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Articles by Tanmaya Kothari
Zaika India Ka to NDTV Food Awards, how NDTV helped shape India's food story
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Zaika India Ka To NDTV Food Awards, How NDTV Helped Shape India's Food Story
Think about the first time you watched someone eat their way across India on television and felt genuinely hungry, curious, and a little envious. Chances are, it was an NDTV show. Long before food became a lifestyle category, a social media aesthetic, or an investor pitch, NDTV was already in the thick of it, telling the stories of Indian kitchens, street stalls, dhabas, homes, and restaurants with real passion and credibility.
Kunal Kapur To Manish Mehrotra, India's Biggest Chefs Share Their Favourite Foods And Guilty Pleasures Original
The NDTV Food Awards 2026 was one of those nights where the conversations were just as good as the food. India's most celebrated chefs, restaurateurs, and food professionals gathered to collect their trophies, but it was what they said on the sidelines that really stayed. Kunal Kapur was lyrical about his mother's cooking, Manish Mehrotra confessed to a very relatable guilty pleasure, Manu Chandra had a bold global vision for khichdi, and Chef Seefah summed up why events like this matter.
From Foodistan To Food Awards: Vikram And Seema Chandra Revisit NDTV's Food Journey
The NDTV Food Awards 2026 was not just about celebrating the country's finest culinary talent. It was also a night of nostalgia, bringing together people who helped shape India's food media landscape. Among them were Vikram Chandra, founder of Editorji Technologies and former CEO of NDTV, and Seema Chandra, veteran broadcaster and one of the driving forces behind NDTV Food in its early years.
NDTV Food Awards 2026: Rocky Mohan Reveals His Favourite Rice Dish, And It's Not Biryani
Rocky Mohan is not just a name in India's food and beverage world. He is an author, a connoisseur, and the chairman of Mohan Goldwater Breweries Ltd. He has spent decades building a deep, lived relationship with what goes on the table and what fills the glass. At the NDTV Food Awards 2026, in front of a beautiful tribute backdrop dedicated to the legendary chef Gulam Qureshi, Rocky met with NDTV for a warm, rapid-fire chat.
When Turkiye Came To Gurugram: Inside The Culinary Diplomacy Event That Shared History On The Same Table
What happens when flavours and techniques of Turkish cooking meet Indian ingredients? The Turkish Heritage Table: Flavours of Türkiye at ISH, held on 1st June 2026 at the École Ducasse Gurugram Campus, brought just that to life. Brought together by the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency, the Embassy of Türkiye, and ISH, the Indian School of Hospitality, it was not a food festival in any conventional sense.
5 Places Near Delhi That Stay Under 25 Degrees Celsius All Summer
Mussoorie offers cool air and scenic spots like Kempty Falls under 25°C this May Nainital features a lake, boating, and Himalayan views with temperatures between 14-20°C Shimla has Victorian charm and nearby Kufri with temperatures ranging from 12-20°C Delhi in May is not for the faint-hearted. The moment you step outside, the heat hits you like you've opened a preheated oven, and the idea of doing anything outdoors feels genuinely absurd.
Which Place Is Known As The Rainbow Capital Of The World?
Hawaii is known as the Rainbow Capital of the World due to frequent rainbows. Frequent rainbows result from Hawaii's tropical climate and unique mountain moisture. Rainbows hold deep cultural and spiritual significance in Hawaiian tradition. Picture this: you step out onto a hotel balcony in Honolulu, coffee in hand, and there it is, a full, double rainbow arching over the valley, so vivid and close it feels almost impossible.
You Don't Need Alcohol to Have a Great Wine Dinner. SOBER Is Proving It
There is something quietly radical about sitting down to a four-course dinner, having a glass of sparkling wine poured before your first course arrives, swirling it, sipping it, and realising ten minutes into the evening that nobody at the table is drinking alcohol. Not because they couldn't. Because they chose not to, and the experience was absolutely no lesser for it.
Baluchi Express at The Lalit New Delhi Is Exactly What This Fast Paced Life Demands
There is a particular kind of craving that hits around midday in Delhi. It is not for something quick and forgettable. It is for something real: slow-cooked, properly spiced, served with a hot roti that was pulled from a tandoor moments ago. The trouble is that the restaurants that do that kind of cooking well are usually set up for long, leisurely dinners, not a brisk weekday lunch.
