It is a common practice in Ayurveda to eat food according to the kind of dosha or constitution of your body. Kapha types benefit from bitter and pungent food, people with a pitha dosha benefit from bitter, sweet and cooling foods and if your dosha is a vatha type then it is salty, sour and heating foods for you. Food is cooked without the use of oil and green chillies and other spices. The belief is that the food you eat can heal the imbalances in your body. This kind of cooking philosophy makes a very popular saying in India, “jaisa ann, waisa mann” hold true. You are what you eat. Your temperament and nature is more or less based on the kind of food that you consume.

Have you ever thought about the reverse of this philosophy? Kehte hain ki swad toh khana banana waale ke haathon mein hota hain! Food is only as good as the amount of love and hard work that has been put into preparing it! Ever wondered why the kadhi chawal your mother makes is way better and much more comforting than the gourmet food at a high end restaurant. Why is it that the instant noodles you ate during your college days tasted better than the expensive Chinese food you eat at a five star today? Or why you relish a meal that your spouse, who normally cannot cook to save his life, has prepared as a surprise for you?

The reason is simple. Cooking is a combination of art and science. Food prepared with love, conviction and interest along with proper cooking techniques will taste good. You cannot create a good dish if you are not in the correct frame of mind and just throw together a bunch of ingredients in a pan. Good food is not a product of expensive ingredients, complex cooking techniques, degrees and certificates. A good dish is a master piece that is created with a lot of love, interest, patience and of course haathon ka jaadu! Someone who takes great pain and uses perfect precision in their cooking process may not necessarily come up with a great dish unless they have the knack for cooking! The person cooking food should always have the right attitude. I firmly believe that the positivity translates into taste and spreads positive energy from the cook to the food and to the people eating it!

To enjoy cooking you also need to have a pleasing kitchen. No one wants to cook in a haphazard, unorganized and messy kitchen! Imagine cooking in a beautiful kitchen with a clean worktop, proper utensils and fresh, interesting ingredients – it will be a breeze and will make you want to keep coming back to try out newer things everyday! Another big incentive in cooking is all the praises you get – works as positive reinforcement! It is pretty simple. Food and love are synonymous. You cook with love, serve with love, eat with love.

There is a popular Spanish phrase which says “barriga llena, corazon content” which literally means “full stomach happy heart.” It is true that people tend to be a lot grumpier when they are hungry. When someone eats good food it instantly lifts up their mood. Don’t you think it is essential that the food which is going to make someone happy should also be prepared in a happy frame of mind? Don’t make cooking a compulsion. You shouldn’t be forced to cook, for you cannot put up a great dish if you don’t believe in it. Don’t be afraid of failure, you may not be an amazing cook from the first recipe you try, but if you like cooking, eventually you will come around. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day!

Keep smiling, keep cooking and keep eating!

Tiil I write again.
Sanjeev Kapoor

Taking into consideration these facts, this post very attractively through illustrations will show you how much you are taking in and in what form, and how much you should cut down to lose that extra inch. As such, calculating calories is in fashion these days. People are too conscious about their health and the kind of food they eat. So, it becomes absolutely necessary for us to understand the portion size of the food we eat and how much calorie it contains.

Every individual requires certain calories according to the body weight, height and kind of physical activity they do. Hence, a good knowledge about the calories you are consuming will help you manage your weight and avoid over eating.

We often think that lower the weight of a food, lower is the calorie content. But this is not always true in most of the cases. Believe it or not! By the end of this article, I am sure you will be able to understand that it is both the calorie count and the weight of a particular food on which the overall health factor depends.

To generalize, the article gives you an information on how 200 calories actually look like in different food items which include individual ingredients as well as the most popular and common recipes that are a part of an average Indian’s day-to-day life.

Go on, watch and read carefully! Can be an absolute shocker!

Here are a few tips and pointers that you should keep in mind while handling chocolate.

How chocolate should be melted and handled

•Chop large chocolate blocks into smaller pieces and put in a plastic bowl. Avoid using glass or stainless steel bowls as they cause uneven heating.

•If using a Microwave oven, place the bowl in it and start the melting process from 40 seconds at 50% intensity of the Microwave. Then, take the bowl out, stir and continue this process till the complete chocolate is melted. Please do not ever keep for longer time at higher temperatures as chocolate needs delicate treatment.

