Radio Finely Chopped by Kalyan Karmakar

I am proud to present Tanu Ganguly, Delhi based founder of Mishry Reviews, in the latest episode of #FoodocracyForHer. In this chat you will get to hear Tanu Ganguly speak of her two decade long career in NDTV across its platforms such as NDTV Lifestyle and NDTV food (where she was my editor during the second half of my stint as a columnist with them) and how it helped her discover her passion for...

I am proud to present Monika Manchanda, Bangalore based food writer & restaurant consultant and Chief Culinary Officer of LiveAltLife, in the latest episode of #FoodocracyForHer.   In this chat you will get to hear about how Monika, a former IT professional, took up food blogging in 2008 and then became a home baker before the phrase was even coined. Of how she explored different ave...

Episode 2 of the #ComfortFinelyChopped series is where I speak about the pohe of Mumbai which locals love and many of my fellow Bengalis do not. My story shows how my falling in love with pohe mirrored my falling love with Mumbai. As I said at the end, comfort food should be dished, not dissed. #Indianfood #maharashtrianfood #mumbaifood #pohe #vegetarian

Starting a new podcast series. #ComfortFinelyChopped. I plan to talk about comfort food here. Everyday food. In the form of personal narratives. Based on memories and experience. First through an Instagram Live and then uploaded on the podcast. It’s raining in Mumbai today and starting with a chat on khichuri, before I cooked some for lunch, made perfect sense for that’s the Bengali thing to do. H...

I am proud to present Kainaz Contractor, Delhi based chef, in this episode of #FoodocracyForHer.   In this chat you will get to hear about how Kainaz Contractor studied advertising in Mumbai and then moved into the hotel industry as she wanted to work in food. She did not find what she wanted and became a part of the editorial team of the then newly launched BBC Good Food Magazine. Her n...

I am proud to present Nicole Mody, Mumbai based food entrepreneur and home baker, in this episode of #FoodocracyForHer.   In this chat you will get to hear about how the pregnant cravings of a friend for lemon cheesecake made food event manager and author, Nicole, take to home baking during the lockdown and how this led her to conjure a lagan nu bhonu cheesecake for the Parsi new year. S...

I am proud to present Raveena Taurani, plant based chef and founder CEO of I am a Yogisattva, in this episode of #FoodocracyForHer.   Following her strong Hindi film industry pedigree, Raveena was trying to pursue a career as an actor when a spine injury in 2014 changed her life. It led her to yoga and then veganism and set her off in a path which led to her becoming a chef, an entrepren...

We made kosha mangsho at home in Mumbai today with the mutton our friend K urush Dalal sent us. This sparked off memories of going to the 96 year old Anadi Cabin in Kolkata a few years back with o ur friends Kaniska & Manishita when we ended up discovering the fabulous kosha mangsho there, apart from having the Moghlai paratha for which this institution is famous. In this podcast I tell you ab...

#FoodocracyForHer is my video podcast series on #FinelychoppedTV where I speak to women entrepreneurs from the world of food about their work. #FoodocracyKitchens is my video podcast series on #FinelychoppedTV where I showcase the wonders of the cuisines of India through the work of home chefs bases in Mumbai. This podcast episode  is a confluence of both. My guest is Sneha Senapati, with who...

Shriya Shetty is a young chef who does not believe in doing things the conventional way. Her love for food made her want to be a chef but she decided to intern with restaurants in Mumbai and later abroad to train herself rather than go to hospitality school. She refused to be boxed as a pastry chef, where most women chefs tend to be slotted, and developed her skills in the 'hot kitchen' too despit...

How to build a food business the old fashioned way: Vasundhara Jhunjhunwala #foodocracyforher is a series where I speak to women entrepreneurs in the food and beverage space in India to bring you their inspiring stories. Today's episode is about a second generation run business, which is called @oldfashionedgourmet , and which was started by the late Shyamlata Sihare when she was 65 year old. Her...

I first knew of Tara Deshpande through the silver screen. As an actress in Hindi films and a VJ for MTV. We connected a few years back when I was the editor at large for the India Food Network. She had emailed with a wonderful piece on the Byculla Souffle then, which it was my pleasure to publish. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, for Tara is not only a cook book author, an avid fo...

