Blog & Recipes
“Mukti’s class was the perfect marriage between science and cultural cuisine. Everything was cooked from scratch, using the most fresh, organic and healthy ingredients. But most importantly- It felt like cooking with your private master chef, in the most warm and welcoming environment. Thank you, Mukti, for a great experience!”
– Noa O., September 12, 2021
Diwali, the Festival of Lights
Diwali is here. All over the world, Indians are celebrating the Festival of Lights. It’s a beautiful, colorful, fun, and happy festival. Children play with firecrackers, women dress in colorful saris and various regional costumes, in some places boys and...
Bengali New Year’s Day
April 14 is often observed as the Bengali New Year’s Day, or Pahela Baisakh. It’s also the Punjabi New Year’s Day, and they call it Vaisakhi. The first month in some Hindu lunar calendars is Baisakh or Vaisakh. Some other states and ethnic groups...
Hindu Festivity: Durga the Demon Slayer
This week, for four days, we have our wonderful, colorful, fun-filled, music-filled Hindu religious festivities. The religious part is called Durga Puja, or invocation of Goddess Durga. But truly, for many of us, it's as much cultural as it is religious. The essence...
Sights and Sounds in Calcutta
Of course, Calcutta is now officially renamed as Kolkata. This is the name we have always used in the first place. Those who have never been to that side of the world would have no way to know how different it is from here in the U.S. It is so fascinating!...
An Indian Summer, in India
Summer is fascinating in India. Yes, it is hot. It could be very hot. In some places, like Rajasthan or Punjab, it is extremely hot. In Bengal or Tamil Nadu, it is more humid than hot. It could be very uncomfortable. And not too many people have air conditioner. The...
A Very Happy Bengali-Indian New Year
Be ready. Our New Year’s Day is coming up. We say, Shubho Naba Barsho. The First Day or Pahela of a Bengali New Year happens in the middle of April. Indian calendars are lunar calendar, and the first month is called Vaisakh. The Bengali New Year therefore is called...
Childhood Memories: Our Winter Recess
Memories come back during this festive season. I grew up in an extended family in Calcutta, with fifteen or twenty people sharing three rooms and a common kitchen. We didn’t complain. We were all very happy. That was our life: not affluent, but very happy. However,...
A New Year Resolution You Can Keep
We make resolutions every year on January 1. But often, we fail to keep them, and follow up with them. It is because in many cases, the resolutions are not pragmatic. They are often too ambitious, or too unrealistic. Health resolutions are harder, because of the...
Happy Breakfast on a Diwali Morning (and a special recipe)
Diwali is here! Indian households will light up with clay lamps, candles and electric decorations. Fireworks will fill up the streets, and the sky. And we will eat sumptuous Indian food to celebrate the Festival of Lights. Diwali, or Deepavali. _____ Indian...
Authentic Diwali & Dusserah Festival Recipe
October and November are two of the most festive months in the Hindu calendar. Dusserah is observed on the tenth day of the autumn lunar calendar when after a four-day celebration (or puja) of Goddess Durga, devotees bid her adieu. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and...