This Is What Happens When A Five-Star Legend Designs A Menu Around Olive Oil
There are lunches, and then there are lunches that you talk about for weeks. The kind where every dish arrives with a story, where the ingredients have a biography, and where the person behind the stove has more years in a professional kitchen than most of us have been alive. On a Friday afternoon in May, Le Meridien New Delhi became the setting for exactly that kind of afternoon.
The 8 Best Pizza Places To Order From in Delhi-NCR Right Now
There is a very specific kind of evening that most Delhi people know well. It's 8 PM, you are not going anywhere, the couch has made its case, and the only real question left is: where are we ordering pizza from? It sounds simple. It is not. Delhi NCR's pizza delivery scene has grown into something genuinely exciting, and genuinely overwhelming.
The 8 Best Pizza Places in Delhi NCR You Need to Visit Right Now
Delhi has always been a city of strong opinions about food. We debate chaat corners, we take chai spots very personally, and we absolutely will not hear a bad word about our favourite biryani. But quietly, over the last decade or so, a pizza revolution has been brewing in the capital and its surrounding areas. From proper wood-fired Neapolitan spots to sourdough specialists obsessing over fermentation timings, Delhi NCR's pizza scene has grown up into something genuinely exciting.
8 Lesser-Known Mangrove Forests in India That Deserve to Be on Your Radar
Bhitarkanika in Odisha hosts 62 mangrove species and the largest saltwater crocodile population globally Pichavaram in Tamil Nadu is India's second-largest mangrove forest and a model for coastal protection Chorao Island in Goa features the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary with over 170 bird species When most Indians think of mangroves, one name comes to mind: the Sundarbans. And yes, it is magnificent.
Every New Mumbai Restaurant Worth Visiting This Summer
Mumbai doesn't really have an off-season when it comes to restaurants. New places open constantly, the city's appetite for the next thing is genuinely insatiable, and the dining scene moves faster than most people can keep up with. But May and June 2026 have been particularly busy.
Which City Is Called The Pineapple City Of India
India is a country of fascinating nicknames. Cities wear their specialities like badges of honour, the Silk City, the City of Nawabs, the Spice Coast. But somewhere tucked away in Kerala's lush Ernakulam district, about an hour's drive from Kochi, sits a small town that has earned a title sweeter than most. Vazhakulam is India's undisputed Pineapple City, and it has the GI tag, the crores of annual revenue, and the generations of farmer pride to back that up.
8 Litchi Recipes To Make The Most Of India's Sweetest Summer Fruit
If there is one fruit that captures the absolute best of an Indian summer, it is the litchi. Available for a blissfully short window between May and June, just before the monsoon sweeps in and washes everything clean, the litchi is everything the season asks for: juicy, perfumed, impossibly sweet, and cold from the fridge at the end of a long hot day. India is one of the world's leading producers of the fruit, with Muzaffarpur in Bihar famous for growing some of the finest varieties in the world.
Which Place Is Called The Valley Of The Sun?
Val di Sole is a scenic Alpine valley in Italy’s Trentino region, near Austria and Milan The valley offers world-class summer activities like rafting, hiking, mountain biking, and lakes Winter features extensive skiing options, snowshoeing, and thermal spa wellness resorts Most Indians who travel to Italy follow a fairly predictable route: Rome, Florence, Venice, maybe the Amalfi Coast if there is time.
How To Make Cafe-Like Coffee At Home Without An Espresso Machine
India's relationship with coffee is changing fast. A few years ago, the choice was largely between instant coffee at home and whatever the nearest cafe was serving. Today, a growing number of people are investing in proper beans, picking up brewing equipment, and genuinely caring about what goes into their morning cup. But somewhere between buying a bag of decent coffee and actually getting it to taste like something from a good cafe, things tend to go sideways.
Inside Blenders Pride Reserved Experiences And Kunal Kapur's Multi-Sensory Gastro Performance
On 13th May, The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences played host to one of the more genuinely interesting evenings on Delhi NCR's recent social calendar. Blenders Pride Packaged Drinking Water's Reserved Experiences: Redefining Flavour Through Multi-Sensory Discovery was an intimate, curated event built around a single provocation: that flavour is not just something you taste. It can be seen, heard, smelt and felt.