•If using a double boiler, take a medium height pan filled one-fourth with water and heat it. When the water is at a simmer, reduce heat to minimum, place a bowl that fits on the mouth of the pan and start putting the chocolate in it to be melted, little at a time. One important point to remember here is that you should not boil the water as it will affect the viscosity of the chocolate and steam from boiling water may play havoc. Keep stirring the chocolate pieces till completely melted.

•Remember, water is the biggest enemy of chocolate! Especially, when the chocolate is being melted for use in confectionary, candy making, tempering, etc., you should be very careful that not even a single drop of water gets into it. But if this happens by mistake, keep it aside to use in recipes where it is only an ingredient, and start afresh.

•Check for blooming and any odours in the chocolate bars. When chocolate is exposed to warm temperatures, the fat softens and chocolate is then untempered, causing light grey or white areas on the surface of the chocolate. Also, sometimes you might find small white dots on the chocolate, which is due to condensation.

•Avoid overheating of chocolate as it results in making the chocolate thick after melting.

•If there is a loss of colour in the chocolate bars, this may be due to changes in the light, temperature and humidity.

•The preferred working temperatures in the Indian scenario is around 20°C with humidity not more than 50% and preferably on marble work tops. Marble helps keep the chocolate cool.

•It is always good to work with clean kitchenware and work tops when handling chocolate and also advisable to keep some kitchenware separate (especially in Indian kitchens where interaction with masalas will give unwarranted flavours to your chocolate) that can be used when working with chocolate.

•And this one is for all chocolate lovers – always remember to look at the ingredients printed on the packet. Chocolate with natural cocoa butter rather than vegetable fats is always more healthy. Not to forget, chocolate is good source of energy at any given time.

How to store chocolate
Now that we have travelled through the processes of making of chocolate and handling it, there is one more aspect that is left which is really important when working with this sinful ingredient, and, that is the storage. The following pointers will help you tackle the issues of storing chocolate perfectly:

•In the Indian climate, ideally chocolates should be stored at temperatures ranging from 15°C to 20°C at humidity not more than 50%.

•The best way to store chocolate is to put the original packing in plastic wrap, cling film or zip lock bags, place them in airtight containers and put in the refrigerator. One important point to remember is that you should never keep the chocolate in a deep freezer, as this may spoil the chocolate because of condensation that may occur.

•It is also advisable to store chocolate away from strong odours as it may absorb the strong smells from other items, thus spoiling its own aroma.

•Then for application of refrigerated chocolate, the best way to use it is to keep the chocolate at room temperature for about ten-fifteen minutes (to avoid temperature and humidity shock that may cause condensation and thickening) and then open the packets.

By now, I am sure that your interest in this wonderful ingredient has risen further than what it was before and you are now confident of trying your hand and cooking skills to dish out some amazing chocolate recipes in your kitchen. Once you keep in mind these basic tips, making chocolate concoctions in your home will be a breeze. For more chocolaty recipes you can refer to my book aah! Chocolate. It is a collection of chocolate recipes ranging from beverages to cakes to mithais all involving chocolate. As of now here are a few recipes to get you started…

Choco Coconut Ladoos

Choco Cups

Chocolate Almond Bar

As kids, summer was our most favorite season of the year! Summer brought along with it so many other happy things – mangoes, ice creams, days devoted to playing and fooling around with other kids in the locality. We used to play outdoors the entire day, unperturbed by the harsh Dilli ki kadakti dhoop aur garmi. After coming back home, my mother would always give us a piece of jaggery mixed in water to drink as it helps to maintain the balance in blood sugar and also provides instant energy. Back then we would just be happy to eat the jaggery and not worry about the therapeutics involved. Summer vacations would be like food paradise for our family. My mother would start preparing a hundred different things. Instead of cribbing about how hot it was, we would make the best of it! There are certain things that are best done in summer. Families in the neighborhood would come together and make papads and pickles of different types and then put them out to dry on the terrace. Aam ka panna and gajar ki kanji were my favourites since childhood. Everything was made in bulk and stored in large jars from which my brother and I would steal a taste every now and then. Mangoes would be a regular feature on the menu along with watermelons, muskmelons and lychees. Playing the entire day would be tiring and we would keep hydrated by having something to drink all day long. My favourites were and continue to be shikanji and sugarcane juice and not to forget the cold milk, flavoured with rose syrup that I used to have after the siesta in the afternoon.

