Dining with Dad

Ahmedabad’s celebrity food bloggers and influencers share memories of foodie moments with their father.

Rohan Bhatt, Co- Founder, Foodaholics in Ahmedabad®

My Dad and I share a very similar love for food. In fact, a major part of my obsession with Sunday-Omelettes is because of him!

Since as long as I can remember, Dad has always been super-experimental when it comes to cooking. He once recommended that the beaten-egg mix be added between the layers of a fulka, and this was to be used as a base to making a roll with some sauteed vegetables and a variety of cheeses. Dad, due to his immense knowledge in the dairy industry, has his heart set on cheeses I haven’t even heard of. He’s my truest food-inspiration.

There are so many precious food moments with dad it is very difficult to point out  any one food memory!

We used to live in Anand, and each Sundays of the monsoon season, he would drive us down to this railway-crossing bridge on the National Highway for some heavenly coal-roasted corn cobs and Vaghaarela Patra. A farmer used to grow colocasia leaves there and every evening, regardless of heavy rains, he would get his produce to the railway crossing to be sold to those waiting in their vehicles. He would also get a small setup to steam and sauté small batches for people to taste the leaves. It was a sight to see him having a conversation with the parents about how the leaves hardly have any side veins and mid-rib is tender enough for consumption by kids too.

As a child, I was extremely underweight and underbuilt. Our family doctor recommended I eat a high protein and high fat diet. Since that day, Sunday chicken-tikka-dinners have become a house tradition!

Dad would take me to this phenomenal eatery called 3 Musketeers. They had a live tandoor setup where the tandooriya (person who mans the tandoor) would have a wide range of marinated tikkas ready to go in the tandoor. I was so amused by the taste and technique of making a chicken tikka that I would watch the entire process repeatedly and eventually I started instructing him to baste the meats some more and let the chicken cook for longer. Dad would stand there watching me hop around a tandoor in excitement and then we would eat the tikkas at home, at ease, talking about what I saw at the restaurant.

We stay together, so I try and make it a point to cook his favourite meals as frequently as possible! If I had to pick one thing I will want to cook for him, it will be Ringan no Olo because he loves the smoky flavours that the charcoal imparts. In fact, I discovered his live for Ringan no Olo when I cooked it for him when he visited me at Bangalore where I was studying.

On Father’s Day, this is a fantastic trip down the memory lane!

Tuli Banerjee, TuliChants and co-admin at Biting Bowl – food, fashion & travel

I can never emphasize enough on a Bengali man’s love for food. Not only would most of the Bengali men cook up a feast for their loved ones, they will also go to the market and buy the freshest of vegetables and fish in the locality.

In fact even Camellia Panjabi, the author of the world’s best-selling book on curry, ‘50 Great Curries of India,’ wrote a couple of sentences in praise of Bengali men. Before introducing the Chicken Dopiaza recipe, Camellia mentions, “Bengal is a region where people are particular about their food and many Bengali men cook superbly.”

It would not be wrong to say that my introduction to the journey towards being a food critic has been possible only because of everything that I learnt from my father, right from buying the raw ingredients to the making of the end product. I was always in awe of my dad who used to pick up any dish and sniff the dish mockingly and could easily tell what ingredient was lacking in the dish by simply the appearance or aroma of the dish.

I have learnt a lot from him, right from the basics – for example, how cutting of each vegetable affects the aroma, the texture and the cooking process of the vegetable – which can in turn influence our own perception of how it tastes. I learnt from my father that the way we cut and cook a vegetable, makes a difference in the process of releasing enzymes from the vegetable. And it is those enzymes that kick off a series of chemical reactions that give the typical aroma and flavour to the dish. That’s the main reason why the same “subji” does not taste the same when cooked by different hands.

My father cooks Chilli Chicken the best. Long before I began visiting the Chinese upmarket restaurants, my dad used to make the finest Chilli Chicken at home, which used to turn out far better than what anyone known by me then could cook.

My happiest food memory would sound strange to many, but here it is:   Whenever I used to have fever in my childhood, my dad used to cook Bengali Style Chicken Stew, accompanied by bread toast.  Uff… I can still feel on my tongue the heavenly taste of the runny chicken stew loaded with veggies like onions, beans and carrots. It used to be fun to dip the bread pieces in the stew  and stuff it down my mouth… the metallic, foul and bitter tasting mouth resulting from the fever, the bread dipped in chicken stew made poppy flavours burst in the mouth with every bite. The black pepper in the stew made me feel so good and comforting that even today, whenever I feel I have caught a flu, I imagine being fed a bowl full of the chicken stew, so much full of love.

