Vernika Awal
Deputy Editor
I met Chef Manish Mehrotra in early December at his acclaimed New Delhi restaurant, To say that it is cold right now across the northern Indian belt is essentially an understatement. The upper half of our country is presently living through a deep wave of cold, so naturally, we’re looking at every nook and corner, searching for warmth of any kind that we can find.
It is in one such quests that it suddenly dawned on me — why have we not switched to thukpa yet?
I don’t quite remember how old I was when I first had thukpa — growing up in a hill town, a steaming bowl of noodles, with flavoursome noodles soaked in it, was almost part of our regular fare. Over time, I realised that the thukpa is of deep significance to Tibet.
In one such conversation this week, I speak to Doma Wang, the rather mercurial ‘momo queen’ of the City of Joy, who explain to us what thukpa truly means to Tibet. There’s a wee bit of surprise in it too about the thukpa, which you’d realise is not just meant for winters.
Speaking of the flavours of the Orient and of winters, we pay a visit this week to Cho — for one of the most beautifully kept terraces of Delhi. Savour the true joys of the winters of the city’s capital, while diving into a splendid bowl of pho. Could it get any more of winter celebrations?
As it so happens, there still are more avenues. This week, we visit Azerbaijan, where we find a striking resemblance to the city of Kolkata — in terms of their conjoined love for tea (which also does not involve milk)! The deep-rooted cultural significance of tea, in myriad flavours, is absolutely profound and enjoyable — in a winter season when the hot drink can be enjoyed the most.