cooking

 The Dish That Defines My Childhood: A Taste of My Roots   Some of it you have to smell and taste. It smells like the Masoor dal boiling on the stovetop, or garlic and jeera ready to hit the hot ghee waiting to temper. The dish that epitomizes childhood. There’s nothing fancy about it, and you won’t find it on a restaurant’s Spacial menu. but in our Home,  it was everything. Growing Up with Masoor Dal   A middle class Maharashtrian family brought me into this world in the city of  Pune.           We didn’t eat out much. She would cook every meal that was made with love and what was on her hands at the moment in the kitchen. Though one constant in my meals was for sure, Masoor dal with steaming hot rice (which we call dal – bhaat).  Gosh, it was simple: Then add just red lentils, a pinch of hing and a little salt as well as turmeric powder. But when the Tadka (ghee with garlic, cumin seeds, dry red chillies) is added to t...