Soul Kudi

  Today marks the 80 th birth anniversary of Rajesh Khanna, India’s ‘original superstar’ and like every year, the most enthusiastic celebrations to mark the occasion, will be held not in Amritsar the city of his birth or in Mumbai, where he forged his iconic career but at ‘The Treat’ a little food van tucked away in Chanakya Puri, the heart of New Delhi’s diplomatic district. A massive tent is pitched outside, a gigantic cake emblazoned with the screen icon’s photos is cut and free food served to everybody who joins the celebrations throughout the day. The van is a labour of love and an ode to the superstar by his ‘biggest fan’. However, not many know just how deeply involvement was Rajesh Khanna himself, in both the conception and  execution of the project from the décor to the menu.   The story of this unique culinary tribute to a cinematic icon began with a young fan’s obsession with the ruling deity of India’s cinematic universe in the 1960’s. The young fan Vipin ...

    Empress Mumtaz Mahal, in whose memory her grief-stricken husband, Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal Emperor of India built the Taj Mahal, is also credited with inspiring that most iconic of dishes from the kitchens of the Mughal dynasty, the biryani. While visiting the army barracks, the possibly apocryphal tale goes, the Empress found the imperial soldiers looking rather weak and undernourished and ordered her chefs to create a special dish combining rice and meat to strengthen them for the stern business of empire building and protecting! Another Mughal empress, Nur Jahan, the all-powerful wife of Mumtaz Mahal’s father-in-law Jehangir is credited with not just creating colorful dishes like rainbow-hued yogurts but also serving them on dishes studded with rubies, emeralds and gold thread to complement the kaleidoscopic cuisine. Her royal husband, like many of his forebearers, was no mean gourmand himself, elevated the ‘khichdi’ the traditionally humble dish of rice and lent...

  “The light at the end of the tunnel could be you.”   The closing words from Aerosmith’s ‘Amazing’ have been running in a loop through my head recently. Most of the year gone by has been a dark, endless tunnel for all of us across the world. People have been soldiering on through illness, the loss of loved ones, unemployment hunger and financial insecurity, all brought about by the kind of devastating global pandemic, we had all imagined was safely consigned to history books. While trying to survive all this and more, one of the most crippling losses experienced by everyone has been the loss of hope . Friends, family and even the voices of strangers on social media have shared how they felt almost guilty to even remember the joys and pleasures of the days of old. Or more frequently, the darkness around us has been so intense that for a while it was impossible for any light to penetrate it, including the memories of things that enrich life: food, shared laughter, the beauty ...