Restless at home, food show director and writer Shubhra Chatterji chanced upon her mother's journal from her medical college days, while spending the lockdown with her parents in Bhopal. Apart from patient notes, there were pages filled with handwritten recipes, courtesy Chatterji's grandmother. "Most of them were quick and easy ones such as fudge, halwas or cakes. One recipe which caught my attention was a pudding with just sugar, orange juice and eggs. Intrigued how one can make a pudding without any bread or custard, I decided to give it a shot and streamed the process live for the first time," she says. Encouraged by the response, Chatterji reached out to food aficionados to share heirloom recipes of their families, states or communities. And that's how #HistoryOnAPlate kicked off, with not just recipes, but also stories of people and places behind them.

Kala chana ka shami kebab prepared by Rana Safvi in one of the sessions