Anita Mokashi & Crave Cook Click

I am quite excited to have a cool Bombay gal on the blog today. She’s a talented business analyst, photographer and cook who inspires us to no end with her photos and small gatherings. Bombay as a city has been one of my nests and Anita captures its soul through her clicks.

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TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.

Thanks Roy for a warm introduction and I am really happy to talk about my passion for food on your beautiful space.I was born and brought up in Mumbai, and now based out of California with my husband.I was a foodie since childhood and credit goes to my mom and her amazing cooking skills. Trust me I never cooked even dal rice before I came to US. It all started when I moved here and started craving my mom’s amazing food. I had no option but to call her everyday and ask for recipes. And that is when the journey of cravecookclick.com began, my dear food blog. When I craved, I cooked and then clicked Apart from being a food blogger, I am a portrait photographer and a business analyst. And to shed off those extra pounds I sometimes run marathons
I also do monthly foodie meetup for my Facebook group “Crave Cook Click” which focuses on food, photography, culture and travel. The idea is to promote learning and sharing of each other’s expertise.

HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START IN FOOD STYLING & PHOTOGRAPHY?
Photography was my second love, needless to say first was my husband. When I moved to US and was not working, camera was my only best friend. Then I started cooking too. When I started clicking food I realized that isn’t it the best subject..its so colorful, vibrant and the best part it doesn’t move
I started learning about food photography online. Followed work of many food bloggers and professional food photographers. Food network became my favorite channel Whenever I learned/read about any new food photography trick, I used to try it in my upcoming blog post.
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ONE OF THE THINGS I FELT AFTER LOOKING AT YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS IS THE WAY IT IS TIED TO YOUR ROOTS AND CULTURE. WHAT INSPIRED THIS PHILOSOPHY IN YOUR OWN LIFE?
I belong to a Maharashtrian family in Mumbai. We celebrated almost every festival. But trust me my interest was never in knowing more about festival but it was always about eating the delicacies made during the festival. But when I moved here, I realized that your upbringing, culture and celebrations have such a big impact/influence on your life. I was missing everything badly. I started researching and celebrating each and every festival on my own. I made sure that I celebrated all the festivals with same zest and enthusiasm as my mom celebrated back in india. It made me feel so much closer to home. I read about the logic behind indian traditions/festivals and why certain delicacies are made during certain festivals. It all started making so much more sense. India has a beautiful culture and history and I think we all should do our every small bit to preserve it
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WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT WHEN YOU SIT DOWN AT THE TABLE WITH FRIENDS?
As a kid I remember we having guests over for dinner almost every other day. I used to always think how my parents don’t get tired of hosting the guests and especially mom..doesn’t she get tired of cooking and serving people. Finally I asked dad the same question. He politely replied me that “Anna daan..Shresth daan” . Offering food is the most highest level of offering. The satisfaction which you see on a hungry soul’s face after being fed is priceless. And here is my favorite moment when i sit down at the table with my friends. When i call them home for dinner and when i see them enjoying the food i feel the most happy. I like to feed people. Apart from that I also like to discuss about interesting facts about the dishes which i make. It can be the origin or my memories related to the specific dish.

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TELL US ABOUT LIFE IN BOMBAY. WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT THE CITY?
SAY I AM VISITING FOR THE WEEKEND, WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?
Life in “Bombay then” and “Mumbai now” was like a dream. The fast paced life, soothing breeze at the chowpatty, lip smacking street food, romantic rains, travelling in local trains, dramatic bollywood, the beautiful marine drive(queens necklace), the historic gateway of india, smashing night life/clubs in south Mumbai, happening suburbs of Bandra, celebration of festivals, cricket craze, spirit of mumbaikars..trust me i love everything about the city. It’s very difficult to choose one thing.
If you are visiting for a weekend I would surely take you to Bade Miyas. It’s a late night eatery in South Mumbai and Haji Ali Juice center for best Sitaphal cream at Tardeo. If you are in Mumbai then you should definitely try the vada pav and chaat. Shree Krishna Vada Pav in Dadar is the best and nothing beats Juhu Chowpatty for chat. You can read the below 2 posts to know more about the amazing street food and life in Mumbai Mumbai Times and Street Food of Mumbai.

WHAT WOULD YOU WANT YOUR LAST MEAL ON EARTH TO BE?
I love Misal pav. It’s a spicy curry served with bread – “pav” and is a traditional Maharashrian dish. It consists of spicy curry usually made of sprout of Mataki or white peas and chilly powder gravy called ‘Kutt’. The final dish is topped with Potato-Chiwda Mix, Farsan or Sev), onions, lemon and coriander (cilantro). It is usually served with bread toasted with butter.Here is the recipe to it Misal Pav

4 Comments

  1. Annu amhi tuzi mulakhat vachli khup annad vatla tu kelely kastache fal milat ahe ashich pragti karat rah amcha Tula ashirvad ahe tuze Aai Baba

  2. Hey, nice post!

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    Try this for instant results in Mumbai: etrigg.com/upcoming/mumbai

    etrigg is for everyone who’s in search of upcoming events nearby or at a specific location – think of coming into a new town for a weekend and you want to see what’s going on right at the moment…

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