Why hide the papers? Why keep the conspiracy theories related to Netaji Subhas Bose’s death alive? And why deny India the truth about the death of one of its great freedom fighters?
Articles by Vir Sanghvi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: The delicious return of street food
The National Street Food Festival, back after a Covid break, showcased dishes from all 28 states. Stalls were full, showing vendors how much they were missed
Published on Mar 24, 2023 11:48 PM IST
The Taste With Vir: The influence of world's cuisine on India, and vice versa
Indian food abroad is a complex business. We have more regional cuisines than the Italians or even the Chinese.
Published on Mar 21, 2023 01:24 PM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: Dhamaka’s burst of fame
In NYC, reservations at Dhamaka sell out in minutes. Its India pop-up won locals over too. What’s Chintan Pandya’s secret?
Published on Mar 17, 2023 10:46 PM IST
The Taste With Vir: The science of smell in Basmati rice
The more difficult part of the question is: Why does basmati have an aroma, anyway? That’s not easy to answer because it involves science, which was never my subject. But here goes, anyway.
Published on Mar 14, 2023 12:11 PM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: Basmati secrets
Where there is biryani, there is Basmati. India’s fragrant rice is more recent and complex than you think. And it deserves much more
Published on Mar 10, 2023 11:49 PM IST
Taste With Vir: I am no John Legend fan but he wowed audience at Delhi concert
Call it ignorant prejudice on my part, but John Legend's self-satisfied concert manner, like a lounge singer who talks like a slimmed-down Barry White, is actually the antithesis of what I look for when I go to a show.
Updated on Mar 07, 2023 11:26 AM IST
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: Raita time, raita place
This delicious, cooling side dish is unique to North India but different versions of it exist across the world. So, where did it come from?
Published on Mar 03, 2023 08:54 PM IST
The Taste With Vir: The difference between airports in Asia and the West
What is the most important difference between Asian airports and those in the West? Yes, infrastructure is one factor. Most Asian airports are newer and better than European or American airports. But there is something even more significant: Stress levels.
Published on Feb 28, 2023 09:02 AM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: How caviar spread
Why is this delicacy so easily and cheaply available now? What should the good stuff taste like? And how does China fit in?
Published on Feb 24, 2023 07:19 PM IST
The Taste With Vir: Where to eat when in Dubai?
It is possible to eat well in Dubai even if you avoid the international brands. And the city’s own homegrown hotel brand is pretty fabulous too!
Published on Feb 21, 2023 12:09 PM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: Masala in your pasta?
Indian chefs are capable of creating authentic Italian meals. But across the country, diners prefer food with a local, saucy, spicy twist
Published on Feb 17, 2023 08:04 PM IST
The Taste with Vir: Of restaurant explosion in India, celebrity chefs and future
In this week's ‘The Taste’, Vir Sanghvi writes, “At many hotels, chefs who can barely run outlets become executive chefs. At too many restaurants, the chefs do not have the requisite experience but get hired anyway because the demand is so high.”
Updated on Feb 13, 2023 06:12 PM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: Links in the chorise chain
Every culture that makes sausage has some variation of a sausage rice. In Goa, chorise rice (a pulao, really) packs flavour and history
Published on Feb 10, 2023 05:05 PM IST
The Taste With Vir: Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai and the restaurants I loved there
I’ve spent the last fortnight mostly on the road. But what this means is that I have also got to eat at restaurants in three cities. Not all my meals were very good but there were enough enjoyable meals for me to put them into this column.
Published on Feb 07, 2023 10:43 AM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: An egg is all it’s cracked up to be
Indians don’t really bother with the mechanics of the inside of the egg. It’s a pity, because good eggs have much to offer, even to vegetarians
Updated on Feb 04, 2023 12:02 PM IST
The Taste With Vir: Pathaan, boycott calls and its impact on Modi government
Some of the joy that has greeted Pathaan’s success comes from some national desire to make up to Shah Rukh for the way in which he and his family have suffered. We know that Shah Rukh has done nothing wrong: He is just collateral damage in a political and ideological battle.
