1. Tell us about your background and journey.
I am a qualified medicinal practitioner by education, but love for cooking took me to the kitchen and made it my playground, where it was more of home-style cooking learning basics from mom. I had never attempted cooking before my graduation. Some free time from work, saw me in the kitchen helping mom, and learn her ways of simple cooking.
For years it was always cooking for the family. After shifting to Chennai, more time in hand made me venture into experimental cooking and Baking. Soon the love took a name and started my small home-based kitchen called Muscovado Food factory in 2009. We were featured in Outlook, as one of the 50 business ideas which needed low capital.
For five years I was catering north Indian food in Chennai, and some simple baked goods to families around. After shifting to Delhi, I scaled my work and ventured into corporate gifting, with homemade chocolates. But the creative me was looking for more. I started my Blog "milesnmeals" in 2017, which was formally launched in 2018 July.
Now I have started venturing into my traditional recipes of pickles and masalas which are available on my website/ Blogsite. Also polishing my knowledge with my collection of cookbooks and reading more of regional recipes especially vegetarian food.
2. What led you to do food blogging?
Food blogging was an extension of my cookbook diary which I used to write since the times I fancied cooking and would see mom and my aunts cooking. But I started writing formally on my blog "milesnmeals" in 2018. This was a realisation, that these recipes should reach a wider audience and I shall in the process have a collection of them, in a more organized way.
I am a very non-tech person. Maybe this was the reason that digital writing came to me a bit late. But now I enjoy my blogging, styling and final writing of any recipe learnt from friends or traditional recipe, cooked there in my mom's kitchen. Food tales, or experiences ranging from day to day or a travel experience worth a share.
3. What does your typical day look like?
Day to day my routine changes. The day starts with a long time spent at my kitchen garden, Looking at the plant s closely, deriving ideas while sipping my first cup of tea. Kitchen is where I spend my morning first half, preparing for days orders, if any, else I prepare for the trails of recipes, I am looking to add to the blog. Midday is when I do most of my food photoshoots.
Evenings of the days when we are relatively free is about reading more on food. Weekends starting Friday are super busy as we run a weekend kitchen since the lockdown days. On normal days it was more of social food events to attend.
4. When did you first decide that you wanted to create and write content about food i.e. for blogging?
It was back in July 2017 when I started penning it digitally and craved each day to create new content.
5. Is there a dish you particularly associate yourself with?
I will always feel I am made to eat vegetarian food, though I do consume Meat.
Born and brought up in a pure vegetarian family, I always enjoyed my greens.
Baking came much late in life as in childhood, mom had a simple kitchen with almost no fancy gadgets, even, the oven was a big deal. So my curiosity to bake increased many folds when I first bought my oven.
A Baked jaggery Gujiya is what I am most proud of having mastered. And a homemade Zululand Thandai mousse dish is what I love to keep going back to for any occasion, as it has all the pure elements of tradition and mom's love, taught by her, just presented in a very modern way.
6. Which is your favourite book and why?
My first ever Cookbook, passed on to me by my mon, after she discovered how much I love being in the kitchen is my favourite book and most prized one. Prasad By Jiggs Kalra. It has a perfect glossary of all that is required for an amateur to learn. I still go back to it to refer when in doubt.
The non-vegetraian regional recipes, which I never could imagine to cook when in my moms home, are my favourites now. Another book I wish to mention Is Ottolenghi's Simple, as it is a collection of simple recipes, and very modern in its approach,. This is my recent purchase and I am hooked on to it.
Interview By - Geetika Bali
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