Chicken is easy to cook, cheap, widely available and forbidden by no major religious belief system. So its popularity across India is unsurprising. However, the reality is often distasteful, as battery farmed chickens are raised in terrible conditions, and pumped with hormones and antibiotics. In this episode of The Real Food Podcast, Vikram Doctor finds out how we can access better chicken and speaks to legendary chef Ananda Solomon on a successful experiment he ran to get superior quality chickens. Music credit: Josh Woodward

The Real Food Podcast

#44: Is Chicken Just Non-Veg Paneer?

The winter holiday season is upon us. More Indians are travelling abroad with great regularity. As a lot of these people are vegetarians and it is difficult for them to find food that is suitable for them. Many travellers come up with ingenious ways to deal with the situation and a whole industry is developing to cater to their needs. In this episode Vikram Doctor sheds light on how vegetarians manage in places that are not particularly vegetarian friendly. Music Credit: Josh Woodward

#43: (Indian) Vegetarians vs. The World.

In some regions of India, bread is an important part of the local cuisine. Mumbai’s most iconic street foods are vada pao and pao bhaji. In both Goa and Kashmir, locally baked fresh bread is a daily staple. When Chef Floyd Cardoz from Mumbai, a partner at the fantastic Bombay Canteen, set up a new restaurant in New York, he called it Paowalla. But often, the bread in our homes is not traditional bread but factory-made and pumped with preservatives to make it last longer and look whiter. In this episode of The Real Food Podcast, Vikram Doctor talks about the need to return to traditional forms of baking, which produce much healthier and tastier bread. Music Credit: Josh Woodward

#42: Pao-er to the People

Seen as old fashioned and rustic, jaggery is fast becoming a forgotten product. It survives mostly as a health food recommended by Ayurveda experts or as a nostalgic throwback to the yesteryears in middle class homes. In this episode, Vikram Doctor tells us about India’s long connection with jaggery in an attempt to revive our love for it. But the problem is not just the falling demand; even the production of jaggery has become increasingly difficult due to a lack of water and skilled labour. Music Credit: Josh Woodward

#41: Gur - The Original Candy

From giant customised cakes for politicians’ birthdays to wedding cakes for not just Christian weddings, logo shaped cakes to celebrate a team’s win to heart shaped cupcakes on Valentine’s Day, cakes once seen as ‘western’ have now become a norm at Indian celebrations. With eggless cakes, cakes that don’t need an oven and even cakes made using idli batter, adapting to local conditions has played a major role in this change. Music Credit: Josh Woodward

#40: Cakes - From Birthday Parties to Political Parties

Creating something new out of what is in your fridge from previous days can be a fine art. With a little creativity in the kitchen, leftovers from last night’s dinner can be magically transformed into something delicious and unrecognisable the next day. In this episode Vikram Doctor speaks to chefs who have been creating iconic dishes from leftovers and argues that neither our prejudices nor our ability to afford not to should get in the way of recycling food, a delicate art that we might lose in our hurry to throw away what we believe we don’t need any more. Music Credit: Josh Woodward

#39: Fighting the War on Waste with Leftovers

Parle G is not only the largest selling biscuit in the world but is also synonymous with the category it represents. It is an affordable snack for the poorest, a weaning food for small babies and a dessert base for those looking for a nostalgia fix. Parle G was the unchallenged hero of the biscuit business and Britannia had to enlist the help of a super-villain to take on its might. In this episode of The Real Food Podcast, Vikram Doctor tells us the story of India’s most iconic biscuit brand. Music Credits: Josh Woodward

#38: The Billion Packs a Month Biscuit

Gin is one of the smoothest of all alcoholic drinks and supposedly the easiest to make. In India we have a history with gin since it was a favourite of the British Raj (which also led to the quinine infused tonic water, to help them fight malaria). However gin has never quite caught on in contemporary India, either because of its perception as a ‘ladies drink’ or due to a sheer lack of options. In this episode, Vikram Doctor traces the history of gin and looks at its possible renaissance as a ‘hipster drink’. Music Credit: Josh Woodword

#37: No #AccheDin for Gin?