Updated on Jan 31, 2023 10:23 AM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: Ghost in the shell
Whether you’re biting down on a pani puri, golgappa or phuchka, it’s the puri that elevates the experience
Updated on Jan 28, 2023 01:59 AM IST
The Taste With Vir: How to address a descendent of a former Royal today?
Unlike many people of my generation, I have mixed views on the use of titles. I don’t find it as offensive as some people do to address former royals of a certain age by their titles. But I do get annoyed with people with nothing much to recommend them who flash their titles around.
Updated on Jan 24, 2023 12:24 PM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: Fat is a foodie issue
Science now tells us that all the old warnings about dairy fat were overstated. Start enjoying butter and ghee!
Published on Jan 20, 2023 10:14 PM IST
The Taste With Vir: Travelling to Bangkok? Eat at these mall restaurants
Most times when I am in Bangkok, I eat a reasonably-priced lunch at a mall restaurant and only splash out to have dinner at a proper restaurant. Rarely have I been disappointed. I would recommend that you do the same.
Published on Jan 17, 2023 10:19 AM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: Eating well in Bangkok
I spent New Year in Bangkok
Published on Jan 13, 2023 09:19 PM IST
The Taste With Vir: The Air India incident and the changing mindset
When the news of the horrific incident on an Air India flight from New York first broke, most of us concentrated on the preposterous assault on a fellow passenger’s dignity. How could this man be allowed to get away with it?
Published on Jan 10, 2023 09:03 AM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: It’s time for Gaggan 2.0
All of us know that Gaggan Anand is the world’s greatest Indian chef
Updated on Jan 06, 2023 10:42 PM IST
The Taste With Vir: 20 chefs I enjoyed meeting in 2022
This is not a list of the best chefs. It is just a list of some particularly interesting ones I met last year and those whose food I particularly enjoyed.
Updated on Jan 03, 2023 11:06 AM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: Chicken Tikka Manchurian?
The UK’s beloved Chicken Tikka Masala is as authentically Indian as our Chicken Manchurian is authentically Chinese. And it’s nothing like Butter Chicken
Published on Dec 30, 2022 10:51 PM IST
The Taste With Vir: The lessons I learnt in Kolkata
Indians have got to learn to stop apologising for our food. It’s stupid to Frenchify our presentation, to focus so much on our plating and to lie about our ingredients (why does every menu say lamb even when the meat we eat is goat?) in the hope of appealing to the West.
Updated on Dec 27, 2022 12:20 PM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Travel by Vir Sanghvi: At the desert’s edge
I have been meaning to go to Jaisalmer for two decades now
Published on Dec 23, 2022 11:56 PM IST
The Taste With Vir: To blame or not to blame the Civil Aviation Ministry
One reason why there was overcrowding at Delhi Airport was because airlines would not open enough counters to check in passengers and queues grew to unacceptable levels but is the Civil Aviation Ministry to be blamed for everything that is wrong at airports? Vir Sanghvi shares his opinion
Updated on Dec 20, 2022 10:03 AM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: Relax and enjoy your pasta
Is pasta Alfredo really an Italian dish? Or was it invented in Hollywood? Should you put cream in Spaghetti Carbonara? Or is that a cardinal sin? Is ‘al dente’ the only way to eat pasta? Are people who eat pasta as a side dish boors? Do all of us destroy pasta by putting too much cheese on it?Once upon a time, it was so easy to eat pasta
Published on Dec 17, 2022 12:52 AM IST
The Taste With Vir: Truffle scam in India
All food scams operate on the same basis: Appeal to people who want expensive and desirable ingredients but don’t know much about them. And so, whether it is basmati or truffles, the scamsters will always find no shortage of ignorant marks and rich suckers.
Published on Dec 13, 2022 01:52 PM IST
Vir Sanghvi, Delhi
