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Anita Tikoo

@a_madteaparty

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Everyday life: Grow, Cook, Preserve.
Sourdough Bread Workshops: Delhi

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A beautiful Saturday - the sun was out, the table was set. We gathered in the garden to delight in some of the vegetarian gems of Kashmiri Pandit cuisine that celebrate her ancient position at the crossroads of the Silk Route and rootedness in peninsular India.

A big THANK YOU to all the Rasiks who came out ready to brave the fog (IMD got it wrong again!). This would not be possible without you! ❤️. Let's meet again soon. 🤗 taken in Delhi दिल्ली by @a_madteaparty

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9 months ago

A special place, a beautiful space, a fabulous team, and we cooked vegetarian feasts to match the enthusiasm of a community (of rasiks!) who came in support; two amazing days at Amrit Bhawan. @amritbhawan .

It is Chilai Kalan, the peak of Winter time in Kashmir, so we picked ingredients - dried and fresh - to highlight the winter foods of Kashmir. I deliberately chose to skip popular dishes like Dum Olav and Haak focusing instead on lesser known wild greens and unique flavour combinations of Pandit cuisine. With only a few of us now in Kashmir, the intangible aspects of an old culture can come to be lost quickly. Anyone can step in and speak for us unless we do so ourselves. All the more reason to hold on tight lest the stories be lost forever. I stayed true to traditional recipes, no twists.

Things went to plan - each day prep went like clockwork leaving me plenty of time to freshen up and join everyone at the lawns. The Tea on Day 1 had a variety of breads and dips, cake, and chaat, to pair with three kinds of teas. Shir Chai turned out oh so pretty-in-pink and was received with much enthusiasm. Kehwa is always a crowd-pleaser. The Winter's Feast on Day 2 was a 6-course meal. Alas, I don't have pictures of everything. The food was a delight for my own family; my Uncle couldn't stop with the plaudits. The inclusion of ceremonial foods in a feast surprised them, veterans of many delectable Wazwaans. My mother and my aunt wondered aloud how I got nadur churm to be so crisp and mongvaer to be so delicious. I was grateful for their presence and happy to see the joy on their faces.

Thank you, Amrit Bhawan and @borunbabu Varun, for this opportunity. Thanks @siddici Uzzair, for conspiring. And a big THANK YOU to those who travelled from Delhi, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Bangalore (there's a direct flight!), Dehradun, and within Haridwar, to be there. The response from everyone was simply uplifting. You are the best! It feels incredible to have your support.

Until next time!

(Food pop-up, Kashmiri Pandit cuisine) by @a_madteaparty

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2 years ago

Ready to roll!

The kitchen is ready for another round of pasta madness. Fresh pasta, from scratch.

#littlethings #kitchenscenes by @a_madteaparty

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2 years ago

Occasionally, there's paneer.

Ever since my short stay at an Ayurvedic treatment center in 2020, our dairy consumption has gone down considerably. V's continuing research into the relationship between diet and health has reduced it further to a trickle - that spot of milk in my tea, and an infrequent serving of dahi. I can never give up tea and do think black tea benefits from the addition of milk - it reigns in the tannins like nothing else can. Dahi makes a killer pairing with many foods, and a raita is a handy way to transform an ingredient on repeat - which, in my kitchen, is often the case as we live off the bounty of a little terrace garden. All this, plus ghee, from barely a litre of milk a week.

Matar-paneer, fresh pui cooked the Assamese way with panch phoron, fried bori, and dries shrimp, the daily salad loaded with peanuts and pumpkin seeds (it also had many ferments chopped in). The paranthas were super soft because there was leftover aloo bhaji kneaded in. Looking forward to the leftovers for lunch today.

I don't obsess over protein, yet in this meal it's everywhere - in the peanuts in my salad, in peas in the matar-paneer, and the mung bori in pui (not counting the teaspoon of dried shrimp).