Many of us would have seen old copper or brass vessels packed away at home and wondered why we don't use them anymore. While they have authenticity, most of these vessels were difficult to use as well as maintain. When an option came along that was easy to use, and even easier to clean, it's no surprise that everyone switched to using stainless steel. But is newer and simpler always better? Music Credit: Josh Woodward

#36: Stainless Steel Kitchens, Iron Clad Memories

The first dark clouds and a drizzle sends us into raptures about chai and pakodas every monsoon. But is fried besan just a substitute for the lack of fresh vegetables? Have we forgotten the other foods that are also a part of the seasonal cuisine? One way of dealing with the monsoon is to stock up on the non – perishable food or is there another option. Vikram Doctor suggests we cook with what is naturally available nearby and save the pakodas for the occasional treat. Music Credit: Josh Woodword

#35: Monsoon Foods of Western India

Does it seems too hard to get a perfect brew right at home? Is there too much technology and process involved in grinding and brewing? Matt Chitharanjan from Blue Tokai Brewing Company says, “The thing about coffee is that you can make it as simple or as complex as you want”. Join The Real Food Podcast as it talks about coffee trends and demystifies the intricate details of the perfect cup of coffee.

#34: Great Coffee Made Easy

The British phone-hacking scandal that rocked the UK a few years back uncovered an unlikely (and highly delicious) detail — that Queen Elizabeth II was furious about the police on duty at her palace polishing off her favourite snack — the Bombay mix! Whether the ‘Bombay mix’ in the UK or ‘Slangetjies’ in South Africa or ‘Bhuja Mix’ in Australia —the modest chivda is truly global. In this episode Vikram Doctor on the chivda, which is a tea-time nibble for some and a source of sustenance on foreign trips for others, but with its varieties and regional improvisations, it is truly a national and increasingly international favourite. Music credit Josh Woodward

#33: Chivda — From the Shahs to the Queen

No one cares about dal, unless it makes the news for the wrong reasons. As the prices of tur, moong and urad see a shocking price increase, the governments of Maharashtra and Punjab are raiding traders for hoarding dal. But parochialism may be partly to blame – we’re so accustomed to a specific type of dal we’re willing to pay higher prices for imported dal rather than consider cheaper, local alternatives. In this episode, we explore dal and its colonial history, regional-emotional connect and the man-made substitute ‘dal analogue’. Music by Josh Woodward

#32: Pulse of the People

Named after the East India Company, the Catholic community of East Indians are native to Mumbai and have guarded their recipes of bottle-masala for decades. These spice-mixes are a blend of a long list of ingredients, pounded and packed into old beer bottles and can conveniently create complex flavours with minimum fuss. Bottle Masala is also a way the East Indians created a distinction between their cuisine and those of other Christian communities across India. Real Food takes us into the heart of this feisty community that loves to eat but doesn’t like sharing its recipes. Music by Josh Woodward

#31: Feast of the East (Indians)

Summers in India are synonymous with spontaneous trips to the nearest hill station— a much-needed respite when the temperature of the plains and coastal regions crosses a sweltering 40º celcius. And those trips have etched long walks, energizing treks and watching the sunset in the Indian consciousness— along with a constant craving for the signature desserts of those regions. Vikram Doctor takes us on a trip this summer, not only telling us about the rich history of Mussoorie, Ooty and Lonavala—and the delicious delights their small bylanes and crowded streets offer; but we also go back in time, to our own childhoods. Music by Josh Woodward

#30: How Hill Stations gave India its Sweet Tooth

If you have an adventurous palate, join Vikram Doctor every fortnight as he indulges in his appetite for the stories of food. Taste the origins, legends and practical magic of ingredients and recipes that range from the everyday to the extraordinary. Through ancestral kitchens, gourmet restaurants, exotic vegetable farms, modern agriculturists, heirloom aficionados... One of India’s most respected food writers has been there, eaten that and knows that there is no love more sincere than the love of food.

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The Real Food Podcast

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