Miso Wild Garlic Beans, Kale and Steak

Growing up in the expansive Persian Gulf, spring felt like an elusive dream.

Roasted Beetroot with Ginger, Chives & Peanut–Lime Dip | VEGAN

Some recipes arrive quietly and stay. This roasted beetroot with ginger, chives and a peanut lime dip is one of those dishes for me. It is simple, earthy and deeply satisfying, yet layered. The sweetness of beetroot, the warmth of ginger, the freshness of chives and the calm richness of peanuts come together without forcing anything. When I made it again recently, I realised how closely it mirrors the guiding word I have chosen for 2026: Yutori.

Rhubarb Pistachio Frangipane Tart

Rhubarb, for many, is an acquired taste, often not acquired till adulthood. I did not acquire the taste until a few years after I moved to Germany. Rhubarb is the harbinger of springtime, and like Spring it is transient and delightful.

Quinoa Chickpea Avocado Bhel Salad

Walking along Bombay's Marine Drive or on the beaches of Bombay Chowpatty or Juhu, colorful market carts sell not only vibrant fruit and vegetables but many have been converted to sell the street food varieties India is famous for. And Bhelpuri is one of Bombay's quintessential street food, not to mention one of the most loved snacks in India.

Avocado Mango Yellow Lentils Lime & Chilli Verrines

Many relationships are forged and strengthen over meals or social events. Emotions evoked and lasting impressions are made when people come together at the table to share a meal. As a daughter of an hotelier our family moved often from country to country, always leaving behind friends and a community that had taken us in. It was never easy and yet I watched my parents form new friendships and build a social environment in each new city with ease.

Middle Eastern Style Buddha Bowl: Giant Couscous, Baked Falafel, Hummus, Spiced Lentils, Pickled Vegetables and Kalettes

  

If I was to describe some of my favorite foods and dishes I would say whatever one can pile into a bowl and mix together to savor all the flavors. Not only of each individual ingredient, but also as each item intermingles with the other there are a range of flavor explosions! That is the real kick I get from a dish. 

Pumpkin Hit List: The Best Pumpkin Recipes 2016

It’s the season! Pumpkins are here - a sure sign that Autumn has arrived. Versatile and available in several varieties the humble pumpkin is a wonder produce for sweet and savory recipes. A few years ago all one could find in Germany was the Red Kuri pumpkin. Slowly year for year I began seeing the butternut, then the Musque de Provence and then it seemed the pumpkin market exploded here. I love pumpkins and for me this change was a huge advantage in my kitchen

German Spaetzle with Wild Garlic Almond Pesto and Green Asparagus

By the time spring arrived the air thickened with the pungent aroma hanging over the park and the woods. Following the path on my bicycle my nostrils were overwhelmed with the smell of garlic that seemed to follow me. I had not been living long in Germany and spring in this magnitude was often still overwhelming to my senses. For someone who had spent most of her life in the Persian Gulf in the bi-seasonal climates of hot and hotter, the feeling of four seasons was intoxicating.

Kohlrabi Celeriac and Parsnip Soup with Chilli Chia Seed Tempering

Kohlrabi Celeriac and Parsnip Soup with Chilli Chia Seed Tempering
Root vegetables bring me through most of winter. Over the past months they were some of the only variety of vegetables readily available at the markets. Luckily I love root vegetables and enjoy preparing them in all kinds of dishes. My family – well if I tell them they are getting celeriac or parsnip for dinner I always get that narrowing of the brow look.

Cauliflower Couscous with Baharat Spice Fennel Seeds, Pumpkin, Almonds and Cranberries

We’ve entered the holiday season! With Diwali just past we are heading towards Thanksgiving, Chanukah/Hanukkah and Christmas so I can imagine there is a lot of scampering going on all around the globe and the kitchens in many households are already filled with aromas of sweet baking, sugar and spice – all so very nice!

Zucchini Noodles with Garlic Shrimps, and Olive Caper Slow Roasted Tomato Sauce and Feta Cheese

Are you on a diet currently? If you are then I just want you to know you are totally untrendy. Diets were a thing of the yesteryears. We are now in the era of “Wellness” and it has an entire league of “Wellness gurus” and worshippers as followers.

Bollywood Cooking: Vegetable Split Pea Dal, Spiced Cauliflower Pumpkin and a Kumquat Chutney

A humble feast! Meals that take me back to my nana and nani’s veranda on hot summer days in their Delhi home. As we arrived to spend several weeks of our vacation with the rest of the family I was always sure that the forthcoming days were going to be filled with lots of food where the hub of the house was the kitchen.

Dandelion Avocado Gazpacho with Deep-water Prawns

If you are a fanatic for the perfectly manicured lawns then you are probably extremely wary about the ubiquitous common dandelions! Our early memories are probably those of threading the vibrant yellow flowers on a string to wear as necklaces or trumpeting on the stalks until the milky liquid stuck to the lips. The last thing we thought of back then was eating any part of the dandelion!

Cooking School: Miso Ramen with Miso Glazed Chicken, Enoki and Shimeji Mushrooms

Remember those university days when we literally lived on packets of instant ramen noodles after long hours in the library or in lectures or … at parties? The energy level at an all time low, often I had just enough to tear open a packet, drop the contents into a bowl and pour hot bubbling water from a kettle. As it steeped, I would snooze, head on the table!

Wild Herbed Pumpkin and Persimmon Soup

2015 is well underway with the last week of January already upon us! My schedule has picked up and the quiet few weeks around the Holidays have evaporated. They gave me plenty of time to contemplate about the year past and my goals and core desires for the new year. These thoughts brought me into January as I sorted my feelings and sifted through these goals my aim was to define what would shape and characterize the new year for me.

Orange Marmalade and Port Glazed Duck with A Parsnip Pumpkin Truffle Butter Mash

It looks it’s going to be another snow-less Christmas this year again. Last Christmas was mild, the temperatures hardly falling below 0 degrees Celsius. This year we had a spot of snow. It made my heart flutter a bit, but that fluttering disappeared soon enough when the next morning I had to slip and slide to get to my car, and scratch it free of the thick ice. I love all the Christmas spirit but I can often do without the cold and snow that comes with it.

Roasted Root Vegetable and Pearl Barley Soup

“Grünes Thüringen” – will bring the wide and plentiful thick forests of Thuringia to mind. For me however Thuringia has a more colorful landscape with abundant bounties of vegetables that this fertile state provides. Cauliflower, kohlrabi, broccoli and a wide variety of cabbages are only some of the types of vegetables that are amply found around the capital of the state, Erfurt. Dig a little deeper and one will find that Thuringia also boasts of cultivating fine aromatic asparagus and after Bavaria it is the second largest herb growing region in Germany.

Tomato Basil Tart with a Polenta Crust

I’m spoiling you with tomatoes again. You see, I’ve had a good crop and the harvest has been plentiful. After eating them mostly naked and then preserving them in various sauces, it was time to tart them up a little. Don’t tire of my tomato mania – not just yet. This tart deserves all your attention – it is so shamelessly good that anything less than your undivided attention will not do justice to it.

Tomato Sauces: Spicy Ketchup, Fruity Marinara and Passata di Pomodoro

If Eve had used a tomato instead of an apple, maybe the story of Adam and Eve would have been different. After all tomatoes are often called “love apples” and were thought to have aphrodisiac powers.The French therefore named it quite appropriately, pomme d’amour. 

Summertime: Thai inspired Zucchini Mango Salad

It’s officially here! Summer vacation is just around the corner and all three of us are looking forward to two and half weeks of lazy days, without routine, sun soaking, refreshing hikes, stylish city tours, good food and just quality time for each other.