Column: The Good Life: for Mint Lounge
Samosas for Financial Times Weekend
Searching for the best Indian snacks By Shoba Narayan Published: June 6 2009 02:22 | Last updated: June 6 2009 02:22 For your last meal on earth, what dish would you pick? Caviar, foie gras, fish and chips, pasta ... I’ve heard it all. Faced with such a difficult choice, my answer is unequivocal: the humble samosa. Samosas, for those who don’t know, are a much-loved Indian snack. Triangular and deep-fried, the parcels usually have a savoury filling. But this bald description does them no justice. Samosas are sublime, though among its many fans opinions vary enormously about what constitutes [...]
For Washington Post on Indian Safaris
The wildlife you see on safari in North India
Goa | Condenast Traveler US |
Once a hippie haven where even India's tightly chaperoned teens could turn on, tune in, and drop out, Goa has lately gone upscale. Living in a trading port for the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Europeans meant that Goans were forced to interact with the outside world far earlier than the average Indian. This has made them friendly but not overly curious about foreigners.
Grains of Tradition for Gourmet magazine
SHOBA NARAYAN GRAINS OF TRADITION 09.11.08 In India, where I grew up, rice gains mystical—even mythological—proportions. It is the first food that we Indians eat and often our last. My grandfather passed away after swallowing a spool full of rice gruel, or kanji, as we call it. I honor my ancestors by offering rice balls speckled with black sesame seeds to crows (who are believed to carry the souls of the deceased). Rice coated with turmeric is sprinkled on newlyweds as a confetti-like blessing; cooked rice with a dollop of ghee is offered to gods as prasad before a meal. In [...]
Scuba Diving Lakshadweep | Condenast Traveler US |
I don't want to write about this place. Few people know of it; fewer still visit. Perhaps that's the way it should be. In this rapidly shrinking world, there ought to be somewhere that remains remote, even obscure; set apart in space and time; offering the promise of mystery, the romance of discovery. Lakshadweep—the name comes out in a sigh.
For Gourmet magazine on Florida
Every year for the past 15 years I have been coming to Southwest Florida. I have family here. More important, at least for my kids, this is Disney country. Orlando and Busch Gardens beckon from one end and Rum Runners from the other-- I drink the Rum and my kids do the rides. All around are towns with musical names that reek of Native American history, Americana and coastal living: Thonotosassa, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers and Naples. The Caloosahatchee River cuts a warm swath through the land attracting fisherman who catch red fish, snook, trout, and tarpon. Boats [...]
For Gourmet magazine on yoga
SHOBA NARAYAN KEY NOTES: SHREYAS YOGA RETREAT, INDIA 09.10.07 Step through the gates of this lush retreat and you could be anywhere. Outside is the cacophony of India, inside, all you hear is the humming of birds. The scent of wild herbs (lemongrass, basil, thyme and sage) permeates the air. The dècor follows the Zen Balinese aesthetic that seems to be the rage all over Asia. Dark wood, infinity pool, a profusion of flowers, minimal furnishings, and the occasional understated Buddha-head or brass lamp: it could be Bali or Phuket. Set up by an investment banker based in London, Shreyas [...]
Taj CC Africa: Tiger Lodges. For Gourmet magazine
Would you pay a $1000 to spot a tiger? The Taj Group is betting you would. The India-based luxury hotel chain has tied up with CC Africa to establish 10 wilderness lodges throughout India. Four are already open. The facilities are first-class. 12 cottages each with a private courtyard, open shower and best of all, air conditioning. 5 staff per guest ensures that requests are fulfilled almost before they are vocalized. The ethnic chic décor harks back to a time and place that is the stuff of dreams: hand-plastered mud walls, rough-hewn beam ceilings, ceramic roof tiles and furnishings in [...]
Mozaic Restaurant, Bali. For Gourmet magazine
We couldn't get reservations at Mozaic during our first visit to Bali. It was the lean season and we were just two cuoples, but they were fully booked, they told us. The next time, we made reservations right after booking our airline tickets. Like most high-end restaurants today, Mozaic is both global and local. The décor-- tropical plants, rattan-and-bamboo chairs, silk upholstry, stone sculptures of Hindu Gods-- is Balinese. The culinaire and cook-shop near the foyer could masquerade for a hip boutique in the Meatpacking district. In the open kitchen, American chef-owner, Chris Salans barks orders in Balinese, swears in [...]
Mama Lil’s Pickles: for Gourmet magazine
Mama Lil's pickles Shoba Narayan Ten years ago, Howard Lev, then a screenwriter, drove across the Cascade Mountains from Seattle to the Yakima Valley on a camping trip. At Kruegar Farms in Wapato, Washington, he discovered some Hungarian goathorn peppers that tasted even better than the ones his Jewish mother from Rumania had been pickling in Youngstown, Ohio for as long as he could remember. The Valley's combination of hot days and cool nights elongated the growing season, producing firm peppers that turned from yellow to orange to red. "When you get all these colors together in a jar, it [...]