(Kitchen, zero waste, kitchen garden, by @a_madteaparty

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a day ago

That filter coffee after lunch. For all the coffee in the world, the one that I love the most is one with just a teeny tiny bit of chicory. How well this interesting ingredient allows for the addition of milk without the need for too dark a roast.

This cup was just perfect after a simple and satisfying meal of the same old-same old garden vegetables: carrot-apple salad with mango vinaigrette, Andhra style toor dal with red amarath (from the freezer), baingan bharta (to clean out the crisper), arbi leaf-stem raita, curry leaf podi with ghee on top of a mix of sona masoori + palakkad red rice, and an excellent piece of @rajeswaribonala Raji's avakai.

Here's to everyday ordinary meals that nourish. 😊 by @a_madteaparty

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6 days ago

Some beginners, many established gardeners, all had something to share. The point that was made again and again was how forgiving gardening can be when we allow ourselves room for mistakes. Some came to learn, some for the company, others for Kehwa, and everyone for the food! 😀 Just being in the garden and absorbing everything it offers, including life lessons, was invigorating.

The food on the table was a celebration of the diversity that a small urban food garden can provide in sync with growing seasons and without the use of chemicals. The menu:

Cheesy Sourdough Crackers w/ marjoram (a garden perennial)
Pumpkin flower sourdough crepes with a filling of roasted pumpkin and parmesan, drizzled with Mike's Hot Honey (it's been a good year for both flowers and pumpkins themselves)
Citrus Quad Marmalade ✅
Soft Sandwich Sourdough Bread
Grape-Rosemary Focaccia
Gondhoraj Butter ✅✅😀 - always a hit!
Arbi leaf-stems Raita
Curry leaf podi Rice
A selection of Kehwa and other floral infusions from @kehwah.in
📸 team: @storiesby_gk and @talesbyshiv

Sow some seeds today. Don't wait till you have all the answers; no one does. We are all bumbling along - join the tribe! by @a_madteaparty

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8 days ago

✔️ Silk top for summer!

Finally, getting the hang of knitting with non-wool yarns. Cotton, silk, bamboo, and linen, all behave unlike wool. They tend to create heavy garments that stretch after knitting. Wool, on the other hand, is light and elastic.

Given our short winter there is only so many sweaters I need. It has been a very satisfying year of knitting with plant based fibers. I wasn't sure how silk would pan out but this one was not slippery (or shiny) and felt almost like cotton.

The simplicity of the pattern compliments the yarn well. I love that the front and back can be flipped; wear it how you wish! I stayed true to the structuring but completely overhauled the pattern to adapt to this fine yarn held single (as against yarn held double in the original) determined as I was to get the lightest possible garment. That meant using finer needles, casting on more stitches, and dealing with pattern-adjustments at every step.

I also made adjustments to neck and armhole depth to adjust for the yarn being single and watched my row-gauge like a hawk to make sure there were no surprises post-blocking.

Pattern: @purlsoho Sayer Top
My changes: yarn held single, with yarn held double for hems, a shorter V-neck and shorter armholes.
Needles: 3.25mm
Yarn: @purlsoho Cattail Silk 100% silk, in Pale Wisteria (I used only 120g!)
Cast on: Aug 25, 2026
Finished: Oct 5, 2026 by @a_madteaparty

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11 days ago

Lessons on Gardening
by dearest @a_madteaparty

The moment I enter Chef Anita’a abode, I surrender! To her cosy home, leafy green surroundings, sounds of birds, her warm energy and the entire ecosystem she’s created. I’ve been living in Delhi for almost 5 years now, and still struggle to find & connect with people whose energy instantly puts you at ease. She is without a question, one of them. No to forget, the amazing food she cooks, every workshop I attend, more than I learning I am curious to know what she has put together in the menu for us! And it’s always from her terrace garden, wild, twisted & experimental. I close my eyes and cherish every bite. While having a plate full of delicious food after a long discussion on growing vegetables in Delhi’s questionable climate, I had a supple realisation. After my mother’s food, it is Chef Anita’s food that makes me feel so comforted and loved. My recent growing interest in food and cooking with indigenous ingredients, it all comes from her!

