Our Culinary Journey Starts From Here ......

A recipe always tastes better when it has a memory attached to it. Every family has some special recipes that have been handed down from one generation to the next. These recipes are special not only because they are delicious, but also because they evoke fond memories of a special holiday or a favorite relative. I remember, when asked for recipes, the older and cherished members of the family, always translated a recipe into a dash of this and a pinch of that …which is kind of hard to remember if it is not noted down.

As a child I enjoyed the delicious food cooked by my great grandmother. As we were growing up we were so taken up by our school work and other activities that I never thought that I should ask my great-grandmother how she cooked such delicious meals…I just enjoyed them….

I remember my visits to my grandparents’ home - the aroma of freshly cooked chapattis (Indian bread) with homemade ghee prepared by my great-grandmother still lingers in my memory. I always watched with awe how quickly she prepared the meals. No visitor ever left without a good meal or a delicious snack. Even the lemonade she so quickly made for a quick visitor was out of this world…and at my grand-parents home or my parents’ home there was never a day without someone stopping by for a quick hello.

When my parents visited in the summer of 2009, I was remembering those blissful childhood days and we talked about Panaji’s (my great grandmother) Tomato Barfi and no one now remembers how she used to make it…When she was alive everyone enjoyed eating the barfi and not once did we think of asking her how she makes it…She passed away in 1982, and with passing the great Tomato Barfi recipe was gone forever. And now, 27 years later, when I was harvesting tomatoes from our little vegetable garden I decided to try recreating her recipe, but, I could not, and so I came up with the idea of putting together all the good recipes made by my family which has now grown mutiple times with the addition of my husband Salil’s family, my sister, brother, cousins and their extended families…….so that our future generation would never have to say “Grandma made those delicious beetroot barfi’s.. Wish I knew how to make them?”

Being of Indian origin, most of the recipes I intend to share with you would definitely be Indian, but I enjoy experimenting with Chinese, Italian, American, Mediterranean and other cuisines too. I have a diverse group of friends and I will be honored to include their favorite recipes with their consent.

I invite you all to join me in my quest to experience and relish this warm and blissful expedition of the culinary world...I enjoy cooking but on the lighter side I wish there was a gennie to clean up afterwards.