Not that diary

After half a decade of shunning the last stop of the Victoria Line tube in London, last week I was persuaded by a friend to spend an evening at Brixton. I had heard of the transformation of this erstwhile slightly terrifying part of London into a new trendy locality. It seemed   worth checking out. On exiting the tube station I saw the high street now has more than the Pound-stretcher and betting shops. Rubbing shoulders (well almost) are some typical high street retail chains like H and M, and Marks and Spencer (if that doesn't break the rule of the number of 'ands' in a sentence I don't know what does. My blog software goes nutty if I use ampersands). We wandered down to the fresh fruit, vegetable, meat and fish market. Even at dusk, it all looked pretty fresh. However, after 10 minutes wandering down the lanes I confess I dragged my friend away as the sight of so many carcasses does tend to make me squeamish. But not before she managed to buy two huge onions fo...

I can't quite recall when I started caring so much about food that I felt the need to write about it. Those who know me well compare my eating habits to that of a bird (sparrow rather than the French fries-addicted overweight pigeons of London). To say I was a picky eater as a child would be an understatement. I doubt if it was anything to do with the food itself- I just found other things around me more exciting than eating. So it is surprising to now find myself waxing lyrical about food- in this case the awesome vegetarian curries and starters at  Chamkar Restaurant in Siem Reap (Angkor Wat). I discovered it first via a web search while planning the trip to Cambodia. After a shaky experience in Ayuthhaya (Thailand) where the only well-rated vegetarian restaurant turned out to be a dilapidated eatery with the displayed food looking like it was a few days old, I prepared myself for the worst. My sister and I decided to do an early reconnaissance of the venue and the menu b...

So my first Ayurveda blog was all about me being a self-appointed guinea pig. In this one I'll summarize how Ayurveda  treats various food types. Its worth noting that since this 'ancient food science/ life science' was developed over 5000 years ago in a tropical part of the world, many of its recommendations are geared towards the food and lifestyle associated with that region. Still the Indian sub-continent is huge and the variety of seasons it covers from the chilly winters in the northern mountains, to the extreme heat of its western deserts and the temperate climate on its coastlines means that the principles could well be applicable to many geographies. Here is what I have gleaned so far in my ongoing quest to understanding the principles behind the many rules of food preparation and consumption: 1) Best times to eat All individuals have different digestion levels and strengths. In general the body's digestion is strongest between 10 AM and 2...

Not many people who meet me would imagine that I have more than a passing interest in food. And indeed it has been a long journey for the little girl who threw roti pieces under the table to the adult who can now appreciate the fine and varied taste of dishes such as cream-topped artichokes, Camembert-filled pasta and even the quintessential North Indian lentil dish- Dal Makhani. I can’t quite remember the when, how and where but at some point in the last decade I started noticing the difference between ‘good cooking’ and ‘bad cooking’. Family meals were always healthy at home, but now I find myself (and most of my social circle) getting fanatical about the greens, five-fruits a day, wholegrain cereals, salted celery sticks and what-not. And all this usually after a weekend binge of fried food and fizzy-drinks ;-) However the one thing that has spoiled me for ever is the ‘food globalisation’ . It is such an integral part of my London-life that I started taking it for granted over ...