A salad spread at Trident Hyderabad | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement As Hyderabad, Telangana, plays host to the Miss World 2025 pageant, we cannot help but wonder: what is on the menu for the 108 contestants? Are they nibbling on salads, or trying our local idli, dosa, and vada? To find out, we visit Trident…
Chardonnay’s shapeshifting quality enables it to be a humble crowd-pleaser as well as a command a dizzying prize for its finest expression. Oaked, unoaked, fruity, buttery, having undergone malo-lactic fermentation or sparkling, with lingering aromas of baked apple crumble; the list is endless. Indian white wines have gained ground, slowly but surely, plotting the evolving…
Meenakshi Chand at her store, Uppilit, which sells brined vegetables and fruits, in Thiruvananthapuram | Photo Credit: SREEJITH R KUMAR Sweet, spicy, salty, tangy… my taste buds go on a rollercoaster ride as I bite into the grapes that Meenakshi Chand scooped out of the glass jar. That was my tryst with brined green grapes….
Athulya JR serving orders through the round hatch window at Wholebrew, Sasthamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram | Photo Credit: SREEJITH R KUMAR Jostling for space in a 10×9 room near Sasthamangalam junction in Thiruvananthapuram is an espresso machine, grinder, freezer-cum-cooler, cylinder, stoves, utensils, packaging material…This is from where Athulya JR runs Wholebrew, a take-away spot for coffee and…
Crispy hot dosas on your plate are always a delight. Pair it with a breath taking view of the sunrise and that would be bliss. That plateful after an early morning trek is reward in itself and if that is your idea of a fun activity, Bettadmele Breakfast is a half-day trek experience that unfolds…
Rice puttu and egg roast | Photo Credit: santhosh_varghese The last few years have seen the rise of home cooks championing micro-cuisines, and chefs have taken cue and introduced pop-ups, regional food festivals, and more. Taking cue from this trend, city-based Tijouri — a restaurant dedicated to pop-ups — is all set to host a…
Kadukkachi, a native mango variety | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT The Mallissery mango, found exclusively in the Nedumbassery region of Ernakulam district is the one that goes into the famous tangy Angamaly mango curry. The aromatic Kotturkonam varikka is Thiruvananthapuram’s pride, the Kuttiatoor mango from Kannur is the first native variety to get a GI…
Apple milk, Madurai Apple mix or apple milk, an ice cream-like dessert served at Amsavalli Bhavan in Madurai. | Photo Credit: G. Moorthy Nothing much has changed at Amsavalli Bhavan on Madurai’s East Veli Street ever since it was started 75 years ago. The hand-painted signboard, mosaic flooring, a narrow flight of stairs that leads…
Growing up, Athira J was not a big fan of idlis. “If someone at home said we have idli for breakfast, my whole mood would be spoiled,” she says. However, now, Chaikaari, the eatery she runs with her cousin Arun Kumar BS, sells around 2.5 lakhs idlis a day, through its five outlets in the…
In a world of reels and shorts, where edgy, dramatic recipes stand out, Julius Fiedler aka Hermann — a German who now calls the U.K. home — is an outlier. He makes a sincere attempt to pronounce the names of dishes correctly (the Tamil paniyaaram, for one) and cracks open a coconut expertly, much to the…
