Sid Khullar - Chef at Large

This is a wonderfully spicy, yet not hot, tangy and delicious curry. While I wouldn’t call it simple to make, it ain’t tough either.
Pre-cook the colocassia (arbi), preferably one whistle in a standard pressure cooker. Slice thickly, fry till it has a crisp outer covering and reserve. Cut chicken any way you like and quickly [...]

Lunch was at a restaurant in Shimla called ‘Alpha’. Started in 1961 by Surendra Paul Bamba and located at Scandal Point, it boasts multiple cuisines and smoking/non-smoking seating areas.
Did you know that Scandal Point derives its name from an incident connected to the flirtatious Maharaja of Patiala? As the story goes, The Maharaja was besotted [...]

We started for our uphill destination in the wee hours of the morning. The first 30 minutes were spent locating suitable equipment. Any technophile worth his usb micro drive will know what I speak of - laptop, blue ray disc to watch at various intervals on the way, an array of usb cables for different [...]

Funny name for eggs, I know. Thing is, firstly, I made them on [a day after actually] Republic Day. Secondly, and this is stretching it a bit, these eggs are free from the traditional bondage/dominion of buttered toast. If you believed that, good! If you didn’t, actually, I couldn’t think of any other name for [...]

Every year around this time, the 25th of January, we make a tribute to immature boyhood - an all boys trip to somewhere, without really accomplishing anything. As far as age old traditions go, this doesn’t have much of a history; it is fun however. The first year saw us embarking towards the general direction [...]

I’m not sure how everyone feels, however, I believe one of the nicest things that can happen to amateur enthusiasts (cooking, photography, writing…) is to get paid for what they do. The amount doesn’t matter - just the fact that someone is willing to pay for what was done out of pure interest is good [...]

Here’s Naheed’s first contribution - Fragrant coconut rice.
This is a lemon grass and cardamom flavored coconut rice, very different from the south Indian variety. You’ll need to boil cardamom, bay leaf, nut meg, bruised lemon grass, and cinnamon in adequate water along with a cup of coconut milk. Add an adequate quantity of pre [...]

Assisting a friend with picking up a digital camera, we landed up at Bembos for lunch. What caught my attention was the tag line ‘South American Burger Grill’. They don’t have a very exhaustive menu or a huge seating area, however, the service is friendly and efficient, and the menu is a bit different from [...]

I was trying to be creative this morning with the fresh thyme in my possession - the usual target - Cherie’s breakfast.
Try this. Put a little oil in the pan - spread it around a bit. Put small bunch of leaves at various places in the oil - break the egg into a bowl and [...]

Naheed happened to visit the okhla vegetable bazaar a few days back and was nice enough to bring back some fresh thyme for me.
Thyme is used most widely in cooking. Thyme is a basic ingredient in Spanish, French, Italian, and Turkish cuisines, and in those derived from them. It is also widely used in Lebanese [...]