5 Iced Tea Recipes You Need To Brew This Summer
Somewhere between May and June, every Indian household reaches its breaking point with the heat. The ceiling fan is on full blast, the curtains are drawn, and yet somehow nothing helps. This is when a tall glass of something cold, fragrant and actually good for you sounds less like a luxury and more like a necessity. Iced tea is that thing. Not the bottled kind from the convenience store, but the kind you brew at home, with proper tea, fresh fruit, herbs from your kitchen, and a bit of patience.
Exciting New Kolkata Restaurants Worth Visiting This May-June 2026 Original
Kolkata has always had strong opinions about food. It is, after all, a city that takes the adda as seriously as the meal, where the conversation around a dish can outlast the dish itself. But 2026 has been a quietly busy year for new openings, and May and June in particular have brought a genuinely interesting crop of restaurants, cafés, and bars to the city.
Which Is The Oldest Dam In India?
Kallanai Dam in Tamil Nadu is one of the world's oldest operational water-diversion structures Built around 150 CE by King Karikala Chola, it spans 329 meters across the Kaveri River The dam supports irrigation and flood control for multiple districts in the Cauvery Delta Most of us learn about India's ancient engineering marvels in school and promptly forget them by exam season.
Greater Kailash Bar Crawl Guide: Where To Start, Where To Go Next, And When To Switch Markets
There's a reason Delhiites keep coming back to Greater Kailash when the weekend energy hits. It's not just one market, one vibe, or one type of crowd. GK is a whole ecosystem spread across three distinct neighbourhoods, each with its own personality and its own kind of night. GK I is the old soul with new tricks. GK II's M-Block is the overachiever that somehow keeps getting better. And GK III, while quieter, knows exactly what it's doing.
What Makes Chembra Peak In Kerala Worth The Long Trek
The Chembra Peak trek offers a dynamic landscape, making it a rewarding experience. Chembra Peak in Wayanad, Kerala, is the highest peak in the district at 2,100 metres elevation The trek features tea estates, dense forests, and the iconic heart-shaped lake called Hridaya Thadakam Summit access is restricted; most trekkers stop at the heart lake for scenic views and rest When Indians talk about trekking, the conversation almost always heads north.
The Uttar Pradesh Food Story Nobody Is Telling You About
Ask someone to name UP food, and they will almost always give you the same five answers. Agra ka peda. Lucknow ki biryani. Kakori ka kebab. Mathura ki barfi. Maybe, if they are feeling adventurous, a mention of Banaras ki chaat. These are the headlines of Uttar Pradesh's culinary identity, and they are entirely deserved. But here is the thing about headlines: they flatten a very complicated, very layered story into something simple enough to repeat at parties. UP's food culture is not simple.
Scotch, Bourbon Or Single Malt: How Can You Tell One Whisky From Another
Every year on the third Saturday of May, the world pauses to raise a glass and celebrate whisky. World Whisky Day is the one occasion that genuinely welcomes everyone: the seasoned single malt collector, the casual office drinker who only ever orders "a peg of Scotch," and the complete newcomer who has been curious about whisky but felt too intimidated to dive in. If you belong to that last group, this is your moment.
Why Fermented Rice Is the Best Thing You Can Eat This Summer
Every summer, Indian grandmothers across the country do something that no wellness influencer has managed to improve upon. They take leftover rice, soak it in water overnight, and serve it cold the next morning with a little curd, raw onion, and green chilli. This is fermented rice, known as Panta Bhat in Bengal, Poita Bhat in Assam, Pakhala in Odisha, Pazhaya Sadam in Tamil Nadu, and Pazhamkanji in Kerala. For generations, it was considered humble peasant food.
5 Traditional Assamese Recipes That Keep The Heat Away
Most of India's summer food conversation gravitates towards aam panna, chilled lassi, and rose sharbat. And while those are all perfectly respectable, there is an entire culinary tradition in the northeast that has quietly been solving the heat problem for centuries, and doing it with far more character. Assamese summer cooking is built on a deeply intuitive logic: use what the season gives you, keep the cooking light, and let the souring, cooling, and fermenting agents do the heavy lifting.
Which River Is Called The "River Of Blood" Of India?
The river, known as the river of blood, has a name with both geological and mythological roots. Lohit River flows 200 km from Tibet through Arunachal Pradesh to Assam’s plains Its red hue comes from iron-rich soil and the legend of Parashuram Kund The valley hosts rich biodiversity and a mix of animist, Buddhist, and Hindu cultures Somewhere in the dense, mist-wrapped valleys of eastern Arunachal Pradesh, a river runs in a shade that stops you cold.
