Nandita Godbole

Interview:
It is 1920s Kolhapur. Ratanlal and Shanta have been on the run for many days and finally find boarding for the night at the home of a flower vendor. Their meal at night is a simple misal-matki (stew of moth beans) cooked down with onions and spices redolent with the heat of black pepper, the nuttiness of dried coconut and the meaty aroma of dagad-phool (lichen) and bhakri (flatbread made of millets). There’s buttermilk and jaggery to wash down the spice..." Read more in the article.

Interview:

It was only when Nandita Godbole began tracing her family’s story that she realized how much she did not know about her background. “When I was growing up in India, we would visit my dad’s parents a couple times a year... There was never really any talk about [my grandmother’s] heritage,” Godbole, a food writer who has written two cookbooks, told NBC News. “I started thinking about her because I didn’t know anything about her...." Read more in article.

A quick overview of an artist residency award at the prestigious Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts (Maine). This award was an all-expense paid 10-day residency at Watershed, to explore the intersection of food and ceramic arts, and to be a peer to 15 young artists attending the residency at the same time. The reel includes snapshots of my time there. Some significant moments are captured in additional photos included here.

A quick BTS snapshot into my journey over the past 15 years to the making of my award-winning cookbook, Masaleydaar: Classic Indian Spice Blends (2023).

On July 8, Chai Pani Decatur welcomed entrepreneur, author, and chef Barkha Cardoz for a special pop-up dinner celebrating her debut cookbook, With Love & Masalas. Hosted by Chef Meherwan Irani, the evening brought together food lovers and community members for a heartfelt culinary experience. Read more here.

As UC Berkeley prepares for its annual commencement celebrations, families and friends will gather to honor their graduates’ achievements. What better way to continue the celebration than with a memorable meal? Just steps from campus, Berkeley’s vibrant dining scene offers a mix of historic landmarks and global flavors, each reflecting the city’s deep ties to diverse cultures, communities, and its spirit of innovation.

PROFILE:

"From the coastal kitchens of Vasai to diaspora homes in Atlanta, women like Regina Pereira and Nandita Godbole are preserving age-old Indian spice traditions through handwritten recipes, heritage cookbooks, and nuanced adaptations for modern palates....

For them, spice blends are not just ingredients. They are memory, ritual, healing, and home. Whether in a quiet Mumbai suburb or across the seas in Atlanta, these matriarchs, daughters, and documentarians are honoring age-old practices while adapting them — lovingly — for the now."

Indian pizza is where butter chicken cozies up to mozzarella, tikka masala is the DJ, and your taste buds dance the bhangra. It's where East meets West in the most Bollywood way possible. This deep cut cultural classic is a beloved tradition among cross continental Indians. Name an L.A. neighborhood, and there will be a desi pizzeria within a short drive.

Personal Essay:
Leisure: For the Love of Theater
The sudden appearance in Atlanta of a beloved character and actor from my childhood in Mumbai led to a wonderful evening out and a precious ride down memory lane.

Interviewed for article by Lauren Hughes: Cocktails are somewhat of an art form, from carefully crafting the right ingredients to using elaborate presentation techniques.

Good cocktails can elevate a dinner party, or make an event feel really special. Making them at home can be challenging, but the right tools and a little expert advice can really help.

The southeast is well-known for its love affair with all things pie, and greater Atlanta’s pie scene takes center stage with a citywide celebration of global flavors.
The story of pies in the South dates back to the late 1700s when German, Irish, and Scottish immigrants arrived, drawn by the booming cotton and farming industries. They brought their rich culinary traditions with them, introducing fried pies and savory meat-filled pastries to a landscape already abundant with preparations like ...

What Is Umami? 12 Foods with Umami You’ll Want to Try.

Before I plunged into writing cookbooks, I used to host secret suppers – dinner parties of a dozen strangers, for one evening a month, for an authentic, multicourse Indian meal.
One of the great joys for me, as the mastermind behind our shenanigans, was creating a menu that allowed the layers of flavor to develop over the course of the meal: from mild to moderate to spicy, from lightly sweet to decadent, creating a tiered ‘progressive’ dinner. We took a journey without ever leaving the venue....

Consulted and quoted heavily in article on how to shop at an international market.

Consulted & quoted heavily in article on Masala Chai in an article syndicated from Consumer Reports.