Not everything, obviously, but certain curries and gravies taste better after sitting in the fridge overnight. The flavour seems more settled when you reheat them.

I've noticed this especially with dishes that have a lot of spices. Freshly made is great, but the next day's lunch can be even better.

What food do you genuinely prefer eating the next day?

Winters are almost here, so thought of sharing one of my favourite winter desserts. Gajar ka halwa is something I never miss. I remember watching my mom make a big batch at home during winters and the smell of carrots cooking with ghee would fill the whole kitchen. Now I make it myself whenever I crave something sweet and warm.

Here's how I make it at home:

- First, wash, peel and grate around 1 kg of carrots

- Heat 3-4 tbsp of ghee in a kadhai. I'm using Whyte farms ghee here

- Add the grated carrots and cook them on medium flame for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

- Now add around 2 cups of milk (i use full cream) and let the carrots cook until they become soft and the milk is mostly absorbed. Keep stirring in between

- Add sugar according to your taste and cook for a few more minutes until the mixture thickens.

- Add some cardamom powder and dry fruits of your choice. I've added almonds and cashews from tulsi. Mix everything well.

- Cook for another few minutes until the halwa reaches the consistency you like.

And that's it. Serve it hot and enjoy. I personally love it when it's soft, cooked in ghee and garnished with dryfruits

Hi everyone,

I’m building a premium food brand in India and am looking for a reliable third-party manufacturer for custom spice blends under my own brand name.

I already have my own recipes and formulations. I’m not looking for a generic masala supplier who will simply put their product into my packaging. I need a manufacturing partner who can follow my recipes, maintain consistent taste and quality across batches, and work with me on private-label production.

My key requirements are:

1. High-quality raw materials: Strong quality control, with testing for aflatoxins, pesticide residues, heavy metals, microbial contamination and other relevant food-safety parameters. Antibiotic-residue testing should also be considered wherever relevant to the ingredients and risk assessment.
   
2. Private-label manufacturing: Ability to manufacture according to my proprietary recipes, blend ingredients in specified proportions, and pack the finished products under my brand.
   
3. Proper documentation and compliance: A valid FSSAI licence covering the relevant manufacturing activities, appropriate food-safety systems, batch-wise lab reports/COAs, ingredient traceability and the documentation required for domestic retail and exports. I would also prefer a manufacturer experienced with export-oriented food production and destination-specific requirements.
   
4. Packaging support: Assistance with retail-ready packaging, labelling compliance, batch coding, manufacturing/expiry dates and shelf-life documentation.
   
5. Transparency and consistency: I want to be able to verify the quality of the raw materials and finished blends rather than relying only on verbal assurances or generic certificates.

Preferred locations: Uttarakhand, Delhi NCR, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, or nearby areas. I’m open to other locations in India if the manufacturer is a good fit.

I would particularly appreciate recommendations from people who have actually worked with these manufacturers, launched food brands, or sourced private-label spices for export.

If you are a manufacturer yourself, please share your location, manufacturing capabilities, certifications, minimum order quantities, testing arrangements and contact details.

I’m looking to establish a long-term manufacturing relationship, not just make a one-off purchase.

Thanks in advance for any genuine recommendations!

I’ve realised that I have never used cumin powder and coriander powder in isolation - they’re always together, and almost always the same quantity. Are there ever any instances where you are using only cumin powder or only coriander powder? Wondering if I can save some space in the spice box by just combining the two… advantages and disadvantages?

My friend asked me this question and it made me wonder but I could not reach a conclusion

I went to India a few years ago and brought back a bunch of spice mixes. I’ve used up everything except the biryani masala because I’m too lazy to learn how to make biryani. What are some alternative uses for the masala?

There are lots of popular Indian dishes which come up all the time, like dal chawal, biryani, curries, curd rice, dosa, the list goes on - but none of them are so simple to prepare.

