I'm Debjani - the author and designer of this blog. I'm a daughter, sister and wife. I'm from Allahabad (India), which is known for its university and religious significance. Being the eldest child I learned a lot of things at a young age and one of them is cooking. My Mummum (grandma) used to live with us and this gave my parents the advantage to leave me and my sister behind with her whenever they were going on short trips. This was the time when I was the boss. It was so much fun spending all the time in the kitchen cooking whatever we liked. Of course Mummum used to keep an eye on me and supervise wherever required.
The first few dishes, which I learned, were all Bengali comfort foods - rice, dal (lentils), potato fry and roti (flatbread). This experience gave me an edge when I later moved to Delhi to work. I never faced the problem of going to sleep on an empty stomach. I wasn't a great cook but I always enjoyed my cooking.
I came to the United States after my marriage and was immediately attracted to this idea of learning different cuisines. American food is very different from Indian food. I started trying new recipes and thought of compiling them in a cookbook. I worked on my cookbook for more than a year then realized it was missing the element of personal touch. I wanted to add stories and memories and change the presentation so I decided to redesign it.
I gained a lot of weight a few years back. I used to eat whatever I like whenever I liked without thinking twice about the calories and the result on my health. I had to do rigorous dieting and exercising to lose my weight. I then realized that it's equally important to eat salads, fruits and vegetables to maintain a healthy body. Also good food tastes even better when it's eaten occasionally.
The idea behind the name- ‘Life Without Alu’ is simple. Alu means potato in Bengali, which is my mother tongue. It is also one of my favorite vegetables. In addition, it also greatly suits my current eating regime. I'm on a carb free diet now a days in order to stay fit and so I have improvised on a lot of recipes. However, this cookbook is not all about healthy cooking. Rather, this cookbook will have all those recipes for which I crave all the time, and so do you. I have also included some Indian comfort food recipes, which are easy to make, and are delicious.
I'm an Aquarius so independence is in my nature. I'm funny and unconventional. I believe I should do one creative thing every day - should learn something new every day. Cooking gives me happiness and I'm sure you will enjoy this cookbook as much as I enjoyed writing it for you.
More about me later! Welcome to my world of Life Without Alu.
This photo has been featured on LensCulture Portrait Awards 2019. LensCulture reviews competitions and resources for photographers and recommend the best ones.
Awards include an exhibition at Aperture Gallery in New York, International Photo Festival Projections, massive exposure to International Press and their global online audience of three million, publication in The Best of LensCulture - Volume 4, and much more!
The below recipes have been featured on the #sharphomeusa instagram account.
The below recipe has been featured on the #glassofwineforme instagram account.
I am also a proud contributor of Google Local Guides - Level 6 (#googlelocalguides)
Hey All! I got the invitation to apply for the Connect Live 2019 conference. This is for the Google Local Guides who are level 5 and above. The conference is at one of my favorite places - California!!
My topic was about my favorite place and what makes it special 🙂🙂 so naturally I thought of my hometown back in India - Allahabad
#letsguide #localguidesconnect #lifewithoutalu
I always decorate my kitchen with photos of my own homemade cooked/ baked food items. This time Debarshi presented me with a printed collage of all my favorite dishes along with my brand - Life Without Alu? Thanks sweetheart for this fabulous gift 🙂
Thank you everyone for liking, sharing and reposting my recipes.
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