THE FEARLESS OLIVE

The big Greek wedding

After spending a year on the island of Crete, attending a thoroughly traditional wedding that lasted till 7AM, and a more modern one in Athens, where the festivities wrapped up by 4AM, my take on Greek weddings is that they give our versions a stiff competition when it comes to rituals and traditions.
Tweaking tradition

Durga Puja has been for centuries an occasion to rejoice, a festival celebrated by the masses irrespective of religious beliefs. With everyone preparing the most traditional platters throughout the days that mark the final homecoming, there is plenty of scope to go for slight deviations.
Vegetarian restaurants: a Holy Grail

The Dhakaite's palate was further polished with the advent of the café culture and now, people either crave for a black, sugar-free coffee, or the multitude of flavoured ones, as opposed to the 3-in-one Nescafe affair from about a decade ago.
A different touch

A time for sacrifice but more importantly, a time for sharing, arrives once again for us as we celebrate Eid-ul-Azha. While we run
Broccoli Soup with Rice

Another Fearless Olive rendition of the classic broccoli soup, now with some carbs and a bit of milk to replace the heavy cream that many prefer. Slurp away!
Dinner in Disguise

With the world cup at this final exciting home stretch, it warrants people staying late, or staying over completely to enjoy the matches. And what goes great with an exciting match and even heated arguments over who will win the cup?
A different kind of Iftar

The Italians love eating bread and have found all kinds of combinations to satiate their love of it. Focaccia is one such example of the many types of bread and it is consumed throughout the Mediterranean. I attempted a Fearless Olive version of this bread which can be placed as an accompaniment to the other iftar items.
Timeless cuisines for the month of Baishakhi

Baishakh is the one celebration bringing all us Bengalis together, and the fearless Olive in Greece celebrated the day in spirit as well. Although Pahela Baishakh is just a renewal of business transactions and closing accounts, for the rest of the nation it is madness beyond belief and a celebration that is unparalleled.
Have a Fearless Women's Day

As we entered the new year buoyed by the #metoo campaign and a renewed sense of awareness regarding women's rights in the work place, allow me to bring you some recipes that you can enjoy with your girl friends as you plan and plot to rule your world and assert yourself! Here's to more equal opportunities and no extra kilograms, regardless of what you eat! ladies, have a Fearless 2018 and may everyday be one for women!
The Olive Harvest in Crete, Greece

As winter approaches, the Greeks start preparing for the olive harvest season. With the third highest production worldwide, more than 80% of which is extra virgin olive oil, harvesting this fruit is still very much a family affair for many Greeks.
A delectable mix

The year began with a cold wave that made us all want to curl up into a ball and stay hidden under the warmth of our blankets. It also left most of us sniffling and coughing with the seasonal flu.
A winter's tale of warm desserts!

With Christmas around the corner and wedding sea son in full swing, it's that time of year when the eve nings get cooler and the
Cheers to the newlyweds

Give me a sun, I care not how hot, and sherbet, I care not how cool, and my Heaven is as easily made as your Persian's.
Pumpkins galore

An ancient Celtic festival, a goddess of gardens and fruits, and a mixture of many rituals over the centuries leaves us celebrating the macabre on the last day of October.
'Bhuribhoj' on Durga Puja

Bengali Hindu households respond to 'mayer dak' as Durga Puja arrives in all its splendour and people prepare for this autumn festival of welcoming the mother home.
Greek bovine delicacies

The Venetians are credited for bringing in the stifado when they came to rule Greece around the 13th century CE and the dish is full of… onions. Tiny ones, but just load it up with them!
The Exotic Cretan Menu on Eid

As I sit writing this article on the Greek island of Crete, the song of the cicadas serenades me and I think of Dhaka and the festival of sacrifice just around the corner. Goat meat is high on every Cretan menu so I take this opportunity to share some Greek meat dishes and one from across the border in Turkey. Eat healthy and may your bellies be filled with good food and your hearts with the best wishes of loves ones.
Warm, comforting soups

No matter how healthy we eat during the day, late in the afternoon we tend to get peckish and often experience a sudden craving for fried snacks.
Sheep Shearing or Kouraes in Crete

One of the first things you notice on the mountains of Crete are the goats and the sheep. Hordes of them.
Healthy is the new delicious

O moon-faced Beloved, the month of Ramadan has arrived, Cover the table, and open the path of praise.
It's all Greek!

The Greek version of a typical bhorta ideally has mashed potatoes with garlic, as skorda is garlic in Greek and comes in all forms with boiled beet or zucchini.
The magic of aphrodisiacs

Almost all food items at some point or the other have been cloistered under the title of an aphrodisiac, with distinct qualities of not just increasing libido but also making us seem more attractive and appealing to the opposite gender.
For a healthy 2017 and beyond!

As the wedding season hits Dhaka with its onslaught of dinners and lunches that make you totter out of the door feeling like you consumed your life's worth of food, here are an assortment of items you can offer those in-between-wedding 'dawat' guests while keeping their palates craving for more.
Chilli and chocolates: a match made in heaven

As the days get colder, appreciate the full bodied flavours of chocolate is all its savoury glory! Rich in minerals, chocolate is known to help combat heart disease, fight the LDL, the so-called 'bad cholesterol,' and also aid in losing weight.
Of freshness and Greek salads

The Greeks love a salad that embodies everything about a Mediterranean diet: greens, freshness, olive oil and the zest of a lemon, or perhaps balsamic vinegar.
It's all Greek!

As the year rolls into its final trimester and shorot makes way for hemonto to hopefully bring in cooler days, I bring to you recipes from a land far off, far removed from the deltaic flat lands of Bangladesh.
The Feast of Sacrifice

The Russians have a penchant for using meat to their fill, in soups, in porridges and cereals and mixed heartily with vegetables too.
Non-traditional platter for Shab-e-barat

Peanuts are a very integral part of West African cuisine and along with the yams and cassava and okra that came out of this region, a lot of cuisine involves peanuts.
Shaaks on Baishakh

As the strong winds sweep across the country, heralding the beginning of the season for kal-Baishakhis and the end of yet another ...
Soups, broths and stews

Originating in the Sichuan province of China, the Dan Dan Noodle Soup is a sure way to get rid of those winter chills that seem to have grasped everyone this year.