Health Fitness Food

"Sometimes the answers we spend years searching for are quietly waiting inside our childhood memories." By the time my free sourdough workshop had been running for a while, I had answered hundreds of questions from people making their very first starter. That made me incredibly happy. Watching someone proudly share a photograph of their first successful sourdough starter or homemade loaf felt just as rewarding as baking one myself. But alongside every success came another question. "How do I keep it alive?" Some people baked every weekend. Some baked only once a month. Some travelled frequently. Others worried that missing a feeding would undo all the hard work they had put into growing their starter. I completely understood those concerns because I had asked many of the same questions myself. So I continued experimenting. As my own starter matured, I gradually learnt that it needed less attention than it did in the beginning. Initially, I fed it every three days. O...

"Sometimes life quietly places a challenge in front of you. You can either walk away... or accept it."* Like many people around the world, I first heard about sourdough during the COVID-19 lockdown. It fascinated me. Not because it had suddenly become fashionable, but because I wanted to understand one simple mystery. How could nothing more than flour and water become a living bread culture? The more I read, the more curious I became. At that time, I was managing a wonderful Facebook community where many experienced sourdough bakers were already members. Instead of pretending that I knew everything, I did what felt natural. I invited those experienced bakers to teach all of us. I imagined how wonderful it would be if everyone in our community could learn together. Not just how to bake sourdough bread, but how nature quietly transforms a simple mixture of flour and water into a living culture capable of raising bread. Some people appreciated the idea. Some showed interest. But...

  "The more I learnt about fermentation, the more I realised that nature had been quietly doing remarkable things long before we gave them scientific names." If someone visits my kitchen for the first time, they may wonder why there are so many glass jars sitting on the counter. Some contain bubbling fruit. Some hold vinegar that has been quietly fermenting for months. Another jar may contain a sourdough starter that has been with me for years. Nearby, they might notice homemade yeast powder resting safely inside the refrigerator. To most people, they are simply jars. To me, each one tells the story of an experiment. Every jar reminds me that nature has always been the greatest teacher. Over the years, I have realised that I enjoy understanding food just as much as I enjoy cooking it. Whenever I come across a traditional method or hear an old family story, my first thought is rarely, "Will this work?" Instead, I ask, "Why does this work?" That simple quest...

 Homemade seasoning powder: A healthy seed salt recipe inspired by my Odisha lockdown kitchen A kitchen experiment that became a series The corona lockdown taught many of us how to slow down. For me, it also opened a new door in the kitchen. I spent almost 2.5 years in an Odisha village during that time. I learned many beautiful Odia recipes there. I also started experimenting with my own ideas. One of those experiments became my seed salt series. I have always loved gardening. So, even in Odisha, I started a small terrace garden. One season, I grew so much coriander that daily cooking could not finish it. I preserved some. I used some fresh. Then I pulsed a little coriander with seeds and salt to make a flavorful homemade seasoning powder. That simple idea felt like a desi-style nutritional yeast substitute. It had flavor, aroma, and a lovely savory touch. That was the beginning of my seed salt journey. Today’s homemade seasoning powder is made with roasted magaz seeds (seeds sa...