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The Restaurant Files: What Really Happens Before Your Food Reaches the Table

Posted by Neerja Bhatnagar on August 28, 2026

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FOOD ITEMS FROM "Q"

"Q" is an alphabet, not many food items start with. I would like to recorrect this - not many Indian food items start from "Q". Anyway, now, as they say, the world is shrinking (literally and metaphorically too), so let us take food items from Q, irrespective of their origins. Before listing the other food items, I will share what comes to my mind with Q - this one is everybody's favourite - Quaker's oats. Quaker is a popular brand that produces many healthy(?) breakfast options. The other is Quesadilla is a Mexican Pic Wikipedia dish made with a tortilla filled with cheese and other fillings. There is a post in my blog about it. Please do check here . It has an Indian cousin invented by Indian mothers made with the available leftover roti and sabzi. :) Even Quinoa (pronounced as k iː n . w ɑ) is something we have recently introduced to. When I read about it and searched online, I found it very expensive. But to my Pic : Wikipedia surprise, I went to...

Sawan Foods to Eat As Per Ayurveda: What Your Gut, God & Grandma Agree On!

When the Sky Weeps, Let Your Stomach Rejoice—The Ayurvedic Way! Sawan (or Shravan Maas ) isn’t just about bhajans, barish, and belpatra—this sacred monsoon month is also a cosmic signal for your stomach to slow down, detox, and tune in. According to Ayurveda , the rains dilute digestive fire ( Agni ), making heavy or greasy food a strict no-no (yes, we’re side-eyeing that samosa). But worry not, fellow foodie! PetPuja is here with a delicious list of what to eat during Sawan , balancing tradition, taste, and tummy . Why Eat Differently in Sawan? In Ayurveda, seasonal eating is key. During monsoons: Digestion becomes sluggish due to increased humidity The risk of infections (think stomach bugs) is high Vata and Pitta doshas tend to go out of balance Hence, Sawan is the perfect time for a Satvik, plant-based, clean diet, which aligns beautifully with traditional Shravan fasting rituals. Top Ayurvedic Foods to Eat in Sawan 1. Lauki (Bottle Gourd) – The Underdog ...

Semolina pancake / Sooji ka cheela

May and June are the harsh summer months and no one wants to stay longer in the hot kitchen. I am no exception and look for recipes which are light on oil and does not require me to stay in kitchen for long. 😋 I prefer one dish meals during summers, which do not require long time in kitchen 🕒. I move on to induction plate to cook food in summers instead of gas stove as it allows to work with fan on. Today, I am sharing the recipe of sooji cheela (semolina pancakes), which does not need much time in preparation and cooking, never the less, it's very tasty and healthy. Sooji or semolina is the coarse and granulated product made from wheat flour and wheat millfeed mainly, though it's also made from rice and maize flour too, maize sooji is not so commonly available in India. Grooved steel rollers are used to mill wheat into flour. The space between the rollers are adjusted such that the space between them is slightly less than the wheat kernels. The rollers remove the br...

From Farm to Plate: The Invisible Labour Behind Every Meal We Eat

AI image Every plate of food carries a story — of effort, struggle, hope, and countless unseen hands. Have You Ever Wondered How Food Reaches Your Plate? Yesterday morning, while eating my usual bowl of oats with nuts and seeds, a simple thought crossed my mind: How did this food actually reach my table? We often talk about recipes, flavours, restaurants, and healthy eating. But very rarely do we pause to think about the long journey our food takes before becoming a meal on our plate. Behind every roti, every cup of tea, every bowl of dal, there exists an invisible network of farmers, labourers, transporters, vendors, and homemakers whose efforts quietly keep India fed. And honestly, once you begin noticing this journey, food starts feeling very different. It All Begins in the Fields A few years ago, during a visit to a village, I met an elderly farmer standing quietly in his wheat field early in the morning. His hands were rough from years of labour, but ...

Why Does Milk Curdle? The Science Behind Paneer & Curd

AI Image Why Does Milk Curdle? The Science Behind Paneer, Curd and That Ruined Cup of Tea Have you ever poured milk into a hot cup of tea, only to watch it suddenly separate into tiny white lumps? Or added lemon juice to hot milk and watched it transform into curds and whey? The first reaction is usually: "Oh no! The milk has curdled." But here's the fascinating part: curdling isn't always a bad thing. In fact, some of India's most loved foods—including paneer and chhena—depend on this very process. So what actually happens when milk curdles? Why does lemon juice make paneer? Why does milk sometimes split in tea or tomato-based gravies? And how can we prevent unwanted curdling? Let's look at the food science behind this everyday kitchen mystery. What Is Milk Made Of? Milk may look simple, but chemically it is a remarkably complex food. It contains: Water Milk fat Lactose, the natural milk sugar Minerals Whey proteins Casein proteins Casein is particularly...

Why Leftover Indian Food Often Tastes Better the Next Day

"Yesterday's dinner is today's delight!" Almost every Indian household has experienced it. The rajma tastes richer, the chole more flavourful, the sambhar somehow more comforting, and the biryani... well, many people swear it's at its best the next day. Is this just nostalgia? Or is there real science behind it? As it turns out, our grandmother was right. Many Indian dishes genuinely become tastier after resting overnight. Food scientists even have a term for the complex changes that continue long after the stove is switched off. Let's explore why. It's Not Your Imagination Cooking doesn't stop when the gas is turned off. As food cools and rests, hundreds of flavour compounds continue interacting. Spices release more aromatic oils, starches change structure, proteins relax, and liquids redistribute throughout the dish. These slow changes often produce a deeper, more balanced flavour than freshly cooked food. This is why dishes rich in spices, legumes,...