On 31st of August, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India organised the National Conclave on “Unleashing the potential of Agritech Startups for the benefit of Farmers” at NASC Complex, Pusa , New Delhi. For the first time, the Ministry partnered with all major industry associations, PHD Chamber of Commerce and industry, FICCI and Confederation of Indian Industry to organise day long deliberations on diverse farmer issues and the role digital technologies can play to alleviate the same. I was fortunte that PHD…Continue Reading “Social Innovations to make Agtech Solutions accessible to Farmers”
Recently, the govt announced that tomatoes will be sold in select cities on ONDC at seventy rupees per kilo. Can tomato price hike be to ONDC what demonetization was to digital payment? Folks at ONDC must be wishing so. But here is why, inspite of being seemingly comparable, the two instances are drastically different. 1. Demonetization was a much more acute case of deprivation. Not having cash and not having tomatoes don’t pinch similarly. 2. The duration of cashlessness was much longer. There wasn’t much…Continue Reading “Is tomato price hike ONDC’s demonetization moment?”
Remember those idioms we were all told as children? They were short and wise and could be interpreted in multiple ways. And, there was a lesson for everyone. This farmer here has the potential to become an idiom for Indian agriculture. He is a rare farmer who has made windfall profits, 2.8 crores so far, from rising prices. So, what does he tell us? 1. Do we see a smart farmer who saw an opportunity and cashed in? Do we celebrate him like we celebrate…Continue Reading “Tomatoes, profiteering farmer and an idiom for Indian agriculture”
They say experience and perspective changes you. I think after my years of arrogance, my moment has come. After just a couple of months of weekdays bleeding into weekends and nights extending, I feel absolutely apologetic about my years of blogging. Back in 2010, when I got an email inviting me to a restaurant, I felt I had arrived. And, I reviewed food, decor, restaurant and what not. What I didn’t realise is the relation is completely lopsided. On one side is a person who…Continue Reading “Apologies from a food blogger”
Being this long in Delhi, nothing in the city’s food scene surprises me anymore. When we want to be surprised, we go to another city. So, nothing really prepared me for what we came across today. Not unexpectedly, the surprising element in Delhi’s culinary scene has come from outsiders. The concept, the scale and the implementation is something that you will never be prepared for. I have been thankful to Sankalp Vishnu for introducing us to great food in Hyderabad. Now, I have to be…Continue Reading “Colocal Chocolates, The Dhan Mill Compound”
We take a month to plan a webinar. Anandomela at ROOH took less than 2 weeks. The religious will say because it was dedicated to maa, it had to happen. I am not religious. So, I will give it to Samrat for thinking of something this bold in such tough times. He was thinking of a food fest when restaurants are struggling to fill regular tables. I didn’t know him before this event and I am wondering how. Next, one has to mention the zeal…Continue Reading “Anandomela at ROOH”
Valarmathi Mess and Caterers All that you wanted to try in Coimbatore can be tried here. Biryani, Pallipalayam, Kalakki – they are all there. I loved the mutton biryani. There is a chicken and a mutton gravy on the table. They are complementary and come in big steel mugs. The raita is replenished before you can finish what’s on the plate. Like all places in Coimbatore, has an AC and a non-AC section. The Pallipalayam was nice. Though, I found the Kalakki a little…Continue Reading “Must eat places in Coimbatore”
Last time I was in Odisha, brand Adisha was making a lot of noise. I saw it first on social media and spotted an under renovation near Rupali Chhak. While I thought it was a new brand, I was told they have been around for decades. Unlike a Utkalika or a Boyanika, I had never heard of this Odia brand. But I guess that is set to change. My Koraput Coffee is straight from the store. The store is still being stocked. The cashier asked…Continue Reading “Odisha has a coffee now – Koraput Coffee”
A guest post by Sujata Dehury Yesterday, I called my uncle and my father in law and spoke to them about rice. They both became happy, sad, nostalgic-all at the same time. All these rice they and I (to a certain extent) grew up eating,are no longer harvested. Farmers have moved on to high yielding crops to avoid risk. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. A friend informed that a group of farmers are doing a Desi Bihan Mela (an exhibition…Continue Reading “Heirloom rice varieties from Odisha”
I have done cafe and lounge bashing for years. Came out as this angry bitter person who had nothing good say. Found a place I can say good things about. After Thomas Fenn and Zachariah Jacob, Sharmistha Mukherjee-Cheema has decided to feed the north Indians some good food. This time from Andhra. First, it is a bold decision to open such a restaurant in that dying Green Park market. But I was surprised to see that the market has transformed with wide footpath and benches…Continue Reading “Tenali Junction, Green Park, Delhi”
Breakfast. Brunch. Evening snacks. Dinner. Deep fried bara, piaji, singida and gulgula etc are a whole day affair. Once on a panel, a Odia food writer and yoga expert went on and on about how Odia food is the healthiest and every meal is a meal of superfoods. We do get carried away a little when it comes to regional patriotism. But the story will be incomplete without accepting that from 6 In the morning to 10 in the night, you can find deep fried…Continue Reading “Streetfood breakfast and snacks places in Bhubaneswar, Odisha”
How do you generate business for innovation? While we have been trying to get money out of corporates and govts, how can we, as consumers, support innovation? Until now, I have been ordering all my stuff from Amazon. It’s convenient, easy to trust and has never failed me. Given the millet freak that I am, I am hooked to the ProNature brand that sells on Amazon. During the last few months, I had asked some brilliant startups why they didn’t sell on Amazon? Was it…Continue Reading “I skipped Amazon. Ordered from Ekgaon.”