What is 'imposter syndrome?' Why is it coming into our lives these days? How can one deal with it? How have I tried to deal with it? I am a freelance food writer based in Mumbai and have come to realise that so many of us are feeling self doubt these days... a result of a search for perfectionism and of being bombarded by social media messaging. I took a few measures to help me deal with this and...

The task as an interviewer when interviewing a legend such as Shathbi Basu, considered by many as the guru of Indian bartending, is a challenging one.  Does one focus on the various achievements that she has had through her '40 years not out' professional career, ? On how she opened STIR, India's first bartending academy? On being awarded by the President of India and the Ministry of Woman an...

Christmas 2020. The year of the Covid pandemic. The year we went into lockdown first and then had to stay socially distanced from our friends and families even when out of it. Socially distanced, but emotionally attached as Christmas reminded us. This special Christmas episode of #foodocracykitchens, my show where I talk about the food from across home kitchens of Mumbai, is about all the food tha...

It was a privilege to interview chef Kainaz Messman of Theobroma Patisserie India for #foodocracyforher on #finelychoppedTV. A show where I speak to women entrepreneurs in the world of food and beverages, to learn from their inspiring stories and to share them with you. I could tell you about how Theobroma, a tiny cafe that she and her mum snd her sister opened at Mumbai's Colaba in 2004, ha grown...

I went to Jaipur towards the beginning of this year, a bit before the lockdown. My 5th visit to the Pink Study. A city which I fall in love with a bit more each time that I visit it. I made two new friends this time. Ratika and Richa Khetan, who are sisters and who run an enterprise called the Cauldron Sisters which they started in 2015. The business started with their creating exotic food gift ha...

Did an impromptu Instagram live broadcast on Candies, the neighbourhood cafe near our house in Mumbai, which is our home away from home. We have not been there since the pandemic, though we have often ordered in from them during this period.  My talk on this Bandra favourite was full of memories for me and was part of the #foodocracyindia series. Here I talk of eateries across India where I h...

The story of Delhi based chef and consultant, Kishi Arora, is a fascinating one. She went to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) to study and then worked as a chef at top restaurants and in top luxury hotels in the US and Singapore. She came back home to Delhi to visit her parents in between and then decided to stay back to look after them. An unplanned move which led her to starting her life...

With things slowly opening up across the country, I thought I will revive my #foodocracyindia series where I talk of my favourite eating experiences from across the country.  Today is about Kanha Sweets, Amritsar, and the breakfasts I’ve had there.  Please maintain all precautions, social distancing norms and wear masks, if stepping out and let’s not stop celebrating the stars of food ev...

Amal Farooque is a Mumbai girl who grew up in Dubai surrounded by lovely food. This formed the inspiration for the life she chose subsequently.  She wanted to be a chef but not before she followed her parents' advice to focus on her studies first and completed her CA studies.  She is a self taught chef entrepreneur who started Sugar Overdose in Mumbai close to a decade back. Her 'nothing...

Mumbai's Hazara Restaurant was established in 1947 by Hukamchand Singh Julka who had moved into Mumbai from Hazara, in what was West Punjab then, after the partition. His son, Harbans Singh Julka, grew the business after him. Urmila Julka, his wife and daughter in law of the founder, took on the business a decade back after her husband had just passed away. She was 65 then. Suffering from depressi...

Kashmiri Barkakati Nath was inspired by memories of her father's love for food to find our more about her native Assamese cuisine before she set off on a mission to be the ambassador for this yet to be discovered regional Indian cuisine. She curated and cooked for Assamese food festivals in top five star hotels across the country. The pandemic put paid to her plans and to her home-baking enterpris...

#MumbaiNativeKitchen is a home chef food festival which I have curated un collaboration with the Soul Company. This festival will be held on Sunday 9th November 2020, in Mumbai, with food cooked by home chefs being sent to your homes. In this edition we have 4 home chefs representing 4 of the communities that represent he earliest settlers of Mumbai. In this segment you get to hear from Bimba Naya...

The series #foodocracyforher is where I speak to women entrepreneurs in the food & beverage space to bring you their inspiring stories. In this episode we get to hear from Mumbai based @ZebaKohli of @fantasiefinechocolates. Her vision and drive enabled her to take the family business, which she had to take over at the young age of 18, and make it what is arguably one of India's first artisinal cho...