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#DalDivas by Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal

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Thursday, 25th January 2018?, has been proposed as #DalDivas by Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal?, prominent food blogger and consultant from Mumbai, as part of her ongoing series called Indian Food Observance Days.

Thursday, 25th January 2018, has been proposed as #DalDivas by Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, prominent food blogger and consultant from Mumbai, as part of her ongoing series called Indian Food Observance Days commemorating popular traditional and cultural food practices of the country. As part of the celebrations, Rushina plans to reach out to all food lovers across the country to pay an enthusiastic tribute to their favourite version of the humble dal across all their social media channels. On #DalDivas, Rushina will host a potluck party at the APB Cook Studio with invitations going out to known regional food experts who will showcase local variants of Dals from their regions.


About #DalDivas
Dals find their place in the kitchens of every Indian household and are a go-to food for most of us. From the evergreen dal-rice combination, to making dosas or pancakes, to patudis in Garhwal, dal is an integral part of the Indian cuisine and yet it is taken for granted. On #DalDivas we want to celebrate and honour this essential ingredient and document the different kind of dal preparations that are made across the country.
People who wish to participate will be encouraged to explore, discuss, and cook traditional and regional dal recipes of India by doing one or more of the following:
1. Make their family’s signature dal, document the recipe, and share it with friends and family via social media.
2. Dig up old cookbooks and cook-up an heirloom or long forgotten recipe.
3. Learn to make a new dal from another community of India.
4. Gather their friends and host a #DalDivas potluck party.
5. Have a dal exchange with their neighbours, relatives or friends such that everyone makes at least
one signature dal and gets other dals to taste and enjoy.
6. Those who can’t cook, can share pictures, videos or stories and favourite memories of dals they
have seen/eaten.
7. Chefs, restaurants and/or food outlets, can run a #DalDivas special by making and serving
unusual dal which can then become interesting stories for patrons to share on their social media platforms.


About Indian Food Observance Days
Indian Food Observance Days are an attempt to promote & support traditional Indian ingredients, dishes, food-ways and recipes with the goal of these foods gaining international recognition in years to come. The idea is to celebrate them online as well as encourage offline, ground events for people to come together and celebrate. Around the globe, there are special observance days celebrated, dedicated to food. These ‘food days’ pay tribute to foods and dishes and ingredients. And yet, India, despite being home to a rich culinary tradition, has not made its mark on this front. As a member of the Indian food fraternity and proponent of Indian culinary heritage, Rushina took it on herself to ask people to come together and celebrate some much loved and revered Indian foods with days dedicated to them.
Rushina says, “Indian traditional culinary practices evolved and transformed over time as our cuisine evolved. Ingredients, their uses, cooking methods, food combinations, a seasonal food calendar, Indian dietetics, and dining etiquette have all been built into a system of traditional practices with a sound reason behind them. But we are losing touch with them. Indian Food Observance Days suggested by me follow the Indian seasonal food calendar. Pickles would have been put down in April, masalas would be ground in May, mutton would be eaten in the winter. A day dedicated to any of these means, we will stop and make that pickle or grind that masala like our predecessors would have and follow a cycle that’s existed for centuries! I love the idea of coming together around food. These days will make us stop to think about
For Immediate Release something we love to eat or someone that cooks for us, something we can savour...and it makes us smile.”

About Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal
Rushina is a published author, columnist, gastronome, menu consultant, food historian and teacher with more than 15 years of experience in the Indian food industry. Her first book, “A Pinch of This, A Handful of That”, has won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award in 2014.
Rushina runs A Perfect Bite Consulting LLP, a firm devoted to designing culinary experiences for brands and consumers through creative content, events and workshops. She operates out of APB Cook Studio, her state-of-the-art kitchen in Mumbai, where she experiments, curates, designs and develops new ideas around food and food products.
For more details about Dal Divas, the Indian Food Observance Days, or Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, please call us on 022-42152799 or email us at info@apbcookstudio.com