Who
Bhavna Shivalkar
Sixteen years ago, Bhavna moved from Mumbai (Bombay) to Perth for work. What she didn’t expect to find was Indian food reduced to butter chicken, rogan josh, palak paneer, dal makhani, and the occasional saag.
“All you got was three red curries, maybe one or two lentils and maybe a green curry, which was your palak paneer, or saag, as they call it,” she says. “It was such a bad representation of Indian cooking.”
That narrow menu kicked off what would become a passionate journey of reclaiming and sharing the real depth of Indian cuisine – something that spans 28 states, 8 Union Territories, hundreds of languages, religions, and climates.
“No Indian makes butter chicken every day,” she laughs. “And naan? Naan is not a home bread. We don’t make naan at home. That’s a restaurant bread.”
What began as a personal blog, Just a Girl from Bombay quickly evolved into The Modern Desi, a platform where she explores and shares the kind of food that actually shows up on Indian family tables. “Desi means of the land. I’m modern, but I’m still deeply Desi.”
As her life in Australia unfolded, something else began to take shape. “I find that as I get older, I’m becoming even more Indian. I cling to my culture. It runs in my blood.”
Now based in Sydney, she’s turned her blog into a full-blown cultural venture. Think cooking classes, Indian food tours around Harris Park, collaborations with chefs like Kylie Kwong and institutions like the Powerhouse Museum – all aimed at showing Indian food beyond butter chicken and takeaway tikka.
“I don’t want to take people on a shopping spree. I want to take them on an education spree.”
In partnership with Maeve O’Meara of Gourmet Safaris, she leads Indian breakfast tours and private evening food walks, guiding guests through the spice-scented streets of Harris Park. “You don’t have to be Indian to appreciate the food, you just have to be curious.”
The curiosity doesn’t stop at the border. She’s now taking people back to India—not to just see the Taj Mahal, but to eat with locals, visit places tourists never reach, and understand India through the rhythm of daily meals.
Back at home, the stove is on and she’s making a winter breakfast she grew up eating – mooli paratha, a whole wheat flatbread stuffed with grated radish, served with the potato curry, homemade yoghurt, green chutney, butter and carrot pickle.
“In North India where I’m from, we eat a lot of wheat. Rice was rare. Breakfasts are heavy – paratha with pickle and yoghurt. That’s what keeps you going.”
She opens a small jar. Inside is a glinting, tangy bright orange carrot pickle – made by her mother when she last visited three years ago.
“I still have it. I use it like gold. If I miss my mum, I’ll have one piece and really savour it.”
Bhavna Food Waste Tips
An Indian kitchen is very budget friendly and traditionally we don’t waste a lot. Peels of vegetables are used to make chutnies, the roots of coriander and washed and frozen to be used in curry pastes, any leftover cooked vegetable curries are used to make sandwiches for breakfast.
Masala Chai (Spiced Indian Tea)
Prep time: | Cook time: | Serves 4
- 2½ cups water
- 4 teaspoons sugar (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons black tea leaves (my favourite brand is ‘Red Label’)
- 1½ cups milk
- 3 green Cardamoms
- ½ inch piece of ginger crushed (Washed well so you don’t have to peel)
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds crushed
- 1 cardamom crushed
- In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil.
- Add the crushed ginger, cardamoms, fennel letting them simmer over medium heat for a few minutes to release its flavour.
- Add the milk and allow the mixture to boil for another 2–3 minutes.
- Stir in the sugar and black tea leaves, and let it come to a full boil depending on how strong you like your chai.
- Strain the tea into cups using a fine mesh strainer.
- Serve hot, ideally with your favourite biscuits or snacks.
Note: You can use Soy milk for a vegan chai. However, add the milk after all the spices, sugar and tea leaves have boiled and then pour the milk as the last step and boil gently.
Tari waale Aloo (Potato Curry)
Prep time: | Cook time: | Serves 4
- 5 medium potatoes
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 8–10 curry leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
- 2 green chilies, chopped
- ½ teaspoon asafoetida
- 2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- Salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp Besan – Gramflour
- 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
- 5–6 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and diced
- 500–750 ml hot water
- A small handful of fresh coriander, chopped
- Cook the tomatoes in hot water till the skin starts to peel. Turn off the heat and run under cold water and puree them.
