified pound cake, since the technique and science remains the same, with the…
Anatomy of a Pound Cake
Nothing says Christmas in Kolkata more than the Christmas cake. With places like Nahoum’s and Flury’s overflowing with cakes and crowds, the plum cake has a much more ubiquitous presence here as compared to other Western seasonal favourites like roast dinner and eggnog. This Christmas, we will take a good look at this seasonal treat…
The Gourmet Glutton 