We should be happy that we Indians are blessed with plenty of sunshine during summers, while people from other parts of the world wait for some sunshine so they can get tanned! This is also the best time to incorporate fresh veggies and fruits in our diet. It is best to buy fresh produce from your local sabzi market. Avoid heavy meals and stick to fresh juices and frozen fruit sorbets, summer salads, cold soups, etc. as the summer heat does tend to make us feel less hungry. This is also good for people who want to lose some weight. The heat makes you sweat more which helps you detoxify your body in a very natural way, it is like a very natural sauna! Going out in the sun and soaking in the Vitamin D is a great way to regulate blood sugar levels and also to help bones absorb the calcium for our body. But, make sure that you do this in the early morning hours as the sunlight then is the best for our body. It is possible to benefit from this heat. Natural sunlight increases the oxygen content in human body and also has a great effect on fitness, muscular development and stamina. Besides this, for the rest of the day, rub on a little sun tan lotion if you don’t want to get tanned, wear your head gears (caps, hats) or take an umbrella that would protect you from the sunrays and keep sipping on the essential fluids – water, coconut water, fresh juices are what I would suggest. Most of the North and South India and places like Rajasthan and Gujarat have very high temperatures between March and June, but thankfully for me, my current home Mumbai is not that bad when it comes to the heat. The humidity and the sea breeze keep it pleasant as compared to other places that are affected by the hot dry winds also called loo.

I want to end this post by sharing an incident I heard from a friend of mine. So, this friend has had the pleasure of working with Mr Amitabh Bachchan. They were shooting in Chennai during the month of May and this was before the times of air conditioned vanity vans. Mr Bachchan was waiting for a shot, sitting on a chair and reading a book – seeming oblivious to the heat! My friend who had just shouted at the producer for not providing him with an AC room, walked up to Mr Bachchan and asked him how he was so unperturbed by the heat. “Are you not feeling hot?” he asked. Mr Bachchan replied by saying “If you put the thought in my mind then yes, if not then no.” Since that day I haven’t heard my friend crib about any kind of discomfort. He says – if Mr Bachchan can do it why can’t we!

So, get out of the house and enjoy the sun while it is still bright and shining. The monsoons are going to start in a few months and then we will find ourselves cribbing about how rains make our lives so inconvenient! Till then enjoy the summers in the right spirit, and I’m sure these recipes will help you do so!

Chilled Melon Ball Salad

Masala Soda

Tender Coconut Kulfi

Before I jump onto the scientific information, let me share some basic facts about saliva, and what is the reason that actually makes it a wonder thing. Saliva is made up of 98% of water and the other 2% consists of components like electrolytes, mucus, antibacterial compounds, other enzymes, proteins, salts and buffering agents that help keep apt pH levels. The water that forms a major part of saliva comes from the blood and it is due to the mucus that the saliva attains its glossy appearance and thick texture. It will be difficult to believe, but the truth is unless our food is mixed with saliva, it cannot be digested!

Some other useful and protective aspects of saliva are :

•Saliva, and not just the taste buds, helps us to taste and enjoy our food, and this is proved by scientists and researchers. It is said that if you keep a strong tasting substance like salt on a dry tongue, the taste buds alone will not be able to taste it. However, when a drop of saliva is added to it, salt gets dissolved and results in a taste sensation!
•It is due to the enzyme ‘ptyalin’, also called salivary amylase in the saliva, that the digestion of the starch into a sugar called maltose takes place. The maltose gets further broken into glucose molecules in the small intestine.
•Saliva keeps a check on the correct amount of water in our bodies. Drying of mouth when we are dehydrated happens due to less production of saliva, which is an automatic indication for us to drink more water!
•Chemicals like lysozyme, lactoferrin, peroxidase and immunoglobulin A are found in saliva which help fight bacteria.
•Saliva has sodium bicarbonate that helps to neutralize acids in foods and drinks, which are otherwise harmful to the tooth enamel.
•Saliva washes away food particles, dead cells and bacteria in the mouth and thus reduces tooth infections and decays.
•Keeping the mouth moist, to help the tongue and lips make speech sounds and lubricating the food, so it is easy to swallow, are also some of the things that fall in the everyday to-do list of saliva! In addition to this, preventing the swallowed food from damaging the wall of oesophagus, is also done by saliva.

Now, coming to the more scientific terms – ‘submandibular glands (submaxillary glands)’, ‘parotid glands’ and ‘sublingual glands’ are the three main pairs of salivary glands which help in the production of saliva. Out of these three, parotid glands are the largest. Besides these, there are also about 600-1000 minor salivary glands that are placed in the mouth, throat and lips alongwith tubes called the ‘salivary ducts’ that help the saliva to leave the glands.