I am still, absolutely amazed by the kind of produce I saw at her terrace garden today from vegetables as desi as bhindi, kaddu, baigan, mirchi, gondhoraj nimbu to the exotics we all love - thai bird eye chilli, garlic chives, thai basil, rocket leaves and what not. I am sure there are many that I have forgotten!

I keep finding my way back to her, sometimes to inherit the joy of creating something purely with hands without the fear of failure, and sometimes ONLY to be fed by her (and so lovingly, I took 3 rounds of food today, haha). Either ways, I come back with my heart full & a heavy smile.

“If you have a garden & a library, you have everything you need.”
~ Marucs Tullius Cicero

#gardening #lessonsongardening #food #local #kitchengarden taken in A Mad Tea Party by @a_madteaparty

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14 days ago

Punn poshté!

It's been a packed month. Despite many options through the fortnight, I chose the last possible auspicious day for it. I joined my mother and sister in the celebrations and the cooking of the prasad.

Like last year, I baked a batch of roath. The original fried version still wins 😀😆! Both were made with whole wheat aata, ghee, and sugar. 🤤 I ate way more than what you see on my plate with multiple cups of Kehwa.

Ganpati bappa morya; pudhchya varshi lavkar ya! 🙏🏽

[Kashmiri culture, Punn, punn pooza] by @a_madteaparty

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21 days ago

Come one, come all!

I do what I do, I eat the way I do, because I grow much of it. The diversity on my plate has exploded since I started growing food on my little rooftop. You will be surprised how much a small space can yield when you let Nature be in charge. There are many joys in gardening, clean food is just one.

Tea to follow, as always.

Holler if you would like showcase something, anything - garden-related, cake, chips, bread, tea, coffee - I will keep a spot. I know it's short notice but the Season, it's fleeting! taken in Delhi, India by @a_madteaparty

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24 days ago

An outstanding midweek lunch. Hers: Goan chorizo with potatoes and black-eyed peas. His: desi seem (hyacinth beans) cooked with kala chana, kanda-lasun masala + kala masala, finished with roasted peanuts - spicy and nutty. Homemade SD ragi pao. The salad was a celebration of Buddha's Hand citron - shredded carrot + shredded citron in a spicy-sweet-tangy dressing after Thai papaya salad - garlic, chilli, palm sugar, lime juice, tamarind juice, and lots of crushed roasted peanuts. Hers had dried shrimp and fish sauce too! 🤤

The shimmer of fat on top of chorizo-potatoes looked a bit over-indulgent. Kala chana for the seem was yet to be cooked. I added lobia (black eyed peas) alongside the chana into the pressure cooker. Adding it to the chorizo dish was a masterstroke - not only do I have enough for two more meals but the bland lobia also made the spice and vinegar levels just perfect 👌🏽. Not to mention - additional protein!

The proportions:
500g Goan chorizo
2 medium onions, chopped fine (about a cup)
2 large potatoes, boiled, peeled and cubed
1/3 cup lobia, soaked in hot water for 30 min, and cooked
3-4 cups of water
1/2 tsp salt

Add onions to rendered chorizo and cook for 15 min. Add potatoes, salt, and water. Simmer 10 min. Add cooked lobia and simmer another 10-15 min. Adjust water and salt to taste. Serve with poee or pao. 🤤 by @a_madteaparty

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a month ago

Practice, lifelong.

The only decorative scoring I allow myself are these simple wheat stalks. There is so much to learn, creating pretty patterns on the surface is the least of them. The same reason I hardly diverge from my basic recipe. Improvement comes from repetition, not from changing everything every time.

Same old recipe (check feed ⬇️), plain loaf - no inclusions; delicious bread. 💕 taken in Delhi, India by @a_madteaparty

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a month ago