12 Comments
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Sarthak Dev's avatar

Love it. If I were to think of a perfect structure for a food essay, this is the template. The sensory elements, the backstory, and the exploration of its origins are lovely additions. Enjoyed reading it!

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Ila Reddy's avatar

Thank you so much! I wish I had more to write about the origins of the dish. I agree that any good food essay should ideally touch upon all these aspects. Food is so much more than what we eat to survive :)

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Uday's avatar

Hey Ila - I am not a non-vegetarian! But I am a big fan of paalakoora pappu:) - fresh with ghee 'popu' or tadka mixed with scalding hot rice and fresh ghee. Heaven :)

This is super good food writing - at no point you let us get distracted. This is picture perfect food writing:)

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Ila Reddy's avatar

Thank you, Uday :) Your comment in itself is great food writing, it made me crave paalakoora pappu with a dollop of ghee instantly :D

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Lankala R Reddy MD, FAAP's avatar

Very well written, could almost taste the food.

We have a Greek restaurant in Atlanta called KYMA ,in Greek translation wave

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Ila Reddy's avatar

Thank you! The restaurant sounds like a nice place. Wish we had Greek restaurants here too, I would love to try Greek food.

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Lankala R Reddy MD, FAAP's avatar

KYMA in Atlanta, the grilled octopus is amazing, the only place better is in Mykonos, fresh from the boat

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Vishal Talreja's avatar

Beautiful. Stories and histories of food have been my recent discovery as I have started to cook myself. This was truly takes you through the ages and almost aching painful that you are yet to discover the origins of this recipe from your grandmother.

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Ila Reddy's avatar

Thank you :) Food, memories, and society are indeed so closely related. It's been a recent discovery for me too, especially reading publications like The Goya Journal. I wish I knew the origin stories of so many other dishes and food items that we take for granted. One dish at a time, I suppose.

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Vishal Talreja's avatar

A friend has recently started a blog on similar lines - https://joinourtabletalk.com/Stories

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Ila Reddy's avatar

Lovely! Thanks for the recommendation :)

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Hitesh Rana's avatar

Foodies will like it

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