If I have to cook for my dad, I know  he loves the versatile snacks I make for breakfast, especially pasta. Whenever I visit him, he keeps a box of penne pasta and cheese handy for me. So if my dad visits me on a special day, I would make Penne Arrabiata and Pesto Penne with shredded chicken – two hearty bowlfuls of pasta bursting with the flavours of garlic, basil, oregano, pepper, cheese and lots of veggies. Wouldn’t it be enough to impress my dad with my culinary skills?

Satyen Gadhvi, Biting Bowl – food, fashion & travel

My father was a Government Officer in a transferrable job. Being a telecom engineer at that time when communication infrastructure of india was developing, he was well-connected in both rural and urban areas. Therefore, I had an opportunity to relish variety of urban and rural delicacies right from my childhood. At the same time, I was lucky enough to listen to their interesting talks about food.

One of my best memories was when  my father was posted at Porbandar. The city has many food processing plants where much of the staff comprised migrants from states like Kerala.

My father took me at one invitation to relish number of south Indian dishes home-cooked by people from Kerala. Not only was it rare to get such South Indian food in Gujarat but the taste of these dishes still linger after 35 years.

Dhruv Shah, Instagram-  Foodsanyasi

My father is inspiration for me !! He loves to try various cuisines and that’s why we go to outside where we try this new food dishes and taste it. My father always influence me about food in many ways. We also make some food dishes at home and ofcourse for me food is an art and an opportunity to do something new!!

Riya, thestarvingstunner

Amit Uppal, www.thefoodmatters.wordpress.com/

I have inherited my love for food from my father. He loved food, he loved to eat. Cooking was never his strength but purchasing perfect produce and marvelous meats was his expertise. He taught me how to identify fresh fish, the various cuts of lamb, how a chicken should be dressed, the types of fish and their characteristics, what vegetables go with which meat and so many other things.

Of course, it was my mother who kindled my interest in cooking. As a kid, I used to stand beside her while she cooked and kept asking questions. Over time, I started cooking a little, starting with making tea, an omelette, a paratha, and graduated on to making proper dishes.

My father was no cook, but he taught me how to savour food. He taught me to be adventurous, to try dissimilar combinations of things, to use appropriate cutlery and crockery with different dishes, table manners, et al.

By the time I was seven, I was already using fork-and-knife to eat my toast and eggs, and knew how to place the napkin.

My father loved street food, and used to take me along on most of his food escapades. One of his favourite food was the poori-chhole they sell at railway stations in Punjab. We would hop on his scooter, park outside the Jalandhar railway station, buy platform tickets, go inside and tuck into the delightfully fluffy pooris dripping with that week-old oil and the chhole that had another-worldly aroma. Then he would take me to a kulfi shop for dessert.

I started working in the armed forces and then in banks, and kept shifting cities and towns but I continue my love of exploring food in all its dimensions and blogging my reviews. My father is no more with us, but his legacy is alive.

Henil Patel Instagram – all about f0od

When we think about the dishes that remind us of home, it evokes images of our mother’s cooking. But it is a special treat when my father enters the kitchen. Whatever he makes is always memorable for me. I am highly influenced by his choice of spices and veggies that make the food healthier and tastier than the conventional version of the dish.  As we also know we get something inherent from your parents. I inherited their taste for food. My father’s inspiration and motivation made me start exploring food and developing  my knowledge about various dishes. He is the concrete pillar of my success story of food blogging. It’s all about my father and it’s all about f0od!

Abhinisha Jani Ashara Insta- Abhinisha22

When I was five or six years old, my father was Catering Manager in the railways. I used to visit him in his office at that time, where all the time I found smells of different food preparations and  cooking. And yes my foodie daddy fed me some yummy samosas, bhajiyas, aalu wadas, pakodas and other snacks in the railway canteen. This is how Papa influenced my love for food.

Papa used to say Method is very important for the execution of every food recipe, Every time while cooking new dishes, new experiment is must in our kitchen. Papa Loves to try new flavors and so do I.  He always says that to make Food more interesting each dish has to be had in iconic combos. That’s the मंत्र I learned from him.

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If food is love, the gift of loving each and every dish is given by my Papa to me.

Nikita Dudani,                                                                                                                                           www.nikitadudani.blogspot.com/, http://cuisinesbynikita.blogspot.com/ Instagram-allplatedishes

My dad loves Sindhi food. As a child, I remember that I wasn’t that inclined to have Sindhi dishes every day. I would love to explore and try new dishes and being a crazy fan of dairy products – my go to food become dishes like Pizza and Pasta, which my dad didn’t like. And so, I had to cook different dishes for both of us. This made a huge impact as I tried to figure out what are our common favorite dishes and how could I help him explore different cuisines so that we have more dishes in common.

