In the first episode, Preeti Deo (UK) fondly remembers her days at her ancestral home in Marathwada, painting a picture of all the women coming together at 4 pm for her grandma's tea party. Through their gossips and wise tales, she narrates a story of the cuisine of Marathwada, a region often neglected when experts talk about Indian food. She tells me about her quest to connect with her roots and evolution as a cookbook writer who now chronicles her kitchen adventures through her Instagram handle (@myukkitchen).

We talk about a mythological king who became a chef, lost recipes that we need to dig in, a zucchini thalipeeth recipe that she swears by, a Maharashtrian menu for the Queen's birthday party and how to repurpose leftover daal. All this and much more in this elaborate chat that happened over an Instagram live session when the world stopped moving when we were house arrested in the deadly COVID-19 quarantine.