But I can't think of another dish that's so simple yet so quintissentially Indian.

boiled potatoes fried with some jeera, hing and maybe green chilllies.

of course there are variations from every region, and its usually a side dish but I cook and eat it by itself !!

How many times have I searched for a good recipe, and when upon finding the right one only then to groan at the quantities listed in the ingredients for chicken, lamb or seafood !! It has driven me to despair time & time again. Especially when I have already bought the main ingredient prior to deciding on the recipe. Unfortunately there is no standard across the board, each writer uses quantities that they are comfortable with. And no book tells you how to divide OR multiply the ingredients, which can be tricky where spices are involved. Finally I decided to create a list of Indian cook books based on quantities to avoid the despair which I am sharing with you:-

Books for 500gr to 800gr meat or poultry are

• Anurag Aggarwal
• Atul Kochhar
• Cyrus Todiwala
• Denise de Silva Sankh
• Kausar Raja
• Maunika Gauwadhan
• Mehak Kansal
• Monisha Bharadwaj
• Rohit Ghai
• Romy Gill
• Sanjeev Kapoor
• Suki Pantal
• Vijaya Selvaraju
• Vikas Khanna
• Vineet Bhatia
• Dishoom

Books for 1kg & ++

• Asma Khan
• Ashok Bajaj
• Rupa Gulati
• Camelia Punjabi
• Jiggs Kalra
• Vivek Singh
• Kumar Mahadevan
• Hardeep Singh Kohli
• Madhur Jaffrey
• Pushpesh Pant

Books for 1.5-kg

• Karan Gokani

Hey everyone, I’ve hit a bit of a weird schedule rut and could use some real advice.

Because of my internship routine, I eat lunch super early, usually around 10:00 AM, and very rarely past 12 PM. However, my dinner doesn't happen until around 9:30 PM. That is an eleven-hour gap on most days.

Here is what I’ve been dealing with:

Milk used to be my go-to, but I dropped it because of the early lunch schedule, and honestly, I don't even like milk anymore unless I'm starving after playing tennis.

The Muesli Trap is a real issue. On tennis days, I come home ravenous and grab muesli. I have zero portion control with it because eating a small bowl feels like my brain is screaming "hey slave, eat less," so I end up devouring two massive handfuls. The result is a huge glucose spike that knocks me out and makes me completely sluggish by 7:00 PM.

I tried eating fruits like apples, but for some reason, they just make me even more hungry instead of keeping me full.

Because putting healthy food into my body feels so difficult, I've drifted into bad habits. I end up eating Munch chocolates, Snickers, and recently I started eating Kurkure whenever I watch a movie.

To make matters harder, my mom isn't a great cook, and no one at home really tries or experiments with new dishes. On top of that, I just can't cook for myself. I'm so damn lazy that I need something super easy, convenient, and items that don't spoil quickly once opened. I also don't drink tea or coffee.

I am vegetarian. I tried adding eggs to see if they fit my schedule, but they just gave me a stomach ache. Also, we cannot eat roasted peanuts for a whole month straight without getting sick of them, and I really do not like the taste of roasted chana.

What do you guys eat when you have a massive window between meals that doesn't trigger a huge carb crash, and how do you handle evening snacks without needing to cook or eat tiny rabbit portions? Looking for practical, lazy-friendly ideas!

There used to be an aloo recipe on vegrecipesofindia.com that was a very simple curry of lightly mashed potatoes and powdered spices (the usual suspects like cumin, coriander, tumeric, chili powder, etc) and that was it. It was a very basic recipe great for when one was too lazy to scrounge up even onions or tomatoes.

Anyone know of a similar recipe and want to share?

Can anyone suggest acrecipe for fig or apricot seet chutney spice not too much vinegar and includes cummin, coriander....no ginger or garlic.

How do I make Paneer gravy at home that tastes similar (ok, even somewhat similar would be a huge win for me) to dishes served in restaurants?

The rich flavors in the gravy are amazing. When I make this at home, seems weak and rather bland. Even the paneer - in spite of marinating etc.. seems a bit bland.