And that’s when my tryst with exploring food started. When I look back now, I realize that if it hadn’t been a journey to find more common love for food for both of us – I may not have become a food blogger. He influenced my tastes by staying true to what he loves to eat.

One of the biggest thing, I have learnt from my parents (my dad and my late mom) about food is to eat what I like without any apprehensions, and not to judge anyone’s choices on food.  They both stood to their grounds of what they like to eat or not but taught me that I don’t necessarily have to develop eating habits just to suit the perceptions of others. I can have my own independent preferences in food. Similarly, I shouldn’t judge others for their food preferences. I think that this is the biggest value, they have ever taught me.

Kamiya Dalwani

instagram- handlewithfood

My father is a hardcore experimental man who has never judged a dish from its presentation or otherwise. He has a certain rhythm to his eating habits with a special liking for fruits and dry fruits. This is exactly what i have learnt from him: enjoy eating without worrying too much about the food.

But he also understands taste – what food combinations work best, how a dish can be made better. And this influences my perceptions and thoughts towards food.

Ever since i have begun cooking, he is my go-to person for food tasting and receiving suggestions. I like our sweet culinary relationship.

Richa  Dalwani, thefictiongirl

Whether one cooks or not, everybody should understand the authentic food culture and be up for all sorts of cuisines, this is what my father has taught us. I have never heard him say – “oh, no i won’t taste it because it doesn’t look good’ or  seen him refuse a dish because it is from a cuisine he is not familiar with.

He has always taken interest in the ingredients and the way things are made; like he’d casually ask for a method if he likes something & oh, he can pose questions even in restaurants which is sort of cute & foodie-ish. So basically my love for food and receptiveness towards diverse cuisines comes from his love for food.

Antara Baroah, Choukascribbled 

There is cooking, and then there’s the joy of cooking for others.

I have never seen anyone as happy as my dad when it comes to cooking for others. Now that he has retired from his service, he never lets go of an opportunity to celebrate –  even more so now than ever before, just so that he can cook and feed someone to their heart’s content.

Be it for the people working in the backyard garden or for his closest friends who happen to suddenly drop by during lunch and dinner time, he makes sure that there’s an elaborate meal for everyone.

He would very thoughtfully pair dishes that complement one another, not just in terms of flavours but on the nutritional aspects too.

Growing up, I have always known him as the biggest foodie who loves to indulge in true rustic Assamese delicacies.

Conversations with dad around food on the dining table are not just about the memories that he has of any particular dish, but also about so many lesser known facts such as why a particular ingredient is eaten or added to a dish, what should or shouldn’t it be paired with, in which season to eat or avoid an item, which community prepares a specific dish the best way and so on. I would rather say, discussing ingredients and its purpose in dish was a common fare in our household more than discussing a recipe.

Today, if I am confident about sharing anything related to my cuisine, it’s because I know that the source of my knowledge is one of the most unadulterated forms.

It comes straight from a person who has forever proudly celebrated the traditional cooking techniques without letting any cross cultural or modern day influence creep in. He taught me to appreciate the beauty of fresh local produce and how every ingredient serves a purpose beyond just lending a taste.

Now that I look back, I feel I was unintentionally trained to follow the path that I am currently on.

The passion to make people enjoy and appreciate the beauty of Assamese cuisine comes immensely from the plethora of information that has been fed into me since forever by my dad. Above all, to find joy in cooking for others is the biggest learning that I learnt from my daddy dearest which propels me to continue ahead amidst all the odds.

Roopalee Parswani, Dj Roopalee

My dad is always a backbone for whatever i do, whoever i am today. He always taught tobe independent. He always emphasizes that we 3 sisters become completely independent by thoughts and by action too. Cooking is one of them.

He never forced us to go in a kitchen and cook like all typical parents do for their girl child. My mom use to cook different varieties for us, We have seen dad helping mom in her kitchen trying some cooking with twist. My dad still makes cauliflower pickle which is his own innovation and we always love it.

I started learning cooking at the later age may be when i have done my graduation and i started working out station. Because gradually i started believing that if you can cook for your self, you can survive any difficult situation and we all know that thats so true and it is proven during this Covid 19 and lock down. Many people suffered a lot just because they dont know cooking.

And you can call me lucky that same symphony of cooking and flavours of food i learned for my husnlband rahul. Being an IHM student, he is a chef in the house. From him i could learn fine chopping of vegetables, some culinary ary and amalgamation of ingredients you can use while cooking, and i am extremely happy that the same enthusiasm i can see in our son. When my husband and my son try their hands in kitchen, i am the happiest person on the earth. Cooking is not only and art, its a way to reach anybody’s heart

Pankaj Upadhyay, Itsfoodieonly

Food has always been an inseperable part of me since forever. Today I feel really blessed that I am being able to work full-time on something that I am so passionate about. It’s not an easy road to follow but it has been made possible for me single handedly by just one person that’s my Dad.

