Features

In the quiet idyll of Saligao in North Goa, Lento, is redefining the soul and texture of slow living

In the quiet idyll of Saligao in North Goa, Lento, is redefining the soul and texture of slow living

In a fast-paced world, Lento, which means slow in Portuguese, allows you to pause and bask in the glory of all things natural, detailed and made from scratch An age-old banyan tree taking root through the concrete of a house. Dense, mauve hazes of wisteria blooms spilling out of the crevices of an old stone castle. And, the sightings of wild animals on city roads during the lockdown. Nature takes over in quiet rebellion, when human intervention decreases. And, in that rewilding, there is a strange kind of beauty. This was pretty much the story of how Lento โ€” a…
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Thiruvananthapuram-based couple launches Badi Rasam, a ready-to-eat meal pack for โ‚น49

Thiruvananthapuram-based couple launches Badi Rasam, a ready-to-eat meal pack for โ‚น49

Ashifa Firdous and Faizal Subair, who launched Badi Rasam | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT A ready-to-eat meal pack for โ‚น49. That is Badi Rasam for you. The branded product comes from Thiruvananthapuram-based couple, Faizal Subair and Ashifa Firdous.Currently available within the city limits, the pack has Kerala matta rice, sauteed green gram, a pickle, tomato rasam and badi. โ€œBadi is a sun-dried dumpling made of lentils. The badi we use has black gram (uzhunnu). The dumplings are dry roasted and powdered. It is mixed with sautรฉed shallots, green chilli and garlic. This is a traditional dish prepared in many North…
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Enjoy home-made puddings at Tree of Treats in Thiruvananthapuram

Enjoy home-made puddings at Tree of Treats in Thiruvananthapuram

Tree of Treats, a weekend home cafe located at Kowdiar, Thiruvananthapuram, comes to life at five on Friday evenings. The fairy lights wrapped around the name board, patio furniture arranged on the front porch, and wobbly puddings soaked in sauce or coated in toasted coconut welcome customers to this makeshift eatery. The place is an extension of Treesa Joy and Arun Antonyโ€™s home. If you listen carefully, you can hear three-year-old Anthoy as he runs around the residence. Arun and Anthoyi at Tree of Treats | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT The evening cafe, as Treesa describes it, began in July,…
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Calorie, a year-long exhibit at the Science Gallery Bengaluru, questions our relationship with food

Calorie, a year-long exhibit at the Science Gallery Bengaluru, questions our relationship with food

Long Hanging Fruits, an installation by Indonesian artist Elia Nurvista about the palm oil industry | Photo Credit: Special arrangement In the 1820s, French scientistย Nicolas Clรฉment introduced the term calorie. In the two centuries since, human beingsโ€™ and societyโ€™s relationship with food has changed drastically. Today the study of food is a complex subject that comprises not only nutrition and agriculture, but also has geopolitics, technology, climate change, caste and gender under its umbrella. Science Gallery Bengaluru unveils a year-long exhibition titled Calorie, that uses the lens of art to engage and reflect on these subjects. Who grows your food?…
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Sunday brunch options in Coimbatore

Sunday brunch options in Coimbatore

Lavish, with a drink on the sideA platter of grilled fish, the seasonโ€™s fresh catch of mackerels, sardines, andย paarai, marinated in curry leaves paste, makes its way to our table straight from the grill. It is soft and juicy. Delicious is the verdict. โ€œNext time, we might try a fiery red marination in Kongu style or the Bengali way with mustard oil,โ€ says Chef M Baranidharan as we try out his lavish Sunday brunch at O By Tamara. ย Salad bar is a visual treat | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement There is Indian, continental, Kongu cuisines, and as many as seven…
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Indian restaurants are reviving the culinary legacy lost during Partition with Pakistani dishes on their menus

Indian restaurants are reviving the culinary legacy lost during Partition with Pakistani dishes on their menus

In her book,ย Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition through Material Memory, author Aanchal Malhotra writes about the material memory that refugees from Pakistan carried with them during the Partition 1947โ€” utensils, jewellery, soap boxes or combs. Along with these, they also carried intangible memories โ€” the taste of creamy, delicious Lalla Musa dal from Pakistanโ€™s city Lala Musa, Lahoreโ€™s famous street food katlama, chapli kebabs from Peshawar, and sajji from Balochistan. Sialkot masala raan at Ikk Panjab | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement These dishes are now finding their way once again into our culinary landscape. At Ikk…
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Pazham pori, congee, pepper rasam: Indian chefs on their favourite dishes for the monsoon

Pazham pori, congee, pepper rasam: Indian chefs on their favourite dishes for the monsoon

Chef Harish Rao - HOSA, GoaGoa is in the thick of its monsoon. And amidst the fragrance of petrichor, Chef Harish Raoโ€™s kitchen is awash with the whiff of pepper rasam. โ€œDuring the monsoon, I like something spicy and soothing,โ€ says the chef who is originally from Chennai. He likes to pair this rasam with mutton fry or curry. During this season he avoids sea food at home and instead has dry fish (karvadu). The karvadu mixed with baingan masala is one of his favourite dishes, and one that he often cooks during the rains. The dry fish or shrimp…
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Goaโ€™s quiet neighbourhood of Moira is now home to Solene, a luxurious private club

Goaโ€™s quiet neighbourhood of Moira is now home to Solene, a luxurious private club

North Goaโ€™s lush tropical setting is experiencing a quiet gentrification. This is my first thought as I step into Solene, the newly opened private-membersโ€™ club. Travelling through the winding village roads of Moira, flanked by greenery on both sides, I have just arrived at this magnificent, restored 100-year-old Portuguese villa, which has the signature elements of an old Goan home โ€” a terracotta roof and wide steps leading up to a wraparound veranda replete with a balcao. Pizzas at Solene | Photo Credit: Special arrangement Once inside, Iโ€™m enveloped in the hushed embrace of luxury. Timeless charmThe address that houses…
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New restaurants and menus in Bengaluru this August

New restaurants and menus in Bengaluru this August

Be it standalone bakers, legacy restaurants spreading their wings, or new restobars, Bengaluruโ€™s dining scene is one to watch out for. Starting this week, The Hindu launches a fortnightly series on the cityโ€™s new outposts, menu launches, and more.ย This weekend, as you savour Independence Day-themed brunches, here is a run down of what is new in the city:ย ย  Ramens at Kokoro | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement NEW RESTAURANTSKokoro, Church StreetAfter the likes of Kuuraku and Shiro, the latest addition to the cityโ€™s Japanese food scene is Kokoro. Helmed by Foodsta Kitchens, the parent company of Asian restaurant Nasi and Mee,…
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The new local exotics | Lesser-known ingredients on Indian chefsโ€™ lists

The new local exotics | Lesser-known ingredients on Indian chefsโ€™ lists

On a starry night in the Thar Desert earlier this year, chef Hussain Shahzad of The Bombay Canteen prepared a sumptuous feast for guests at Mihir Garh, a boutique hotel in Jodhpur, one of several properties owned by House of Rohet. His challenge? To showcase the unique flavours of local Rajasthani ingredients, especially gamey meats such as rabbit and quail, with a contemporary twist. โ€œChefs are successfully leveraging the ecosystem they grew up in,โ€ says Shahzad, whose love of quail was cemented growing up in Chennai, where the bird (harder to come by in the north of India) is a fixture…
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