From our kitchen diary

Good things to read

Small essays on Maharashtrian sweets, the festivals they belong to, and the traditions behind them. Written the way we cook, slowly and with care.

Ukdiche modak and golden laddus arranged as an offering on a brass plate, a marigold flower beside them

Featured20 July 20267 min readGanesh Chaturthi Sweets and Prasad: Why Does Bappa Love the Modak, and Why 21 on the Plate?Why does Bappa love the modak? Why exactly 21 on the naivedya plate? And how did a family puja become one of the world's biggest street festivals, starting in Pune? The sweets of Ganesh Chaturthi, with their stories told properly.Read the piece →

Round peanut and jaggery laddus on a brass plate beside roasted peanuts and a chunk of jaggery

14 September 20265 min readShengdana Laddu: How Did a Nut from Brazil End Up on the Upvas Plate?The peanut is not from here. It came across the sea on a ship, before Shivaji Maharaj was born, and walked straight into the strictest tradition we have. The story of how a foreigner became the laddu a fasting day runs on.

Besan roasting in ghee in an iron kadhai, a wooden spatula mid-⁠stir

5 August 20265 min readThe Smell of Besan Roasting: What Does a Slow Flame Change Inside a Laddu?Every Maharashtrian home knows the moment. Besan meets hot ghee, and within minutes the whole house knows laddus are coming. What actually happens in that kadhai, why it cannot be hurried, and how to tell a patient laddu from a rushed one.

Dink and methi laddus in a steel dabba beside a soft baby blanket

5 August 20266 min readDink and Methi Laddus for New Mothers: Maharashtra's Baalantin TraditionWhen a daughter comes home to her maher with a newborn, someone's first thought is still the same: the laddus must be made. The story of the baalantin laddu, a quiet custom of care that every Maharashtrian family recognises.

Laddus stored in a traditional steel dabba with the lid half open

5 August 20265 min readHow Long Do Homemade Laddus Stay Good? An Honest Storage GuideNo preservatives, no cold storage, and yet a well-⁠made laddu keeps for weeks. The honest shelf life of every laddu we make, from our kitchen's own experience, and the simple storage habits that make the difference.

Six laddus in two rows on a brass tray, on linen over a dark wooden table

5 August 20266 min readWhich Laddu for Whom: An Honest Guide to All Six of OursSix laddus, six personalities. The classic, the soft one, the strong one, the winter one. A guide to matching our laddus to the people you are buying them for, whether that is an elder, a child, or yourself.

Besan laddus arranged on a brass plate beside a lit diya

20 July 20266 min readWhy Do Laddus Sit at the Heart of Every Maharashtrian Festival? Diwali Faral to Ganpati PrasadThe laddu is older than you think. An ancient physician rolled the first one, and kings wrote it into their encyclopedias. The story of why this small round sweet anchors every Maharashtrian celebration.

A Diwali faral spread of laddus, chakli, chivda and karanji on brass plates

20 July 20267 min readDiwali Faral Guide: What Goes in the Box, and Why?Faral comes from phalahara, a word that once meant fasting fare. How did it become the name of the most generous spread of the Marathi year? The Diwali faral box, its thousand-⁠year-⁠old festival and everything in it, item by item.

Nachani, methi and dink laddus on a linen cloth with ragi and fenugreek seeds

20 July 20266 min readNachani, Methi and Dink Laddu: The Winter Laddus Maharashtrian Grandmothers Swore ByLong before anyone said superfood, a Maharashtrian grandmother could look at the season, look at you, and know which laddu to roll. The tradition behind nachani, methi and dink laddus, from three-⁠thousand-⁠year-⁠old Deccan millet to a winter rule the old Ayurvedic texts wrote down.