A passionate Punjabi, born and brought up in Kolkatta and married to a Goan, Mini Ribeiro’s life is infused with tantalising flavours that are a mix of three rich cultures. Be it a simple Rajma Chawal, a flavourful Prawn Curry or scrumptious Machar Jhol, her foodscapes have inspired her to kickstart her new venture – Flavours from Home.
A food blogger and an expert home chef herself, Mini learnt how to cook when she was in school and loved to whip up out-of-the box dishes that weren’t usually prepared by her mom. Mexican cuisine, which is rich in beans and cheese happens to be one of her favourites, but Mini also makes a mean black forest cake that she mastered when she was in the eighth grade.
“While other girls her age would run to pick up the Nancy Drew on the shelf, I would want the new recipe book in the library,” Mini confesses. A die-hard food lover, her endeavours with food started when she was barely 14 and she began to cook looking at different recipe books she would take from her school library. Even today, she prefers to make her own food every single day without any help from a maid. The one ingredient she loves using is garlic. “Garlic really peps the dish up enhancing the flavour. It tastes good in Indian and even Italian dishes, so garlic is my go to ingredient,” Mini reveals.
Mini’s cooking takes inspiration from her mom’s Punjabi tadkas combined with flavours of Kolkatta and fused with Goan spices. A vibrant mix of these three distinct cuisines has made her stand out in the crowd. Her own mom and mom-in-law’s cooking prowess has influenced her to bring together home chefs for her latest venture Flavours from Home that aims to bring together a number of home chefs who have their roots across the country. Every home chef that is part of this event is handpicked by Mini who’s had numerous rounds of food tastings and chat sessions to approach the right candidate with a burning desire to take their talent to the next level.
“I’ve worked really hard to get these people together. Some of whom I got to know through word of mouth, some I discovered through friends and family and many I knew personally due to my endeavours in the food industry,” adds Mini.
Mini painstakingly spent weekend after weekend meeting these chefs, tasting their food and getting to know them better. The one-of-a-kind event that is taking place in Mumbai on February 22 will host home chefs who will prepare their signature traditional dishes ranging from delectable Gujarati, Rajasthani, Sindhi, Punjabi and other traditional dishes that will tickle the taste buds of Mumbaikars. Open to all food lovers who wish to feast on some delicious, home-style traditional food, this is a platform for women to make the most of their talents.
A food consultant, writer and passionate foodie herself, Mini’s attraction to exotic ingredients and unique recipes hasn’t managed to change her all-time favourites, which still are the simple traditional dishes made by her mom. “I love the Prawn Caldine and have actually tried cooking it multiple times to get it right. In fact my mom-in-law who makes it exceptionally well, once said I had outdone her. This meant more than winning an award to me,” she added.
Ask her what’s her idea of a perfect meal and she says it’s one that is prepared with love and affection and enjoyed with family. “It is of course a combination of a good menu, perfect balance and complementing flavours, but most of all it must be prepared with love,” she adds.
Even though she loves to try new recipes that are out of the ordinary, her admiration for authentic traditional cuisine has also been the reason the concept of the food mela is based on traditional Indian recipes. Mini says, “Young cooks today relish traditional food but do not know how to make those dishes because of lack of authentic recipes. I want the recipes to be passed down to younger generations that can enjoy them too.”
Flavours from Home will create a platform for people to appreciate traditional Indian delicacies and if it is a success Mini would love to take it to other cities of India discovering more talented home chefs like these.
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