Why on earth am I blogging about Food?

Every time I talk about food, my folks go............."Here she goes again". I don't get it, why can't genuine love for food be recognized! Having brought up in a family where we never eat out or bring in food from a takeaway, after I got married it was quite a culture shock. My husband's family loves eating out; bringing food from takeaways is quite common.

My exploration for good food started actually at home when we were forbidden to celebrate birthdays or party anywhere else apart from home. The experiment ground for me was our parties. My mother is actually the one who put this bug in me. She loves to entertain immediate and extended family and they love to come to our place cause we have good food and of course great company. Since my grandmother lives with us it’s common that my dad's siblings and their families come home during long weekends and holidays. And there are few more of my dad’s cousins who are more like immediate family and are just a shout away. Some of the awesome parties that my folks still rave about are my mom's 50th B ‘day, Dad n Mom 24th Anniversary, my little sis's 19th B ‘day and many more of them that I can't remember.

Continental and Italian have most of my attention. I grew a liking for these cuisines as I used to be hooked on to Travel and Living Channel (Now TLC), NDTV Good Times (not a favorite; but like few selective shows.) I just love the way food looks and feels on TV :) Of course I can't smell it. It's like a celebration when Nigella Lawson (who doesn't know Nigella…daah) whips up those irresistible treats. The aromatic words of Kylie Kwong (Australian chef) make you believe that Asian food can look and taste amazing. While these ladies are busy making me fall deeper and deeper in love with food, there are these men who are nowhere behind in creating magic - the Creative pastry chef Adriano Zumbo and the Generous ‘n’ fresh Jaime Oliver.

I won’t say they are an inspiration to me, but are more a muse. I love the way cook books are stacked on these celebrity chefs’ kitchens but wouldn't prefer spending so much on buying those books. I’d rather get them for free on the internet! Food magazines, internet recipes and food sections in magazines I can’t overcome. My husband thinks it’s strange that my face lights up when I see a cook book on the stands (mostly at the Crossword in airports; that’s the only time when I go to a book store). I pick it up, look at the author, see what kind of food is featured, whether it has any pictures or step-by-step guide, flip to the back cover just to see the 4 figure prices and put them back on the stand with a smile. I think to myself, who would buy such expensive cook books? We could just pick these off the internet. But yes I have to admit I did buy some of these books which were on a BUDGET PRICE!

Food is joy for me and my husband. Whenever we pick up a fight while driving home, I ensure there’s dessert for dinner. It just melts him down right away. If I am cranky after work, he suggests without a doubt, “You seem to be hungry where shall we go?” Our evening is well spent with TLC and Star World (Master Chef Australia series) topped up with a nice 3 course dinner.

Now why on earth did I start this food blog? My husband and I have had some of the best food in Hyderabad. We have dined @ 5 Star hotels (honestly somehow they are the least enjoyable), fine dining restaurants (I have my favorites), theme restaurants (mostly look for buffets) and the infamous street vendors as well. We have never hesitated to walk to a pani-puri guy by the road or stand at a Dosa point in Sindhi Colony to enjoy our evening snack. We are proud to say that we genuinely enjoy good food, no matter if it served on a fancy plate or not; whether it’s listed in Just dial (service sucks all the time)/ Times Good Food guide or not it really doesn't matter.

Many of my husband’s friends call him to check which food place they should go to. Families sometimes say “Guys cut down on your diet” and we simple say (in Hindi) “Hum khate pithe ghar se hai”. Every place we go and every kind of food we explore is on FB for the world to know! We have too many jealous folks back home grinning at us for all the fun we have.

Now every time we go to a new place to eat, we are more like critics. We observe the place, the food, the service and weigh the price we pay. I always like to give feedback (sometimes I may resist to take feedback tough) and hope the person on the other side takes it positively and I guess this food blog is going to be my way of giving feedback; whether they take it or not that is not my problem! It’s all in good spirit. If we love your food & the place, it’s a pat on the back; If not, we can suggest how you could do better.

My blog will also feature my very own manipulated recipes picked up from here and there, along with those that I have proudly invented myself. And yes folks, feedback will be solicited :)

I’m too sleepy now will catch up soon with some interesting read!