The Real Food Podcast

The winter holiday season is upon us. More Indians are travelling abroad with great regularity. As a lot of these people are vegetarians and it is difficult for them to find food that is suitable for them. Many travellers come up with ingenious ways to deal with the situation and a whole industry is developing to cater to their needs. In this episode Vikram Doctor sheds light on how vegetarians manage in places that are not particularly vegetarian friendly.

Music Credit: Josh Woodward

In some regions of India, bread is an important part of the local cuisine. Mumbai’s most iconic street foods are vada pao and pao bhaji. In both Goa and Kashmir, locally baked fresh bread is a daily staple. When Chef Floyd Cardoz from Mumbai, a partner at the fantastic Bombay Canteen, set up a new restaurant in New York, he called it Paowalla. But often, the bread in our homes is not traditional bread but factory-made and pumped with preservatives to make it last longer and look whiter. In this episode of The Real Food Podcast, Vikram Doctor talks about the need to return to traditional forms of baking, which produce much healthier and tastier bread.

Music Credit: Josh Woodward

Seen as old fashioned and rustic, jaggery is fast becoming a forgotten product. It survives mostly as a health food recommended by Ayurveda experts or as a nostalgic throwback to the yesteryears in middle class homes. In this episode, Vikram Doctor tells us about India’s long connection with jaggery in an attempt to revive our love for it. But the problem is not just the falling demand; even the production of jaggery has become increasingly difficult due to a lack of water and skilled labour.

Music Credit: Josh Woodward

From giant customised cakes for politicians’ birthdays to wedding cakes for not just Christian weddings, logo shaped cakes to celebrate a team’s win to heart shaped cupcakes on Valentine’s Day, cakes once seen as ‘western’ have now become a norm at Indian celebrations. With eggless cakes, cakes that don’t need an oven and even cakes made using idli batter, adapting to local conditions has played a major role in this change.

Music Credit: Josh Woodward

Creating something new out of what is in your fridge from previous days can be a fine art. With a little creativity in the kitchen, leftovers from last night’s dinner can be magically transformed into something delicious and unrecognisable the next day. In this episode Vikram Doctor speaks to chefs who have been creating iconic dishes from leftovers and argues that neither our prejudices nor our ability to afford not to should get in the way of recycling food, a delicate art that we might lose in our hurry to throw away what we believe we don’t need any more.

Music Credit: Josh Woodward

Parle G is not only the largest selling biscuit in the world but is also synonymous with the category it represents. It is an affordable snack for the poorest, a weaning food for small babies and a dessert base for those looking for a nostalgia fix. Parle G was the unchallenged hero of the biscuit business and Britannia had to enlist the help of a super-villain to take on its might. In this episode of The Real Food Podcast, Vikram Doctor tells us the story of India’s most iconic biscuit brand.

Music Credits: Josh Woodward

Gin is one of the smoothest of all alcoholic drinks and supposedly the easiest to make. In India we have a history with gin since it was a favourite of the British Raj (which also led to the quinine infused tonic water, to help them fight malaria). However gin has never quite caught on in contemporary India, either because of its perception as a ‘ladies drink’ or due to a sheer lack of options. In this episode, Vikram Doctor traces the history of gin and looks at its possible renaissance as a ‘hipster drink’.

Music Credit: Josh Woodword

Many of us would have seen old copper or brass vessels packed away at home and wondered why we don't use them anymore. While they have authenticity, most of these vessels were difficult to use as well as maintain. When an option came along that was easy to use, and even easier to clean, it's no surprise that everyone switched to using stainless steel. But is newer and simpler always better?

Music Credit: Josh Woodward

The first dark clouds and a drizzle sends us into raptures about chai and pakodas every monsoon. But is fried besan just a substitute for the lack of fresh vegetables? Have we forgotten the other foods that are also a part of the seasonal cuisine? One way of dealing with the monsoon is to stock up on the non – perishable food or is there another option. Vikram Doctor suggests we cook with what is naturally available nearby and save the pakodas for the occasional treat.

Music Credit: Josh Woodword

Does it seems too hard to get a perfect brew right at home? Is there too much technology and process involved in grinding and brewing? Matt Chitharanjan from Blue Tokai Brewing Company says, “The thing about coffee is that you can make it as simple or as complex as you want”. Join The Real Food Podcast as it talks about coffee trends and demystifies the intricate details of the perfect cup of coffee.