Submandibular glands – two in number and are located under the floor of the mouth. Responsible for producing a liquid mixture that consists of water and mucus.

Parotid glands – one each located in each cheek, front of the ear. Responsible for producing a watery liquid containing proteins.

Sublingual glands – two in number and are located under the tongue, in front of the submandibular glands. Responsible for producing liquid containing more mucus than the secretions of other glands.

In a day, the average saliva production ranges from 500 ml to 1000 ml in which 70% is produced by the submandibular glands followed by parotid glands which produce 25% and the remaining 5% is produced by the sublingual glands. The salivary glands continuously keep on releasing saliva, but the amount can vary during the day. The highest volume of saliva is produced before, during and after meals, reaching a peak at about 12 a.m. The production lowers down when we go to sleep in the night. Also, the reason of bad breath early morning is due to the fact that less saliva is made while we sleep as compared to when we are awake. Various other reasons can also affect the quantity of saliva production like nature of the food (spicy, sour, acidic foods), smell of the food, chewing, drugs, hormonal status, age, hereditary, oral hygiene and physical exercises.

Have you ever thought that why is it advisable to drink water sip-by-sip? Well, it has a very salivacious answer – the reason is – saliva, when mixed with water and had, helps neutralising the acidity in the stomach. Thus, you drink water sip-by-sip, move it in the mouth so that it mixes with the saliva in the mouth and then gulp it down. This is the best way you can keep your digestion process under control – seen animals and birds doing the same, and being much healthier than humans? I am sure we all can learn these nitty-grittys to stay fit from the nature around us!

Also, saliva happens to be the world’s best medicine. Again, take a look at the nature around us – animals, when they are injured, they treat that injury with their saliva itself by licking that injured area. Such is the medicinal quality of saliva! Same is the case with human saliva. Infact, the early morning saliva is the most powerful. To test – spit the early morning saliva on an insect, and watch it die! It is also advised that we should swallow the early morning saliva with lukewarm water so that all its medicinal properties are taken by the human body.

Apart from these highly useful features of the human saliva, the nature has provided some animals with such saliva that act as defence mechanisms for them. For instance, take the venomous reptiles and insects possessing poisonous saliva that is potent to such an extent, that it can not only kill their preys but also become super medicines for humans and treat some deadly diseases! Surprisingly, some bird species have a sticky saliva that help them build their nests. Such a saliva acts like a glue and helps stick materials together. Then there are some species, which make their nests completely of saliva as it hardens when comes in contact with air. These types of nests form the main ingredient of the ‘Bird’s Nest Soup’ which is a popular delicacy in many Asian countries. For obvious reasons, this particular dish is a pretty expensive affair and is made by washing the bird’s nest first and then cooking it in chicken or other broths to give it a taste. The nest forms a gelatinous texture when added to water and is said to have many health benefits. Still haven’t had the opportunity to try one, but I would definitely want to give it a shot if given a chance sometime!

By now, all that I’m trying to zero down on to is to tell you about the helpful nature of our very own dear saliva. There lies a major concern in doing this – whichever corner of India I travel to, I see Indians spitting away to glory and wasting this valuable medicine. To put it in numbers, its totally devastating to know that 125 crore Indians indulge in spitting and they actually don’t know what they are throwing away! And this business of spitting relentlessly occurs more with people who chew on tobacco, guthka and other such products. Doctors also say that they are spitting life’s most precious thing. By spitting, such people are not only spoiling the roads and environment, but also spoiling themselves; and to be honest it is quite a shame! According to doctors, the only condition when one can spit is when one has extreme cough, and in no other circumstance. And while doing so as well, make sure that you do it in the wash basins and not anywhere on the roads or where you wish to! Spitting can also be checked by eating paans minus the kattha and consuming them only with chuna (calcium). This calcium not just saves us from spitting and wasting the worthy saliva but also has its own wonders for the body. I’ve already written at length about the benefits of paan as well as calcium in my previous blogs, you can always refer to them to get a connecting link…

Last but not the least, it is very rightly said that whatever is required by the human body for its survival is supplied free of cost by God! So, why not use it wisely and live a healthier and a happier life.

Let’s all of us together, SOS (Save Our Spits)!

Chef Anupa Das at a famous Panwala at Juhu Beach, Mumbai

Paan Leaves stored in cold water

One of the many special paans available in the market today

The making of a delicious paan is truly an art. Every paanwari has a unique style of paan making and uses different ingredients for the stuffing, which is often a closely guarded secret. The filling in the paan depends upon the type of paan you have ordered. Depending upon the betel leaf used and the ingredients that go into the stuffing, you have varieties such as Calcutta sada paan, Calcutta meetha paan, Banarasi paan, Chocolate paan, Masala paan, Luchknowi paan, Magai meetha paan, Magai sada paan and chooski paan, just to name a few.

