Curried Red Quinoa Peas and Paneer Salad

Our terrace in my hometown in India looks down to acres of empty land. Empty of human occupation that is. To the left was 'the glorious land', there were trees as tall as our house, shrubs and bushes at every inch of the land that had been kept untouched and wild for no one had the time to clear that forest of sorts. 

On the right was the barren land, one that got cleared every few months for weeds and wild grass.   We could look down at these two lands of extreme in its entirety divided by a tall muddy brick wall. During summers, monkeys would often sit on it and trespass into our garden area for treating on the mangoes much to my father's dismay. 

Green Chutney, Avocado, Tomatoes and Fried Egg Open Sandwich

During my days of living in India, my sister in law and I had a customary late afternoon walk. The sun would calm down, the streets started to buzz again with horns and hawkers after the sleepy high heat afternoon hours. People from all walks of life, blue collar to white could be seen taking a break or snatching a bite of this and that on the street. The unsaid truth about our walks was, we never returned home without filling ourselves with some kind of street food. It was the real purpose of 'the walk'. Careful of never talking about it at home of course, my mother in law just as my mother would never approve of us eating on the streets.

Corn Halwa (Indian pudding) with Raspberry Coulis

In some days we are heading into Eid ul Fitr -  a celebratory day for Muslims marking the end of Ramadan - the holy month of fasting. Growing up Eid was the day of new clothes, new jewellery, new shoes and everything a little girl would wish for. Delicious, gluttonious food flew left and right and at the end of it all you would sure feel like you can't eat for rest of the year. Our heavily embroidered Indian outfits where neatly folded and packed to open for the next coming Eid given they were impossible to wear on any other day. But Eid wasn't Eid until we were handed our Eidi - the gifts given to kids by relatives and friends. We sat enthusiastically in the hallway in anticipation of who would visit us, what gifts they would bring and who would end up collecting the most money (the most common form of Eidi).

Thandai Peach Galette

We were on the bed, laying in our usual position, heads further away but legs tangled into each others. It was something that bothered him at first - my inability to sleep with my head dug into his arms. It is so theatrical, one can't really breathe comfortably that close, I can't breathe I would exclaim. He understood not just the need for physical space, but the space I needed to learn and grow, to fail and concur, to find my individuality as a tender and seemingly unsure twenty year old.

Chicken Jalfrezi

It's that time of the year again. Most of my stories, food or otherwise revolve around our vacation time growing up that we spend in India, usually once a year.  The hustle bustle, the vibrant colors, the chaotic traffic and the glorious glorious food were all part of the fun we talked about rest of the year. 

Since Tasnim was born this is our first vacation to India and we are mighty excited. Now that she takes a bit of spicy food, we might finally introduce her to some spicier Rajasthani fare! If you don't follow me on Instagram where I post regularly - you might be able to catch glimpse of the fun and food. Meanwhile, here's a tantalising chicken recipe that is sure to be a family favourite.  

Photo Shoot For Nutri Juice

A while back I photographed for Nutri Juice, which is a smoothie and juice parlour that makes smoothies on order with all natural ingredients and no sugar or additives! I didn't really think I was into smoothies until I worked for them. May be it was because I was adding way too many things in name of nutrient into my jar and/or adding the wrong ingredients. What I learned was, keeping it simple was the way to go for a smoothie.