Why South India Doesn't Just Drink Coffee, It Performs It
There is a particular kind of magic that happens in South Indian homes every morning. Before the sun is fully up, before anyone has properly woken up, the kitchen is already doing its thing. A steel filter sits on the counter, quietly dripping. The smell of roasted coffee and chicory curls through the corridor and reaches every corner of the house.
World Cocktail Day: How Cocktail Bars, Zero-Proof Drinks And Bar Takeovers Are Changing The Way Indians Drink
Not long ago, the average Indian night out looked pretty predictable. A bottle of whiskey on the table, maybe some soda and ice, and if you were feeling fancy, a glass of wine. Cocktails, when they appeared at all, were the sugary kind, lurid coloured things with fruit skewers and far too much syrup. Nobody was talking about fermentation profiles or house-made bitters or locally sourced kokum. But something has shifted.
Falsa, The Purple Summer Fruit You See For Weeks Before It Disappears Original
If you grew up in North India, there's a good chance you remember them. Tiny, dark purple berries piled into a conical leaf packet or a small paper bag, handed over by a street vendor whose call, "kale kale phalse, taravat wale phalse”, you could hear from two lanes away. You'd eat them by the handful, fingers stained purple, the sweet-sour burst doing something deeply satisfying against the May heat. And then, just like that, by mid-June they'd vanish.
Which City Is Known For Its Iconic Poha-Jalebi Breakfast?
Every city has a breakfast it's proud of. Mumbai has its vada pav. Delhi has its chole bhature. But somewhere in the heart of India, in the sprawling, chaotic, food-obsessed streets of Indore and Bhopal, a breakfast exists that manages to be two completely different things at once. One component is humble, light, and savoury. The other is sticky, sweet, and gleaming. Together, they make absolutely no sense on paper, and complete sense on the plate. Poha-jalebi is not just a breakfast combination.
Assam Orthodox Is a GI-Tagged Tea The World Loves, Yet Most Indians Have Never Tasted It Original
India is the second-largest producer of tea in the world. Assam alone accounts for more than half the country's total output, and produces roughly one-sixth of all the tea grown globally. And yet, the overwhelming majority of Indians have never tasted the finest tea this region makes. We grow it, we ship it abroad by the ton, and we drink something else entirely every morning. That something else is CTC, the crushed, machine-processed pellets that go into every stovetop chai across the country.
7 Lesser-Known Bengali Sweets Locals Swear By
Ask anyone to name a Bengali sweet and you'll hear the same answer: rasgulla. And fair enough, it's iconic, it's GI-tagged, and there's an entire interstate debate about its origin that Bengalis will remind you of unprompted. But here's the thing: the Bengali mithai universe is enormous, nuanced, and wildly underappreciated outside of West Bengal. There are sweets built around seasons, sweets that surprise you mid-bite, sweets that look one thing and taste like something else entirely.
World's Most Scenic Road Trips That Make You Want To Keep Driving A Little Longer
The Kings Highway in Jordan offers a historic 450 km drive from Amman to Aqaba with key ancient sites. Sri Lanka's 1,600 km loop explores cultural sites, tea country, and coastal towns, ideal for Indian travelers. Morocco's Marrakech-to-Sahara route covers 560 km with diverse landscapes and desert experiences. There is something about a road trip that no other form of travel can replicate. You set your own pace. You stop when something catches your eye.
5 Interesting Recipes You Can Make With Leftover Pizza Dough
You spent an entire Sunday afternoon making pizza dough from scratch. You measured the yeast with a teaspoon, you left it to prove, you kneaded it until your arms gave up. The pizza night was a hit. And now there is a sad, cling-wrapped ball of dough sitting in your fridge, slowly losing the will to live. Sound familiar? Here is the thing: pizza dough is one of the most versatile things you can have in your kitchen, and throwing it away is an actual waste of real effort.
The Only Mango Cocktail Recipes You Need This Summer
It is mango season, which means the fruit bowls are overflowing, the aam ras is being made in bulk, and everyone is quietly competing for the best slice at family lunch. But here is the thing, mangoes are far too good to be limited to dessert. If you have a few ripe Alphonsos sitting on the counter, a bottle of tequila in the cabinet, and guests arriving on a Saturday, you are already halfway to the best summer party of the year. Mango cocktails are not a trend. They are just common sense.