When you explore or explain a new concept, it is a simple practice to eliminate what the object of study is not. It is an effective practice but only in the beginning. Once you have eliminated what it is not, you need to start defining what it is. When it comes to Indian food, it is easiest for people to say what it is not. Whether it is a resident Indian food writer or a non-resident Indian chef, everyone has a clear list of what…Continue Reading “Process of Elimination and Indian Cuisines”
Streetfood is the sign of a city’s body and mind. Streetfood tells you how safe and active a city is. It also tells you what the intentions of the city are and how it wants its citizens to behave. Let me explain. Two years back, while walking back from the promenade in Pondicherry to our hotel, I and my wife were a little worried as it was well past midnight. Though there were people on the road, the streets were dark. And, then we saw…Continue Reading “Kolkata: Of streetfood, pice hotels and access to protein”
There are snobs who say there is nothing called a veg biryani. There are rebels against paneer because it tastes like styrofoam. There are jihadists against chicken because only red meat is meat. Last few days, I i have come across many mango terrorists. Safeda is an impostor, it does not deserve being called a mango, safeda is bleh, safeda is thuuuu, safeda is tatti. I love safeda or Banganapalle or baiganapalei as we call it in Odisha. Baigana means brinjal in Odia and I…Continue Reading “An ode to safeda”
Close to the Apsara theater in Guwahati was this guy who came around seven and was gone before twelve in the noon. Luchi ( lusee ) bhaji seemed like the national breakfast dish of Assam. So, every cart and dhaba had their own version. Even the hospital that my mom in law was admitted in did horrible parody of this beautiful dish. Anyway, this here was the best of the lot. The luchis were spotless, the curry was chana dal and alu. Many make this…Continue Reading “Luchi bhaji in Guwahati”
How I became the ultimate authority on Kolkata is a matter of serendipity. We were informed that Jorasanko is closed on Sundays and open on Mondays. That was incorrect. But it led us on a journey that needs telling. We discovered the truth while were well on our way and had to quickly reroute. Thankfully, the cab we had hailed had an amazing bade chacha in the driver’s seat. He smoked bidi, sipped water from the first plastic bottle ever made, talked shyly and did…Continue Reading “The Kolkata heritage tour that you must do”
Jeff Arnett is the Master Distiller at Jack Daniel’s. He is only the 7th Master Distiller of Jack Daniel’s in over 150 years of the brand’s existence, the first one being Jack Daniel himself. So, attending the masterclass was a serious matter for me. Here are the notes: • Jack Daniels is made from corn and grains. Earlier all whiskey was made from rye, so having a large component of corn was a novelty during the early years of JD. • Rye tastes of pepper…Continue Reading “Notes from Masterclass by Jeff Arnett, Master Distiller, Jack Daniel’s”
When people talk of passion, I go ‘huh, who stole my bag when I was coming down on the earth train?” However, the good part about being bored is you walk into the most interesting stuff from time to time. Let me tell you the story. Aga Khan Foundation set out with their community outreach program in Nizamuddin basti. The first thing they noticed is the malnutrition among the basti children. A little more research showed that a major reason for it was the fast…Continue Reading “Nizamuddin Eleven and Zaika-e-Nizamuddin pop up”
Okay, the rule is pretty simple. If the name has a Kalsang in it, enter. We went to the restaurant upstairs the night before and wished to try the cafe for lunch. It was one of the best decisions taken in the two day trip. The cafe is massive, has a great feel and view of the city and hills too. Coming to food, we started with the fries. After a lot of confusion, we ordered the fries with bacon. And, this bacon was better…Continue Reading “Kalsang AMA Cafe, Dehradun”