For those who don’t like the taste of betel leaf, but relish the stuffing, can ask the paanwari for mava, which is nothing but a mixture of the ingredients that go inside a paan. Now days, the mawa that goes inside a paan is separately sold in tiny boxes or packets. If stored properly, this mixture can last upto a year. Indians settled abroad, who long for the very Indian flavours of the paan, but fail to get it easily, carry back mawa in substantial quantities.

Chunna

Supari or chopped areca nuts

It causes discoloration of the teeth and gums, blisters, cardiovascular diseases, bronchitis and mouth cancer.Each year, several people die because of this addictive habit, especially in the South East Asian region where this is a common practice.

The paan, ready to eat!

Paan Kulfi

Murgh Benarasi Beeda

Paan Chocolates

Fasting or keeping vrats, according to me is all a part of applying self-discipline as the season changes. Scientifically speaking, our body constantly requires cleansing and detoxification, which, generally goes ignored by us humans due to the rustle-bustle of our daily lives, or I would put it this way that by nature, we humans are actually not disciplined. Thus, these vrats, in the name of God are doing nothing but helping us clean our systems in all possibilities and the most by consuming the right type of food. The message is simple – eat these particular foods and eat them at the right time, this is what was started long ago by our gurus and is still followed. To which the logic is simple – if there will be fear in the minds of the people in the form of Godly rituals, the right thing will be done at any cost! Body digestion processes are related to change of season, and most of the religions provide all the right reasons to indulge in a particular type of food at the right time, which help detoxify our bodies in the long run.

Look at this fasting thing in a practical way – getting food items, cooking them, eating them and finally digesting the food is a nonstop process in a human being’s life. Not to forget that all these activities also take up a lot of our energy and time. Food, though it provides us with energy, is not always good as certain foods do make our minds dull and agitated. So, simply to revitalize the minds, these fasting days come as a saviour by making us conserve our energy by eating light and simple food. Also, our bodies have a limit to tolerate any or all types of food and vrats are the best way to give a break and rest to the digestive system as well as the entire body. Most of the vrats call for vegetables and fruits in the diets, and I think it is absolutely necessary for the body to cater to these needs also and not just keep on indulging in our favourite foods all the time! Also, according to the tridosha theory of Ayurveda, our health is a result of the balance between the vata (air), pitta (fire) and kapha (earth and water). So, when we fast with a special diet on particular days, it helps in the health and wellbeing of the entire body by bringing nutritional balance.

Summing it all up, be it the Hindu navratras or the Jain paryushans or the Catholic Lent or the Muslim rozas – whatever religion the fast or vrat belong to, there is always a literal and scientific meaning attached to these which should be the reason for us to apply them as and when required as it only helps in adding to the betterment of our bodies. On the other hand, let me ask you a very simple question – will you still keep these vrats if there were no Godly rituals attached to them? If it’s the fear of God which makes us keep these vrats so appropriately and that all the non-doable things can be kept away by instilling this fear – then, can we apply the same logic in keeping mobile phones away? Why not introduce a ‘mobile vrat’ time in each month and be a part of it?

Well, on a lighter note, give a thought about this…because I would really be interested in knowing what you all have to say about this! But, do enjoy some of the recipes from http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com that I’m sharing with you all –

Vrat ki Kadhi

Kootoo Ke Aate Ki Puri

Adrak Navratan

Tell me about the dishes you made this navrata!

Happy fasting!

The WGS is not just Singapore’s most esteemed culinary event, but I really feel it is one of the finest in the world as well; and why not, when it celebrates the world’s finest flavours, most extraordinary wines and unique dining experiences. Encompassing a series of dazzling events like the gourmet golf experience, vintner dinners, special themed and celebrity dinners, it is a gourmet spectacular specially crafted for the discerning individual who appreciates great wines and fine cuisines. The WGS is in its 17th year now and is more extravagant this time because of the presence of some world renowned chefs like Matt Moran, Bruno Ménard, Sam Leong and the likes.

Singapore merely has a total land area of 697.1 sq. km. and counts as one of the smallest countries in the world, but the way the city has progressed over the years is just astonishing and quite remarkable. Not to forget that apart from being clean and modern, the city is one of the safest cities in the world and as I said earlier, it really feels like home being here!

