This is a space for me to share my recipes, thoughts and discoveries beyond the realms of social media.
The sanskrit word “Rasa (रस)” has the literal translations of “juice”, “nectar”, “broth” or “flavour” - its wider significance however, serves a greater purpose in the realms of literature and the arts. In those contexts, it means the emotional essences and tastes that we feel when we experience our favorite pieces of literature or music (for example).
One of the clearest ways I have come to understand Rasa is by reference to a live performance from one of my favorite musicians, Sampha. In his three-minute performance of “can’t get close” from his EP “Dual” I felt SO remarkably moved, in other words, I experienced Rasa.
When I research and create my recipes, I often find myself experiencing Rasa in its two-fold form. I both get to enjoy the delicious food that I whip up (humble brag) but also revel in the cultures that underpin them.
That’s a long winded way of telling you why I called this newsletter Rasa.
In this space, I get to share with you, bits of the stories, histories, cultures and recipes that don’t make it into the one minute thirty second videos that I share.
So thank you very much for being here - do subscribe if that sounds at all interesting!
Hello, I’m Brindha!
I am a first-generation Indian Brit and pretty much have been obsessed with food for the entirety of my existence. I have spent hours with my mum, my aunties and uncles (in India and London) observing their very meticulous moves in the kitchen - in the process I have fortunately picked up a thing or two.
I am also equally FASCINATED with history and found myself filling in a lot of gaps about South Asia in my spare time (thank you to the british curriculum for being deliberately exclusive (!)).
I am not sure when exactly it happened, but I started combining the two obsessions and got really curious about the origins of our food.
This interest has been snowballing since, into all things literature, art, cuisine, culture, history and beyond.
You will find those themes alongside my recipes, littered across my social media and now my substack!
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