cuisine
From street-food to fine dining, traditional Italian to Asian-Fusion, being well-versed in global cuisine is the first step to culinary mastery.
Layered Carrot and Almond Barfi
The crisp chill of autumn makes me nostalgic; it takes me back to Dussehra and Diwali season when the sound of devotional music, chaos of giddily merry shoppers and aroma of deliciously aromatic street treats fill the autumn air. Gifts abundant and studying rare, it is the time of the year eagerly awaited by kids and grownups alike. And, unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of delicious food, some home-cooked, some procured from the many food-stalls that dot the streets with their best fares. With a variety of sweet and savoury treats on offer, one is truly spoilt for choice and among all things eaten with gusto, would be a big thali of assorted sweets that are beautifully perfumed with heady spices and ghee and enjoyed enthusiastically with milky masala chai and as dessert to mark the end of every meal that is complete with curries, biryanis, parathas, kebabs and many such divine delights. It’s truly the most festive and happy time of the year; much like Christmas for us Indians. Among all the lovely things that my mom would make to mark this festive and auspicious time of the year, Badam (Almond) barfi and Gaajar (carrot) Halwa hold a special place in my heart. Subtly sweet and wonderfully aromatic, I would eat loads of them and often quite messily. I would crumble a barfi into a bowl of halwa and tuck in gleefully as my mom would half-heartedly reprimand me for being such a messy little kid while smiling kindly. Strange and messy as it was, the combination, in my opinion, is divine. And, now, as I live oceans away from India and my mom, I have made a ritual of making my layered Badam (Almond) and Gaajar (carrot) Barfi during Dussehra and Diwali to celebrate beautiful memories of my childhood. Here, in London, there is no sound of devotional music, no chaos of giddily merry shoppers and no aroma of deliciously aromatic street treats emanating from food-stalls but there is joy in my heart as my home fills with the familiarly festive aroma of saffron and cardamom as they perfume these barfi that brings two of my favourite autumn treats into a neat little bite.
By Rima Pathak Rosa5 years ago in Feast
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving will be different this year especially since the pandemic. My thanksgiving will still be celebrated even though we are quarantined. It’s still a lot to be thankful for and I have a lot to be thankful for. To the food talk I know everybody is probably ready to smash some good ole home cooking. I have my menu planned out and this year I will be celebrating my first thanksgiving as an engaged woman. My fiance and I are very excited and ready. My menu will be Honey baked ham, green beans, corn, 6 cheese baked macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, my famous baked beans, and rolls. I am still debating on doing Cornish hen or chicken wings as my other meat choice. My family and I don’t really eat turkey so our thanksgivings are different. For dessert there will be different flavors of pies, strawberry blueberry and New York style cheesecake, and of course my all time favorite banana pudding. No holiday that we celebrate doesn’t go without making banana pudding. My aunt always made the cheesecakes and banana puddings and now since I have got the recipes down pack now I have been trusted with making them this year. I’m 26 years old and I have three children and my kids are ready for mom’s cooking. My grandmother used to cook every year for thanksgiving except the years we went to Disney world. We lost my great aunt Barbara not too long ago and she was the one who planned the trips. So now we won’t be going on our Disney world trips unless we plan them ourselves. But this year I told my family that I’m cooking this year and now everybody is coming to my house for thanksgiving. I hope my brother and his family are able to attend. I miss my brother and my nieces. I can say that I’m thankful for my family. My children, my fiance, and my mom. Without her being my backbone this year I don’t think I would make it. My fiance has been here with me since day one and has never left my side especially since this pandemic. My children are the reason I live and keep going. They look up to me and I cherish every moment I have with them. I’m going to start a tradition where we say what we are thankful for. Yes I know most families do it already. But in my family we have never done that so now we will start as of this year. Everybody celebrates this holiday differently. Do you guys cook together or do you cook alone? I usually cook dinner by myself. I was raised to stay out of the kitchen when somebody was cooking. Now my fiance and I will be preparing this thanksgiving dinner together. My advice for thanksgiving this year since the corona virus is still follow guidelines if you are having family over like I am disinfect and have lots of sanitizer. Make sure everyone wash their hands because we all have some people in the family who don’t like to wash their hands. When everybody leaves of course clean up like you usually do. But clean it extra good, disinfect everything that anybody has touched. Yes their family but you’re not around them 24/7 and don’t know who they've been around. Not being negative at all just following safety guidelines. They say that you should limit how many people you should have in your house if you are having a get together. Please be safe everyone. I hope everyone has a very fun, safe, and blessed thanksgiving. Like my story feel free to leave a tip.
