ABOUT ME

 

About the writing: Like every Indian girl who read more than 2 Enid Blyton books my parents were convinced I was going to be a talented writer. I was such a distracted and all around hopeless teenager that their writing ambitions for me were shelved and their energies directed towards making sure I didn't end up burning down the house.

 

Life and my choices have worn me down to where the desire to burn things down has dimmed a little. But this is what I talk about here - bits of my life and the constant struggle not to make a dash for it.

 

About the recipes: This blog started out as a collection of simple recipes for novice cooks. The idea was to find and execute recipes that didn't take too much time or effort but were healthy and would inspire cooks on the fence to jump in and get started in the kitchen. Over time as I've become more familiar with cooking and baking the recipes have become more complex but my first love will always be recipes that are impossible to ruin and these will always be celebrated enthusiastically here.

 

I also strongly believe that local and seasonal ingredients are the healthiest, most affordable and most appropriate to use in Indian kitchens and like highlighting this in the recipes I put up.    

 

About the restaurant reviews: At some point, I started writing restaurant reviews and I realized that they were more helpful for people my age. Since I eat out fairly often and like trying out new places this was an easy extension of scope.

 

The problem with restaurant reviews is that people's expectations and tastes tend to vary wildly. My review is an honest opinion based on my likes, dislikes and experience. If it sounds like I'm being unduly harsh, I probably am, I have very strong likes and dislikes and a very short attention span.

 

Since I don't make any money out of this blog I pride myself on the sincerity of my reviews. If I happen to know the owner or have been invited to review a place I mention this clearly in my posts.  

 

About the product reviews: The tools and materials you use to cook make the biggest difference but there are so many options to choose from that I thought it might be helpful to put up my little notes on the equipment/packaged ingredients I buy. This way you don't have to repeat my mistakes.

 

About the Reluctant Chef Guides: There are all kinds of food and entertaining related adventures that people in their 20s are exposed to and I think this is a great age to start thinking beyond just the basics of hosting. I think a house party is the best kind of party and the smallest, personal details make for the most memorable celebrations.

The hope is that every guide is a practical, unfussy and easily comprehensible map for food and party ideas that are a little more elaborate than the "there's rum and coke in the corner and biryani in the fridge" kind of party.

 

About the colors and characters: You may notice that sometimes I use people's names and sometimes I seem to be talking about colors. This is because in guest posts I want to give credit where it's due but in other circumstances I want to reference someone in my life without violating their privacy. I pick the color I think of when I think of that person so Fuchsia, Emerald, Turquoise, Ruby and Navy are probably going to come up often. No they don't know who they are but they're welcome to guess.

 

About the future: I don't plan to quit my day job. Unless Anthony Bourdain asks me to tour South East Asia with him. In which case I'll hightail it out of New Friends Colony but mostly I don't plan to quit my day job because I quite sincerely like it. This places time and resource constraints on my plans but I've still managed to be pretty ambitious.

 

Going forward there's going to be a lot more emphasis on good things - I don't feel up to slagging another mediocre meal in a restaurant that's going to vanish in a week. I don't want to waste my time or money on places that don't impact me so unless I'm really irked I'm going to try to practice the "if you have nothing good to say" rule. So more attention for local ingredients, seasonal produce, environment friendly joy and authentic products.

Though I can't help how Delhi-centric this blog is, there's going to be a lot of travelling and writing on other cities coming up soon.  

I'd like to build up a lot more content with recipes especially recipes of mine. There will be more notes on tips, tricks, techniques and troubleshooting in the kitchen. I'd like to consolidate my notes on the more fiddly bits of the world of gastronomy in a format that makes it easy for everyone to know the difference between béchamel and beurre blanc.

Basically more great food, fun recipes, inspiring people, reflections on the circus I call my life and experiences that make me happy! How self indulgent is this blog?!

 

About me: I’m a 26 year old corporate lawyer living in Delhi with an irrational fondness for the written word, police procedurals, detective novels set in the 1920s, shoes and everything handmade. I spend my time worrying about corporate law and time management; taking photos of everything I eat and attending house parties.

If you have any comments, suggestions, questions or criticism please drop me an email at thelovedelhiblog@gmail.com

 

Since I couldn’t think of more to write about myself I cheated and filled out the original version of the Proust Questionnaire for anyone who might want to know me better:

My favourite virtue – charm

My favourite qualities in a man – courage and intelligence

My favourite qualities in a woman – poise and ambition

My chief characteristic – restlessness

What I appreciate most in my friends – their originality, rebellion and fondness for me

My main fault – my tendency to give up, give in, settle for less and stop caring

My favourite occupation – planning and organizing things

My idea of happiness – a secluded cottage in the hills or by the beach with a pile of books, some canvas , paints and a paintbrush

My idea of misery – people who give up on hope, ambition and the extraordinary

If not myself I would be – a surfer chick in California

Where I would like to live – San Francisco, Connecticut, Mumbai, Goa, Prague

My favourite color and flowers – Turquoise, peonies, hydrangeas and marigolds

My favourite bird – the kingfisher and the eagle

My favourite prose authors – A.A. Milne, Ngaio Marsh, Milan Kundera, Alexandre Dumas, Vladimir Nabakov

My favourite poets – Bukowski and Neruda

My favourite heroes in fiction – Humbert Humbert, Lord Peter Wimsey, Richard Alleyn, Dick Tracy

My favourite heroines in fiction – Heidi, Anne (of Green Gables), Portia, Jo (Little Women)

My heroes in real life – My grandfather

My heroines in real life – my grandmothers, aunt, mother and baby cousin

My favourite food and drink – galouti kebabs, champagne, mutton curry and cucumbers

My favourite names – Araish, Sikander and Arya

What I hate most – people who are stupid, narrow minded or judgmental

The natural talent I’d like to have – will power or persuasiveness

How I wish to die – in my sleep, in my late 50s

My present state of mind – hesitantly hopeful

For what fault do I have the most tolerance – a tendency towards excess

My favourite motto – this too shall pass