In 2016, while living alone in Ahmedabad, Arina Schude became acutely aware of how much food waste was generated in everyday cooking. Shopping and cooking for one often meant dealing with leftovers, spoiled greens, or piles of discarded scraps. This observation marked the beginning of her journey into what she now calls “trash-to-treasure” cooking—a way to rethink how we use ingredients and reduce waste in the kitchen.
It was an invitation to conduct a workshop on reducing kitchen waste that first sowed the seeds for Arina’s experiments. Expecting disinterest, she was surprised by the enthusiasm of the participants—mostly home cooks eager to learn new ways of reusing food creatively. The workshop turned into a lively exchange of traditional and modern methods, reinforcing her belief that no-waste cooking wasn’t a new idea, but a forgotten practice deeply rooted in Indian homes.
Motivated by the experience, Arina began researching waste generated before cooking even began, experimenting with recipes that used every part of an ingredient. Over the next few years, she conducted “trash cooking” workshops across India—in Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru—collaborating with restaurants and cafés.
Her journey eventually led her to write a cookbook published by HarperCollins India, capturing her learnings and recipes from years of experimentation. Through her work, Arina hopes to inspire others to see “waste” not as something to discard, but as an opportunity—to cook smarter, eat better, and care more for the planet.
In this recipe, pea pods are dipped in a light chickpea-and-rice flour batter flavoured with turmeric, chilli, and hing, then fried until golden and crunchy. It’s a simple way to make sure nothing fresh from your kitchen goes to waste.
| Chickpea flour | ½ cup |
|---|---|
| Rice flour | 1 tbsp |
| Turmeric | ½ tsp |
| Red chilli powder | ¼–½ tsp |
| Asafoetida | a pinch |
| Salt | to taste |
| Pea pods | 20 |
| Oil | for frying |
What You Will Need
Mixing bowl; Whisk; Kadhai or deep-frying pan; Slotted spoon; Colander or tray lined with absorbent paper
Instructions
In a bowl, add chickpea flour, rice flour, turmeric, red chilli powder, salt, and hing and mix well. Add water gradually while whisking, to make a smooth, lump-free batter. The consistency should not be too watery, but thick enough to coat the pods evenly. It should be slightly thinner than pancake batter.
To clean the pods, wash them and drain the water well.
Snap the tough stem on either end of each pod and gently peel back to remove the papery, transparent film from the inner wall.
Heat oil in a kadhai or wok. Dip a few pods at a time in the batter and shake off the excess. Drop the pods in the hot oil one at a time and fry on medium-high heat for 2 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
Serve hot. Pairs well with coriander–mint chutney and/ or date–tamarind chutney.
Tips:
- Ensure the pods are completely dry before dipping them in the batter; any moisture will cause the oil to splutter.
- Fry the pods in small batches so the temperature of the oil doesn’t drop—this helps keep the fritters crisp.
- Test the temperature of the oil by dropping a small amount of batter first; it should rise to the surface immediately without browning too quickly.
- Adjust the thickness of the batter with a spoonful of water or flour as needed—it should coat the pods evenly without dripping excessively.
This recipe is from ‘The No-Waste Kitchen Cookbook: 75 Recipes to Begin Your Zero-Waste Journey’ by Arina Suchde published in 2023 (HarperCollins India). Excerpted with permission from the author and the publisher.
Arina Suchde is a Mumbai-based chef, mixologist, and cookbook author with over a decade of experience in the food and beverage industry. Trained in India, London, and New York, she has led workshops, taught in schools, and collaborated widely, championing a kitchen philosophy rooted in creativity and zero-waste cooking.
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