Once upon a time I made the mortal mistake of slicing a chilli and then rubbing my itchy eye. I propose that the pain factor is on par with a stinging nettle thrust into the eyeball. Coming from a chilli-mad family I was almost as irritated as my weeping red eye that I hadn’t been …

I’m a massive clinger. Ever since the summer sun disappeared behind these pesky autumnal clouds, I’ve been doing everything in my power to cling on to the warm days which were so quickly snatched away from me. Sniff. Due to my recent bitterness towards not receiving delicious freebies on my doorstep like a certain Mr. …

The idea of making cheese at home is one of those beautiful things which you never really appreciate until you actually do it. Paneer is a type of cottage cheese (non-matured) that is popular in India and practically every other place where Indians live, especially among vegetarians. We just can’t get enough. It has quickly …

Isn’t miniature food always better than supersized food? Take cupcakes for instance; tiny morsels of individually iced, fluffy cake is so much more alluring than a massive, calorie-laden, brick-ish cake. Well, for me anyway. In the same way, I would always pick a box of tiny chocolate truffles over a chunky chocolate bar. If you …

I always think carefully before I indulge in a dish chock-full of garlic. What am I doing tomorrow? Am I going anywhere? Who am I meeting with? I love it when the answers are, ‘nothing’, ‘no’ and ‘nobody’. Controversially, I think that gobbling garlic swamped dishes should only really be done in the privacy of one’s …

      Fresh flavoured, dry curries are done so well by Gujaratis. It’s all about taking simple ingredients and packing in as much flavour as possible. From thalis (3 course meal plates), to dhokras (steamed savoury cakes) and mistan (Indian sweets), the simplicity and variety of Gujarati cuisine is a huge attraction for vegetarians. …

One day I shall pay for this sweet sugar addiction of mine Purple is definitely the colour trend of the season over here. As autumn approaches, every clothes shop is bursting at the seams with plums, violets and amethysts. Not only does this make choosing clothes really difficult, but it also fills my mind with …

Fresh baklava has to be one of the most famous sweets across the globe. Throughout the Middle East and across Mediterranean lands it is king. Boy, do those people have good taste. Nutty, chewy and ultimately calorific, baklava sticks to your teeth and your thighs. My philosophy is to enjoy devilishly sweet treats in moderation …

Traditional Gujarati cuisine is about simple ingredients paired with simple flavours. This is not a traditional Gujarati dish, however. Yes, I tweaked it and I’m not even sorry. It grew out of my love of the wonderful aubergine dish ‘oroh’, a.k.a ‘baingan bharta’. Almost every Indian region has its own version of this recipe and …