Way back in …… I was all set to migrate to Canada for better job pursuits, all paper work completed and I just needed my tickets to be booked. During the same time my food blogging career in Ahmedabad was taking shape like the way I always wanted  it to be. It was a tough choice to make – migrate to a place that opens up prospects to so many options for a better life  v/s persevere and turn your passion into profession.

It was at this time that my dad took the most important decision of my life and sorted the most difficult dilemma. He believed in my dreams and asked me to persue my passion around food.

He taught me  to love and respect food even more than ever before and I owe my sucess as a foodblogger/instagrammer to him. His believe in me is the force that helps me overcome the most difficult times and rekindles my love for food everytime.

food columnist, Midday Gujarati, Pooja Sangani, 

I am proud to say, that I`m daddy`s girl! My father is an exceptional person who gave me the greatest gift in life i.e. he believed in me.

Happy father’s day..!!

We can’t deny the universal fact that mom’s food can beat any well-known chef’s gourmet food hands down.  It’s always been a mystery how she remembers every recipe and every ingredient so clearly. On the contrary, there are only a few beloved dishes that most dads can cook. But they do them with aplomb.

As a parent, my father plays an important role in shaping my cooking skills as well as my eating habits right from my childhood. He is my role model. Today whatever I am it is because of him. I can say he is a big influencer over the family environment where meals take place and the types of foods we cook and eat. Positive experiences if I share about food he always become my critic as well as reviewer of the dishes i cook for my family members. With this habit of him i can able to learn many old traditional gujarati cuisines. The special treat is when my dad enters the kitchen. My first super-hero may not be a hero in the kitchen, but whatever he guides me in improving my recipes makes remains memorable..

My father is a good foodie too. Though my father doesn’t cook anymore, I still remember the distinct taste that was peculiar to his cooking. He was best in making rasiya muthiya. The way he makes it was just the right proportion of everything, just the way I like it. I always try my best to make the way he taught me. So here I present his favorite dish.

Rasiya Muthiya.

Recipe of this is in a bowl add left over rice with besan, salt, sugar, red chili powder, turmeric powder, oil, ginger-green chili paste and mix well, make a dough, use little water if required. Grease your palm with oil and make small muthiya’s out of it and keep aside.

On other side for gravy take the small mixing bowl, heat oil to it. Add cumin seeds, dry red chili, pinch of hing and add butter milk with 1 -1/2 glass of water. Now add garam masala, salt, sugar, 1 spoon of besan, turmeric powder and whisk well without any lumps. Take a mixture to one boil. Add muthiya’s to it and cover the bowl. Add prepared muthia one by one carefully, stir it carefully, then add crushed kasuri methi, mix well and cook muthia for 4-5 minutes on the medium flame. Rasiya Muthia is ready, garnish with chopped corianders leaves and serve hot.

Aakash, Just My Roots

Twitter-  bengalisinahmedabad

YouTube bong – food Konnection

Co-admin Bengalis in Ahmedabad 

I am a Bengali, got married to a Punjabi girl & come from an Indian Army background. I have travelled across India. I will call myself the luckiest chap as I have tasted the delicacies from each & every zone of India. We were limited to the Army Badakhana or Parties at Officer mess. However, my dad was a foodie but he was after hygiene so never used to allow us for roadside food. We were bound to follow the discipline. Life changed when I was sent to the Hostel @ St. Joseph Darjeeling  ( North Point) I used to ask my friends to get the local Momo & Thukpa. During the vacation we used to fly via Siliguri & spending 4 hours at Siliguri used to be grand. Throughout the day we were busy hogging those roadside food at Siliguri & Pizza, burgers @ The Glenary Darjeeling. During the vacation I just cannot forget the Pizza & Ice Creams at Narula with my cousins. You must be wondering about my behaviour. It is just because of the strict discipline of the Army discipline of my dad. So, being a proud father now I have been liberal & allowed my daughter for everything & we enjoy it like a friend. At times we both plan & get up late at night …Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh  ..Mumma jaag jayegi & we cook & eat anything & party late at night with my princess. At times we go to the rooftop. I can proudly say that my childhood & my daughter’s childhood food habit is totally different because my daughter eats everything right from bittergourd to brinjal because I have educated her why it is important & never forced for anything. However, under the discipline I was always forced to eat so I was a stubborn child.