Reviving lost Indian recipes; A chef with a ‘Sindhi heart and soul’

Hello,

CSK’s collapse will go down in history.

After being eliminated by the Punjab Kings earlier this week, the five-time champions have been licking their wounds. And some, like Aaron Finch, are calling out their ineffective strategies, like opting to bowl first against RCB and benching promising players.

IPL 2025 has been full of high-stakes drama, whether it’s CSK’s Sam Curran clashing with PBKS fans or Shubhman Gill’s controversial run-out. And the use of tech adds more flair than you realise.

This year, IPL production took an exciting turn with the introduction of a robotic dog with a mounted camera. Designed by Boston Dynamics, it films behind-the-scenes moments.

And with cross-border tensions escalating, IPL has introduced Vajra Super Shot. Manufactured by Big Bang Boom Solutions, it is an anti-drone system developed to detect the movement of unauthorised drone activity and aerial threats in real-time.

Beyond tech, IPL is making a significant difference on the main street, especially when it comes to SMEs. While local retailers benefit from the sale of merchandise, IPL also creates short-term employment in marketing and the gig economy, to name a few.

However, an IISc professor has made the case for taxing the IPL, saying the proceeds could be redirected to fund research and innovation in India.

What do you think?

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Reviving lost Indian recipes
• A chef with a ‘Sindhi heart and soul’
• Introducing whiskey from the Northeast

Here’s your trivia for today: Where was the world’s first feature-length film shot?

Wine and Food

Reviving lost Indian recipes

A growing crop of hotels and restaurants are organising pop-ups and integrating lesser-known recipes into their menu. 

Prizing heritage recipes is one of the ways in which Indians are paying tribute to their larger cultural heritage across regions, says food columnist, author, culinary historian, curator and analyst, Anoothi Vishal. 

Back to the roots:

• “Our team of chefs have spent weeks on ground in various parts of the North researching recipes, ingredients, culinary techniques, and more. We see these recipes as time capsules; each one carries the stories of forgotten homes, communities, and geographies,” says Loya’s Rajesh Wadhwa. 
• At the Royal Heritage Haveli in Jaipur, the culinary experience ‘Lost Recipes of the Khatipura Kitchen’ features recipes from Chef Shambhavi Singh’s grandmother’s time at the haveli—dishes that carry stories of celebration, seasons, and rituals. 
• Srinivasulu A, Brand Chef at Delhi-based Indian restaurant Chor Bizarre believes reviving ‘lost recipes’ is as much about spotlighting sustainable cooking methods as it is about the ingredients. 

Wine and Food

A chef with a ‘Sindhi heart and soul’

At an early age, chef Vicky Ratnani was drawn to the smell and taste of food. His mother and aunts would cook well, which he believes got him “interested in eating well.”

Although most of his life was spent around foreign shores—working on ocean liners and cruise ships, and mingling with as many as 37 different nationalities—his heart lies in Sindhi food. 

Sindhi by nature:

• “Sindhi food hasn't been customised into a restaurant format. I believe it takes some experience and aptitude on how to package it. Even menu engineering and storytelling play an important role,” says Ratnani.  
• Ratnani’s vision is to have family recipes as well as research-backed dishes on the menu, covering food that is also eaten by the population in Pakistan. “I want to do something ambitious, which is both family and history-related,” he says.
• At Omny Kitchen in Gurugram, there’s ‘The Burger Project By Vicky Ratnani’ where he elevates the classic burger with innovative combinations—say the Jammu Tawi burger, featuring Jammu Kalari cheese. 

Wine and Food

Introducing whiskey from the Northeast

Radiant Manufacturers is creating a space for itself, operating from the Karbi Anglong district in Assam. 

The alcobev company, which boasts of products including a selection of wines, coffee rum, gins, and India’s only 100% corn whiskey, recently unveiled Infamous Rebel Whiskey, a double blend, double barrel blended scotch that has the potential to put it on the national map.

Cheers from Northeast:

• Infamous Rebel combines pot-distilled Indian single malt sourced from Jammu, grain Scotch obtained from the Scottish Highlands, and corn spirit from Assam to create a full-bodied whiskey that rests its sweetness on the palate.
• Made in 3-year, 5-year, and 7-year variants, it’s first matured in ex-bourbon casks from Jack Daniels Old No. 7 and then in an Olorose sherry cask, leaving it with fruity undertones and a nutty aroma.
• Beyond White Magic gin, Vinho Porto wines, and Lost Treasure coffee rum, the company got its first taste of distinction with Castle Hill Dark Knight whiskey, introduced in 2013.

News & updates

• Trade and tariffs: Warren Buffett criticised US President Donald Trump’s hardline trade policy, without naming him directly, saying it’s a big mistake to slap punitive tariffs on the rest of the world. “Trade should not be a weapon,” Buffett said at Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholder meeting.
• Partnership: Apple is working with AI company Anthropic to build a new software platform to write, test, and edit code for developers using generative AI. Bloomberg describes this upcoming platform as a “vibe-coding” tool, and it could mark a major shift in how developers work within Apple’s ecosystem.
• Offloading: State Bank of India plans to raise $3 billion through new shares this fiscal year, marking the first equity raising by the state lender in seven years. Net income at the country’s biggest lender fell 9.9% to $2.2 billion in the three months through March, from a year earlier.

Where was the world’s first feature-length film shot?

Answer: The Story of the Kelly Gang was shot in Melbourne, Australia, in 1906.

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