Foodie Talk with Ayanna Hansaria

#Foodbuzzz

Little Foodie: Ayanna Hansaria

Instagram handle: @geetasfoodielife

What is your favourite food memory from childhood?

Since I was born in Virginia (in the  United States), my first food exploration started with Washington DC (which was close by) and then New York City, Philadelphia, LA, San Jose, and many other cities. My parents were avid, enthusiastic travellers and my foodie stint started when I was very young.  

My most endearing food   memories were of the summers.  I ended up feasting on the wholesome, juicy mangoes which were  the highlight of the season. My mom always scolds me as I end up having   small portions of my meals or at times just skipping them. 

What’s your favourite comfort food?

No two ways about it, I just love bhindi and roti.

3 reasons why you consider yourself a Foodie?

My dad is a foodie so I have similar taste buds like him.

I am an extremely picky eater.

Since I have tried most cuisines, I have developed the taste to decide how exactly a particular dish should taste. Well yes, I do drive my mom crazy every time she forgets to add the magical masala which could make a home-cooked dish special and yummy.

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Which are your three favourite cuisine? Why?

Chinese cuisine - I love the way Singapore Rice Noodles are cooked.

Mexican cuisine - I love the taste of guacamole, burrito bowls and chips with salsa. Such a drool worthy moment for me.

Thai food – The aroma of the green curry drives me crazy. I also relish the flavor of drunken noodles.

Do you have a favourite food ingredient?

My favorite food ingredient is onion.  I love to eat it raw (as a salad) and even swipe some when my mom is chopping them.  And yes, I don’t get teary feasting on them.

Which food ingredient do you loathe/think is overrated?

Like most kids of my age, I too hate Karela, lauki and baingan.

What’s the strangest dish you’ve ever tried?

The strangest thing I ever tried was roti ki sabji (vagharela roti /seyal maani).

What is your favourite fruit and vegetable? And your favourite herb/spice?

My favorite fruit is mango

My favorite vegetable is carrot

My favorite spice is chili powder because I love spicy food.

If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Surely it would be Singapore rice noodles.

Have you ever travelled anywhere just/mainly for the food?

When you have an in-house foodie Mom who excels at coming up with exotic food thalis (for her Instagram followers), do you think I wouldn’t enjoy the delicacies whenever I could. Yes, I have travelled with Mom to Dubai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Jaipur, Kolkata, Assam, Goa and many more cities.  We always ended up exploring more on food flavours than visiting the tourist spots

What’s been your biggest kitchen experiment so far?

My biggest kitchen experiment has been baking cupcakes.  I love getting creative with decorating the cupcakes.

Any quirky food dishes combinations you have invented or love feasting on?

I love eating strawberries with whipped cream. Besides this, I also go quirky while eating masala dosa. I spread some ketchup on it and enjoy it more.

Your take on:

Fusion food cuisine – I don’t like fusion food so much. I feel the original taste is lost when the food is fusion.

Which superfoods have impressed you the most?

I love roasted pumpkin seeds and flaxseeds.

What are your favourites?

Indian street food – My favorite Indian street food is Vada Pav and Dahi puri.

Indian dessert —is gulab jamun. As a kid, I used to call it chocolate ball.

Hidden gem restaurant of my city is —OC, The Oriental Cuisine as they have yum Thai food.

Overrated restaurant I feel —is Pizza Hut as some of the pizzas need to be worked upon.

The restaurant I keep going back to is — Mainland China

My favorite celebrity chef is —Sanjeev Kapoor as he’s my mom’s favorite too.

My favorite food destination is —Mumbai, as the street food here is unmatchable.

My favorite kitchen gadget is — The oven as i love to bake.