Dehradun, Sept. 13 -- Culinary Chronicles

Confessions of a Cosmetic Cook -

Some questions pretend to be small talk. They are not. They are pop quizzes you never signed up for with no multiple choice and a very judgmental examiner.

Twenty-eight years ago I was 23 and still honestly thought that life was a solid strategy. No filter, no editing, no little voice that said maybe just smile and will you check the recipe. Just pure, unpasteurised enthusiasm and a complete lack of self-preservation. At that age you think confidence and competence are the same thing. They are not.

She asked me out of nowhere, "Do you know how to make Pindi Chholey?"

Let's call her the Grand Inquisitor of Legumes. The kind of woman who had made the same dish f...