- Heat vegetable oil in a wok and add mustard seeds, curry leaves, chopped ginger, green chillies and asafoetida on a low heat. Stir briefly until aromatic.
- Add the besan and roast for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Add the tomato puree and salt and cook till the puree starts to dry out and you see oil on the sides of the pan.
- Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, and coriander powder. Stir quickly to avoid burning.
- Add the boiled potatoes and mix well cooking over a low heat for 5 minutes before adding hot water.
- Let the gravy thicken slightly and use a ladle to gently mash some of the potatoes to further thicken the curry.
- Cook for another 10 minutes.
- Serve hot with chopped coriander
Note: You can use raw potatoes, instead of boiled ones but the cooking time will increase.
Mooli Paratha – Radish stuffed flatbread
Prep time: | Cook time: | Serves 2-3
For the Dough:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (Aata)
- A pinch of salt
- Water, as required (add gradually)
- 1 tsp oil
For the Filling:
- 1 large radish
- A pinch of salt
- 1 inch piece of ginger, finely grated
- 2 green chilies, finely chopped
- A handful of fresh coriander, chopped
- A pinch of black salt
- 1 tsp dry mango powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp carom seeds, lightly crushed
For Cooking the Paratha:
- Additional wheat flour, for dusting
- Ghee (clarified butter), as needed or vegetable oil
- In a large bowl, mix wheat flour and salt. Gradually add water and combine using your hands until it forms a soft, pliable dough.
- Add oil and knead again until smooth and well incorporated.
- Drizzle a few drops of oil over the dough, cover with a damp cloth, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Trim the radish tops (save the leaves for another dish, if you like or chop them finely and add them with the filling), peel, and grate them using a large grater.
- Mix the grated radish with a pinch of salt and let it sit for a few minutes to release moisture.
- Squeeze out all excess liquid and transfer the grated radish to a bowl.
- Add chopped ginger, green chilies, coriander, radish greens if you are using them and all the remaining filling spices. Mix well.
- Let it rest for a few more minutes if needed and squeeze out any additional moisture.
- Take a portion of dough and roll it into a ball. Slightly flatten and shape it into a small bowl using your thumbs.
- Fill the center with a generous amount of radish filling. Carefully bring the edges together and seal the dough ball, pinching off any excess.
- Dust with dry flour and gently roll into a semi-thin flatbread using a rolling pin.
- Heat a flat pan (tawa) or skillet until hot.
- Place the rolled paratha on the tawa. Cook on medium heat, pressing gently with a napkin and rotating until golden spots appear.
- Flip and repeat on the other side.
- Lower the heat to medium-low, apply ghee on both sides, and cook until crisp and golden brown.
Serve hot with salted butter, pickle, and yogurt on the side.
Sooja & Badam Halwa (Semolina & Almond Pudding)
Prep time: | Cook time: | Serves 4
- 1/2 cup semolina (sooji/rava)
- 1/2 cup Almond flour
- 2 tbsps ghee (clarified butter)
- 1/2 cup sugar or jaggery
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 ½ cups full-fat Milk
- 4-5 green cardamom pods
- A handful of chopped nuts – Almond, pistachios
- In a heavy-bottomed pan or kadai, roast the semolina on a low heat.
- Keep stirring continuously to avoid lumps and ensure even roasting. The semolina should turn golden brown and become aromatic. This process may take around 8-10 minutes. Be patient.
- Add the almond flour and roast gently for another 5 minutes.
- While the semolina is roasting, heat the water and milk in a separate pot. Add the sugar and let it dissolve.
- When the flours turns golden brown, add the ghee and roast it for a few minutes till all the ghee has been absorbed by the semolina.
- Now carefully pour the hot milk mix in batches into the semolina-ghee mixture. Be cautious, as it may splatter.
- Stir continuously to combine the liquid with the semolina. The mixture will start to thicken as the semolina absorbs the water.
- Keep stirring and cooking the halwa until it thickens and starts leaving the sides of the pan.
- Cover and leave on a low heat for 5 minutes. Once all the liquid has evaporated the semolina will become fluffy.
- Garnish with chopped nuts and saffron and serve warm.