Food Festivals And Exciting Events To Check Out Across India In May And June 2026
May and June in India have a reputation problem. The heat arrives with full confidence, the humidity starts making its presence known, and most people's instinct is to either flee to the hills or wait the whole thing out indoors with the air conditioning on full blast. But here is what that logic misses: this is also one of the most quietly interesting times to be eating and drinking your way across the country.
The Spicy Turkish Eggs Recipe You Need To Make This Summer
Most of us have a very fixed idea of what breakfast looks like. Toast, paratha, poha, maybe eggs if you are feeling ambitious. And then one day, the internet shows you a plate of Turkish eggs and suddenly your entire breakfast rotation feels a little boring.
New Menus In Delhi NCR This Summer That Make Going Out Worth It
Delhi summers are brutal, and everyone knows it. The heat hits you the moment you step outside, and the instinct to just order in and stay horizontal is completely understandable. But here is the thing, the city's restaurants and cafés are not making it easy to stay home this season. From inventive summer cocktail menus to fresh new food spreads that actually make sense in the heat, Delhi NCR is quietly having one of its more exciting dining moments.
Mother's Day Menus Across India: The Best Places to Take Mum Out This Sunday
There is exactly one day a year when mums across the country get to sit down, do absolutely nothing, and let someone else handle the bill. Mother's Day is here, and India's restaurants are pulling out all the stops to make sure the occasion feels as special as it should. From indulgent Sunday brunches with bottomless drinks to intimate tasting menus built around her favourite flavours, the dining scene this year has genuinely outdone itself.
The Ultimate Pub Crawl To Vasant Vihar: Delhi's Most Bustling Bar District, Stop by Stop Original
If you think Delhi's nightlife peaks at Hauz Khas or Mehrauli, Vasant Vihar would like a word. Quietly and without much fanfare, this South Delhi neighbourhood has assembled one of the most impressive concentrations of bars in the entire city.
What Is Malai Baraf? A Unique North Indian Ice Cream Made With Heat
You have probably heard of kulfi. You have almost certainly had ice cream. But there is a good chance you have never encountered Malai Baraf, which is a shame because it is one of the most fascinating things Indian dairy tradition has ever produced. The name translates literally to "cream snow" or "cream ice," which immediately sets up an expectation, and then proceeds to completely upend it. Because Malai Baraf, in its most traditional and authentic form, contains absolutely no ice.
Which Valley Is Known As The Largest Valley In Asia?
Largest Valley in Asia Unsplash The Yangtze River Valley is Asia's largest river valley, spanning over 6,300 km across China It supports nearly 400 million people and has shaped Chinese civilization for millennia The Three Gorges stretch features dramatic cliffs and the world's largest hydroelectric dam Largest Valley in Asia: There are places on this planet that make you reconsider your sense of scale, and the Yangtze River Valley is absolutely one of them.
Delhi NCR's Best New Restaurant Openings To Try In May-June 2026 Original
There are new restaurants, and then there are the ones worth stepping out for. Delhi NCR's May-June 2026 crop of openings falls firmly in the second category. This city has always eaten well, but something feels different right now — the ambition is sharper, the concepts are more considered, and the cooking is quietly getting more serious.
Which City Known As The Honey Capital Of The World'? Original
There is a small city in the American Midwest that has built a legacy most food capitals would envy. Sioux City, Iowa, is not famous for its coastline or its cuisine in the conventional sense. What it is famous for is something far more ancient, far more fascinating, and honestly far more delicious: honey. The city earned the title of the honey capital of the world back in the 1970s, and even today, decades later, Iowa's identity is deeply, beautifully tied to the hive.
8 Hill Stations In India Where You Literally Stand Above The Clouds
Darjeeling offers iconic sunrise views with Kanchenjunga and clouds below at 2,050m altitude Shimla's colonial charm and cedar forests create a unique above-the-cloud experience at 2,200m Mussoorie floats above Doon Valley clouds, accessible and scenic with views at around 2,000m There is a particular kind of magic that happens when you look out of a window or walk to a viewpoint and realise the clouds are not above you, they are drifting quietly below your feet.
Why Borneo Should Be Your Next Wildlife Destination
Borneo offers unique wildlife experiences in ancient rainforests older than the Amazon.
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