My first day began with a Press Conference and Opening Reception at The Maritime Experimental Museum, Resort World Sentosa followed by the Opening Reception at S.E.A. Aquarium, Resort World Sentosa. Later, had a beautiful and tongue-tickling lunch at The Song of India restaurant alongwith some socializing with fellow chefs and colleagues.

The island of Sentosa on the southern coast of Singapore houses the integrated resort – Resorts World Sentosa. One of Singapore’s two casinos is located here alongwith other attractions like a Universal Studios theme park and Marine Life Park. It also has The Maritime Experimental Museum, the only museum in Singapore where Asia’s rich maritime history and Singapore’s past as a trading port can be experienced by visitors and the S.E.A Aquarium which is the world’s largest aquarium having more than 800 species of marine animals. Truly awe-inspiring as I came across the majestic ocean life!

The second day began with attending a function at Sunrise Culinary School which was followed by a fun interview at the 96.3 Masti Radio at MediaCorp, Caldecott Hill. The lunch was special – we had a special guest, fellow foodie and columnist Vir Sanghvi at The Song of India restaurant for our epicurean menu. Always good to chat food with him!

As for the coming days, don’t forget to follow my tweets and Facebook updates with pictures as well. Shall keep you all posted about the happenings as they unfold…

Going by the mood, sharing some recipes with the Oriental touch.

Chilli Chicken Singapore 

Singapore Sweet Garlic Vegetables 

Singaporean Mango Jelly

And I know it’s the navratras which would be keeping you all busy with vrats and all…but let me tell you that there is a lot more to fasting and the science behind it! Shall soon share some trivia about it in my next blogs…

All I would say is – eat well and eat right!

Till I write again.
Sanjeev Kapoor

Something about the festival – Gudi Padwa, the first day of chaitra, marks the beginning of the spring season for the Maharashtrians. An upturned silver or gold kalash called the gudi is placed on top of a stick and covered with bright coloured cloth and other decorations and hung outside the house. A paste of neem leaves, jaggery, tamarind and ajwain is made and eaten first thing in the morning on this day. The age old reason behind eating this bitter sweet mixture is so significant in our lives today! It indicates that life is a mixture of good and bad, happiness and sorrow. It is important that we gracefully accept everything that it has in store for us, because you never know the importance of light until you have been in darkness. In the Maharashtrian tradition, Gudi Padwa is one of the four most auspicious days of the year to celebrate weddings, house-warmings and inaugurations of business ventures and for buying gold, silver or property.

India is rightly called the “land of festivals” which is very true, as I really feel that there is a festival to celebrate in each month and the festivities just go on for the entire year! Be it a Gujarati, a Punjabi, a Bengali or for that matter a person belonging to any religion, one or the other festival is there to give a reason to be happy, eat, drink and be merry! But, have you ever given it a thought as to why these days have just become an excuse to get a holiday or a day-off from work? This is when dharma and karma come into the picture. Even the Bhagvad Gita teaches us that we should keep doing our karma without thinking of the results, but the trend with humans is that, they make dharma a reason to shirk away from their karma (work). I am definitely not against any religion, festivals or the traditional celebrations that happen during these, all I’m trying to say is that we should take these festivals in the right spirit and not just blindly follow the rituals and symbolisms associated with them. These are created by humans only, even the Gods did not preach about any of them – so, this year, let’s all together promise that we will follow the inherent message of Gudi Padwa, by being true and dedicated to our work (karma) which earns us our breads because by doing so our dharma will automatically get pleased and we will be happy forever! And then, some masti, here and there, is always a part of life and if we are happy on the whole, we will be able to enjoy it even more!

While I’ll be in Bengaluru enjoying some palate tickling Karnataka cuisine, I would recommend you all to try out some joints like Prakash and Aswadh in Dadar with their authentic Maharashtrian thalis along with the ever-favourite dishes like sabudana vadas, masala bhaat, shrikhand; special amrakhands at Samant Brothers in Vile Parle (E); puran polis at Diva Maharashtra in Andheri (W) and Mahim and delightful ukdiche modaks at Modakam in Prabhadevi and a lot more Gudi Padwa specialities that are available at these places, alternatively you could also try making some dishes at home.

Also, try your hands on some of the most popular recipes associated with this festival:

Let me know how the recipes turned out.

Here’s wishing all a very Happy Gudi Padwa. God bless.

Till I write again.
Sanjeev Kapoor