Recipies
For my curated recipes page, check here
Cuisines
My favourite cuisine is Mughlai, the blend of Persian and North Indian cuisine during the Mughal rule. My native Bengali cuisine comes a close second. I spent quite some years in South India and North Europe. There are very few dishes I enjoy from these places. One of my most hated dish/cuisine is sushi, which goes against all 3 of my principles of food: spiced, well cooked, big portions (compare: murgh musallam).
Mughlai
- Hyderabadi mutton biriyani
- Mutton chaap
- Lucknowi galouti kebab
- Reshmi kabab
- Mutton haleem
- Kesar pista ice cream
Bengali
- Pathar mangsher jhol
- Kasha mangsho
- Basanti pulao
- Aloo posto
- Aloo makha
- Ilish bhapa
- Egg torka
- Egg-chicken roll
- Phuchka
- Fish kobiraji
- Katla peti kalia
- Mochar dal
- Potol misti
- Misti doi
- Ledikeni / Pantua / Lyangcha / Gulab jamun
Others
- Spaghetti alla carbonara / Fettuccine Alfredo - Alfredo is not so common in Europe as in India. A (often better) replacement is carbonara.
- Pasta con le sarde - Sicilian pasta with anchovies, that I picked up on my Italy tour.
- Moussaka
- Medovik - Russian honey cake
- Kapsalon - Dutch-Turkish calorie bomb
- Shawarma roll
- Rava kesari baat
- Mysore pak
- Lijjat masala papad
Spice rack
I am a spice curator/connoisseur! Here’s a list of spices that I had/have in my kitchen at Bengaluru/Delft (in languages I have to buy them in, i.e. English/Hindi/Bengali/Dutch).
- Bay leaves (tejpata)
- Poppy (posto) seeds
- Turmeric (holud) powder
- Fennel (mouri) seeds
- Nigella (kalojeera) seeds
- (methi)
- Cumin (jeera) whole/powder
- (shahi jeera)
- Coriander (dhone) whole/powder
- Cinnamon (dalchini) whole/powder
- Cardamom (elachi) whole/powder
- (shahi elachi)
- Clove (lobongo)
- Nutmeg (joiphal) whole/powder
- Mace (javitri)
- Saffron
- Biriyani attar
- Garlic (rosun) whole/powder
- Ginger (ada) whole/flakes/powder
- Chillies whole/flakes/powder
- Pepper (golmorich) whole/crushed/powder
- (currypata)
- (pudina powder)
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Parsley
- Basil
- Lemongrass
- Vanilla essence
- Chat masala
- Aamchur
- Kaffir lime dry leaves
- Cocoa
- Pistachio
- Asafoetida (hing)
- MSG
- Hazelnut
- Honey
- Betel leaf
- Mustard
Fruits
I am not a fruit lover in general. However, a few fruits (esp. the sour ones) bring back some childhood memories.
Memories of childhood
90s kid nostalgia: kismi, parle-g, hajmola, coin chocolate, ring pops, cigerette logenze, eclairs, ..
Eateries
- The Saffron Tree @ Kolkata - innovative mughlai dishes, menu with a bibliography!
- Riyasat @ Kolkata - innovative cocktails
- Cafe Thulp @ Bengaluru - mother of all moos
- Nizam’s @ Kolkata - Kolkata biriyani and mutton chaap
- Onesta @ Bengaluru - all-you-can-eat thin crust pizzas
- Byg Brewski @ Bengaluru - amazing ambience, mead
- Hatari @ Kolkata - indo-chinese
- [Cheese And More] @ Delft - pesto spaghetti pasta
- [Kobi’s Grill] @ Delft - kapsalon loco loco
Inspirations
My favourite food blogger is Mark Wiens
And the favourite channel to learn cooking (esp. Bengali cuisine) is BongEats