By Lexus baskin5 years ago in Feast
The right way to eat a jackfruit
Yesterday, I went out for dinner with my friend Nana. The noodle restaurant was bustling. We were No. 8 on the waiting list. So we walked around and a small fruit shop next door attracted us. We went in and looked around, saw two boxes of processed fresh jackfruit conspicuously placing near the door. Nana had never tried it. I just tried once; it was with M. But we didn’t know the skill of eating it at that time. What I could remember was the procedure of how we fight with it, while the taste of it was vague.
By Golden Maple5 years ago in Feast
Ukrainian Cuisine
Ukrainian cuisine is flavored with black and red pepper, salt, bay leaf, parsley and dill (usually in spring and summer), garlic and onion. Staples include potatoes, cabbage, fish, pork, beef and sausage.The cuisine of Ukraine has a rich history and offers a wide variety of dishes. Ukrainian recipes are also influenced by its neighbors like Russia, Germany, Turkey, Poland, Lithuania and the so-called Soviet cuisine (dishes of mixed origin popular in the USSR). Ukrainian food is intended to be filling and should be served in large quantities.
By Rasma Raisters5 years ago in Feast
Fall Treats - Po t Pie Edition
Fall has always been my favorite season. The leaves changing color, the crisp temperatures, the thick sweaters, the boots, the fall fashion in general.. it is all so lovely and brings about such a warm feeling. But the best part of Fall? THE FOOD. I love candy corn, egg nog, the chili, cookies, pumpkin rolls.. so many delicious and delectable treats to enjoy. When I looked at entering this special challenge, so many ideas ran through my head. I have not always enjoyed cooking or baking but within the last year, I have really started enjoying it more. One thing I really enjoy making is a classic chicken pot pie. Read the rest of this to get my delicious recipe for this soon to be Fall favorite of your family.
By Sara Caramella5 years ago in Feast
Salsa Time
Salsa Time No, I don’t mean the dance. In fact, I am not a particularly good dancer at all. Just recently I wrote an article about tomatoes. I mentioned in there that I had some tomatoes in my green house. I managed to get quite the harvest this year. So, I decided to try and make some salsa with my tomatoes. I am also going to can some as well. I have never done either before, so this is all new to me.
By Natosha J Selsky5 years ago in Feast
The Cottage Cheese Deception
Is there a better time waster out there than watching Facebook videos? I mean, I don’t know about all of you, but nothing sucks me in more than a never-ending series of short videos auto-playing one after another until I blink and realize that I’ve been watching 5-Minute Craft clips for three and a half hours and it is well past my bedtime. It’s a trap I so easily fall into that sometimes I become completely numb to the randomness I’m consuming. But today? Today is different.
By Caitlin Pingel5 years ago in Feast
The Benefits of Going Vegan
Many have heard about going vegan and some of the health benefits that it can have, but may think that it's mainly just a way to lose weight. While this can be one of the top benefits of choosing to live a vegan lifestyle, the truth is that it can have many more benefits than that. If you're considering going vegan, or simply think you might like to try eating vegan meals once in a while, here are some things that going vegan can do for you.
By Paisley Hansen5 years ago in Feast
How I learned to cook lobster in lockdown
WARNING – this content may be offensive to vegetarians, vegans and friends of lobsters. Much has been made of the new skills people have been learning during lockdown. According to all the social media posts I’ve seen, the population of the UK is going to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic speaking multiple languages, playing numerous musical instruments, indulging Picasso delusions, able to run marathons without breaking sweat, ready to take on Michelin starred chefs and thinking of challenging for the post of the next UN Secretary General.
By Heather Astbury5 years ago in Feast
