Ishani Banerjee - The Locavore

Books on Food

Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal on why chutney in India goes beyond one singular condiment

July 3, 2026
Ishani Banerjee

Chutney: A Compendium of Stories and Recipes (2025), comprises 230-plus chutneys, covering nearly every state and major culinary tradition in India. All photos courtesy of Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal.

Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal shares the process of mapping chutneys across India for her recent book, how they are born out of geography and practicality as much as for flavour, and why despite their ubiquity, chutneys are often sidelined in formal culinary conversations.

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Inside My Kitchen

At Kashmere Gate’s Durga Pujo, Mutton Biryani and Korma are Always on the Menu

October 28, 2025
Ishani Banerjee

At the Kashmere Gate Durga Pujo, meaty delicacies are cooked over wood fire. Photos by Ishani Banerjee, unless otherwise specified.

The capital city’s oldest Durga Pujo brings Old Delhi’s expert bawarchis to cook up a storm in a school playground.

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Pumpkin Flower Fritter Salad

June 12, 2025
Ishani Banerjee

This seasonal salad reimagines pumpkin flower fritters along with cooling vegetables and a sharp mustard-curd dressing.

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Desserts and Mithai

Patishapta

February 24, 2025
Ishani Banerjee

Every year, the arrival of the harvest festival brings the sweet aroma of Patishapta, a traditional Bengali dessert, to Ishani Banerjee's home.The recipe for this simple delicacy, passed down over generations, represents rich, nuanced familial ties and maternal love.

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