The long history of fragrant food in India, from massaging hens with musk to cooking in leaves

Perfuming food has been an obsession in the country for aeons. To get the right aroma on the plate, some Indians have been willing to go to great lengths.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· 16 minutes ago

‘We call it anda bhurji’: How the Indian subcontinent discovered Persian khagina and made it its own

Across India and Pakistan, there are many versions of the scrambled egg dish, from simple to complex, sweet to savoury.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Apr 23, 2022 · 11:30 am

From gobi aloo to gobi manchurian: Celebrating 200 years of the cauliflower in India

At first repudiated as an exotic vegetable, the cauliflower has come a long way.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Apr 06, 2022 · 11:30 am

Dulaler Taalmichhri: The untold story of how a brand of palm candy made Bengal fall in love with it

For generations, Bengalis have reached out for the iconic canary-yellow bottle for comfort and cure, without knowing the full story behind it.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Mar 19, 2022 · 11:30 am

‘Mahua saved our lives’: The social and culinary legacy of an edible flower in India

Although primarily thought of as an ingredient in homegrown liquor, mahua has long been used in recipes both simple and complex.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Feb 26, 2022 · 11:30 am

The mystery of why the British created a stew after the town of Burdwan in Bengal

A hearty dish of meat, onions and wine was once popular among colonialists in Calcutta. What led its rise and ultimate fall?

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Feb 03, 2022 · 11:30 am

When all of Indian food is obsessed with digestion, why are only Bengalis the butt of jokes?

Over centuries, domestic kitchens across the nation have evolved to follow one Ayurvedic stipulation – food must not only be delicious but also digestible.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· May 15, 2019 · 11:30 am

As Pondicherry’s Creole food fades from restaurants, a Kannadiga home chef has become its evangelist

In Motchamary Pushpam’s kitchen, it’s easy to see the diverse influences – French, Tamil, Portuguese, Dutch and Mughal – that shaped the region’s cusine.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Apr 03, 2019 · 11:30 am

From Thandai to Puran Poli: Every Holi treat has a colourful story behind it

While some dishes speak of the festival’s Puranic associations, others remind us of its agrarian roots.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Mar 21, 2019 · 10:30 am

Why do so many Indians eat cold, stale food at the start of spring?

In several cultures, there’s a tradition of feasting on day-old dishes during seasonal transitions to cool the body and fortify the immune system.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Mar 16, 2019 · 11:30 am

Cooking with leaves: How every Indian state adapted the age-old culinary technique to suit its taste

From sal to screw pine to sugar palm, Indians use a mind-boggling variety of leaves to cook their food in.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Feb 26, 2019 · 11:30 am

Why Kolkata is lamenting the end of a meat shop started by a Hungarian trapeze artist in the 1940s

Kalman Cold Storage, which embodied the city’s secular ethos, shuttered this month.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Jan 21, 2019 · 11:30 am