Tikuli's Blog

Lockdown has forced me home and most travel plans stand cancelled but there is poetry, art and cooking to keep me grounded. Winter brings a variety of fruits and veggies to fall in love with. When someone bought orchard fresh apples from Narkanda, Himachal Pradesh I was excited to make a few things apart from … Continue reading →

Amla/Amlaki or Indian Gooseberry marks the advent of winter season. It is a super food and a great immunity booster due to it’s high vitamin C content. Amla is good for skin, heart, hair so I eat it raw (grated) with lunch on a daily basis apart from making variety of chutneys, pickles, jam, preserve … Continue reading →

कई दिनों से ये व्यथा थी की हिंदी रोमन में लिखी जाये या देवनागरी में| लगभग सभी ने कहा देवनागरी ही उचित है सो मैंने ब्लॉग के स्वरूप इत्यादि की भी कुछ जाँच की| शायद मुझे हिंदी का एक नया ब्लॉग चलना पड़े जो मैं पहले भी सोच रही थी| ब्लॉग के हिंदी पाठको से … Continue reading →

Turkish Food is such a joy; light, healthy, colorful it is something I relish a lot. I love to make a few of the dishes which are very similar to ours but with a distinct flavor that is synonymous with the place it comes from.  Many years ago I had eaten Börülce Pilaki at a … Continue reading →

  Shrikhand is a traditional dessert made from full fat hung yogurt known in Maharashtra as Malai Ckakka. These days chakka is easily available at halwais and dairies so people don’t spend hours straining the water from the yogurt. In many cities I have seen the use of Greek Yogurt too which is okay in … Continue reading →

A major part of my lockdown period was spent at my son’s previous home. Surrounded by old trees, some more than hundred years old. Among them were the Neem or Indian Lilac trees. Delhi has a fair share of ancient aging Neem trees so full of life even now. Azadirachta indica L is not just … Continue reading →

  Since the time I came back from my son’s home I had been craving for the scrumptious food he was feeding me. I am also constant thinking of all the dishes learned from various people during my travel or visit to friends’ homes. It’s been tough lately and cooking has been therapeutic just as … Continue reading →

I love Paneer or Indian cottage cheese but somehow don’t like the creamy paneer butter masala sold in the restaurants and the paneer makhani is always too sweet for my taste. This dish however has the perfect Dhaba style taste of Paneer Makhni. I learned it from an elderly sardarji who owned a Dhaba in … Continue reading →

A few friends have been asking me for the recipes of the dishes I had been cooking during the lockdown. I am wondering if a separate food blog is needed to catalog all the recipes but till I decided that I will use this space to share them. Excuse me for the photos. I hadn’t … Continue reading →

As children we used to forage Jamuns. We climbed trees, grazed our knees to shake the fruit laden branches. Greedily picking the fruit off the ground and savored them with utmost delight. It feel like some other time and space. Back then they tasted sweeter, left our fingers, tongues and clothes, streets, pavements painted purple. … Continue reading →