I could perhaps buy sauces from Indian stores, but would prefer to make my own.

I make my own paneer btw.

Decades ago I was introduced to Malai Kofta at an Indian restaurant called Haveli in Atlanta. That restaurant is gone now and no Malai Kofta I’ve ever had has come close.

First off, this was a savory dish. Nothing sweet or even very cream based about it. I don’t like when dishes use cinnamon for heat because it reads sweet to me personally.

It was potato and paneer and not a HINT of sweetness or raisins anywhere. The sauce was ORANGE. Dark orange. Not tomato red. And not Tikka Masala sauce. I’ve seen it before where it’s basically Tikka Masala sauce and kofta. Which is fine but not what I’m talking about.

It was Onion and Cashew heavy and the koftas were crisp but soft when you broke them open.

What style is this and where can I find some like this in NYC? What would I even google for style comparison.

I saw this video on Eater: https://youtu.be/jMPE4YE8fqw?si=OIVpyV3EIykwAoaG

And it looks delicious. Unfortunately, I live in Europe, so I will probably never make it to Nishaan to try it. I would love to recreate it myself, but I don't really have confidence in my cheffing abilities to reverse-engineer it adequately, despite him graciously listing almost every ingredient.

So I figured I could try and bring this sandwich to attention here and maybe someone with more experience could help.

Also, Pepper Jack, I don't think that is a cheese that exists here, but is there a European equivalent? Or should I just throw in some cheddar mixed with jalapeno or something? I don't know, never heard of it before.

Is is possible to use pressure cooker as Kadai for making Aloo Bhujiya, Fish Curry, sabji curry?

Can it be done or there will be issue?

Visited Burma Burma at Fort recently and got a chance to meet Ankit Gupta, one of the co-founders. We ended up talking about the story behind the restaurant, which was honestly more interesting.

He shared how the idea was inspired by his mother, who is from Burma, and how that connection influenced the food and the concept. One thing that stuck with me was his point about Khow Suey. Apparently, there are around 100 versions of it in Burma. I had always thought  its one dish.

We also spoke about how the different outlets have their own design themes inspired by different parts of Burma.

It was nice getting to hear the thinking behind a restaurant directly from one of the people who built it.

Mine is:-

Monday:- Oggani Mirchi ( Puffed rice equivalent of Poha but better, with Mirchi Bajji)

Tuesday:- Chole Bhature (pickled chilli and onions are must)

Wednesday:- Upma accompanied with Podi and Lemon(semisolid and hot with minimal vegetables)

Thursday:- Poori with Onion Saagu (Saagu must be more on the liquidy side)

Friday:- Chilli Cheese Maggi

Saturday:- Pav Bhaji (I'm not sure if its consumed as a breakfast)

Sunday:- Masala Dosa (medium crispy along with karam)

I'm not looking for a healthy plan or low-carb, keto or anything. Just some variety.

Just want ideas so that I can make a rough menu for the cook.

North Indian. 1-2 days per week chicken/mutton recipe. No seafood.

I hate soupy or mushy Maggi, I want it to be completely dry, with the noodles firm and nicely separated, but still full of flavour.

The problem is, I’m still learning how to cook, so I have no idea how to get that perfect texture without messing it up.

A few things to keep in mind:

No vegetables, please

No soy sauce or anything spicy

Just regular Maggi noodles, the masala packet, a little oil or butter, and maybe some fresh coriander and garlic

Can someone give me a simple, step-by-step method to make perfectly dry Maggi without making the noodles sticky, overcooked, or burning the masala? Please explain it in simple step-by-step method

Looking forward to your tips and recipes!

For me, simple ghar ka khana somehow feels incomplete without a little achar on the side

Mango pickle is the one we always have at home, especially the spicy homemade kind.

Even plain dal chawal feels better with it.

What's the one pickle that's always in your kitchen? Mango, lemon, chilli, mixed veg, or something specific to your region?

Would love to hear about the less common ones too.