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Rupal Bhatikar logo

About

Hello people on the internet! I’m Rupal and I’m so happy to see you here.

Rupal Bhatikar

I was born and raised in Goa, India with all the joys of small town life, great beaches and the freshest seafood. I went to university, got a Masters Degree in Marketing and Finance (MBA) and went on to have a 10 year career working for some of the biggest multi-national corporations and managed some of the world’s most recognised brands. I moved from India to Dubai, UAE in 2009 and made it home base for 9 years.

That time in Dubai did so much for me – I found my voice and values as an adult, an incredible partner/husband who is generally just a great all-round awesome human, made travelling/exploring the world a life mission, made my first kitchen and began cooking food at home everyday. All of our travels around the globe shaped my understanding of people, cuisines, cultures, historical context and how it all comes together on a plate of food we eat. I understood life’s greatest lesson – we are all fundamentally the same, have similar aspirations and seek comfort in the familiar. What’s unique is our own perspective, life experiences and what we bring to the table in terms of our specific skills, values and actions. It is this approach that shaped my cooking.

Melbourne Food

What started off as a way to enjoy familiarity of the food of my culture/family grew into a passion that had to be made into a profession. Over the years of powerpoint presentations and marketing strategy, I realised plain and simple, how much more I cared about how perfectly cooked my rice is, how balanced my prawn curry is, how my fish flakes to touch, how long it actually takes to caramelise onions and what joy it brought me to feed people and watch them eat with abandon!

What started off as a little food blog in 2012 (Foodie&Fabulous), reading endless cookbooks, hours spent in the kitchen cooking led to us moving to Australia in 2018, me going to culinary school to complete my Professional Cookery and Patisserie certification and now for over two years working as a chef in one of Melbourne’s most popular restaurants! That I get to live, cook, work in this city and call it home is really a dream come true for me – I pinch myself often. Melbourne is truly multicultural – it thrives in its diversity, has all the seasons and the incredible local produce that comes with it, the very best coffee (flat-whites for life), a dynamic varied dining scene, artsy hidden laneways and cosy neighbourhoods that you’d never have a dull moment. If my time here has taught me anything it’s that hard work and believing in your crazy dreams does pay off, that it is never too late to change course, to pursue what gives your life purpose and joy is worthwhile, that a job in a commercial kitchen might be hard but being able to share my food, see the immense happiness it brings to people who don’t even know you is something I want to do for the rest of my life!

So on this website or any other platform I’m on (you can say hi on Instagram here) I just want to be able to share my love for delicious food, be an authentic voice for the cuisine I grew up with (Goan/Indian), showcase my learnings from travels around the world and my understanding food cultures. I hope you liked what you saw and that you’ll return again and again!

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Summer day lunches like this are my favourite. Str Summer day lunches like this are my favourite. Straight from the fish monger to plate in minutes. Tuna tartare cured in a sesame oil-rice vinegar- fresh ginger-soy-yuzu dressing with some creamy avocado. Served over seasoned sushi rice, pickled cucumbers and a spicy mayo with kewpie & sambal oelek. So easy to put together and so delicious! I make lots of extra cucumber because those pickles keep getting topped off. What’s your favourite too-hot-to-cook summer day food? #pokebowl #tunatartare
This roast vegetable biryani is truly a labour of This roast vegetable biryani is truly a labour of love. I soak the basmati rice patiently so the grains elongate fully and are fluffy when cooked. The onion is fried in batches so they are golden and crisp without being greasy. Cashews turn golden in ghee. Milk-soaked saffron. Roasted vegetables like baby potatoes, whole shallots, cauliflower, carrots, green beans and capsicum so they are charred and full flavoured. A simple but lush sauce base with caramelised onion-tomato to coat the vegetables and then layered with the spice-perfumed rice, crispy onions, saffron and lots of herbs like coriander and mint. I rarely say this but you wouldn’t miss the meat. The vegetables really shine, retain their shape and colour yet develop these meaty flavours from the roasting. Served with a simple yogurt raita on the side to keep things cool. Heavenly! #IndianFood #festivalofdinners
Amritsari Macchi - bite size Indian style fish fin Amritsari Macchi - bite size Indian style fish fingers coated in a spiced chickpea flour batter and deep-fried till golden. The outside is crunchy and when fried perfectly, the fish inside is fork tender and melts in your mouth. Here I’ve used fresh snapper fillets and marinated them with salt, ginger garlic paste, red chilli, lemon juice. When ready to fry, crack an egg and mix through the marinated fish. Then coated with gram flour and crushed carom seeds. Deep fry. Serve with lemon wedges and sprinkle with a generous pinch of chaat masala for that tangy bite! Simply delicious on a rainy day 🐟 #indianfood #festivalofdinners
Maharashtrian style Red Chilli Thecha - that flavo Maharashtrian style Red Chilli Thecha - that flavour bomb condiment that could elevate even the most basic of meals. Flame roasted whole red chillies (I like mine medium hot but you do you) and garlic, frizzled cumin seeds in a half a spoonful of hot oil, fresh coriander leaves (stems n all) and coarse sea salt pounded together into a raggedy mixture. A squeeze of lemon juice and mix together. It’s so punchy you’ll want to eat it with everything! One of my favourite ways to is - sliced bread slathered with butter, red chilli thecha, grated cheese  pickled red onion and toasted to golden perfection! #IndianFood #maharashtrianfood
I deeply admire the work of @abclife so when they I deeply admire the work of @abclife so when they got in touch to share my story I was both humbled and excited beyond measure (link to full interview in my bio, do read!). To transition from a comfortably settled decade long corporate career to joining culinary school and starting as professional chef in your 30s isn’t without its challenges. But to get to do what you love and learn something new every single day is truly an incredible gift. There’s so much work to be done still but I’m grateful to be on this path. I’m fortunate to have had some incredible cheerleaders - the constant unflinching support of my partner in life @mangubhatikar who never let me stop pursuing my crazy dreams, my family who in spite of all their doubts understood why I needed to do this, some great teachers at my culinary school @williamanglissinstitute, some of the best colleagues who taught me so much @miznonmelbourne and the most encouraging of friends (you know who you are) who cheered me on, helped me push away my so much of my constant self-doubt. Thank you for your faith and for keeping up with my culinary adventures - I guess it’s safe to say I’m here to stay! #ChefLife #Melbourne #ABCLife
Indo-Chinese Chilli Chicken that has very little t Indo-Chinese Chilli Chicken that has very little to do with either of these cuisines but is without a doubt every Indian kid’s introduction to Chinese food back home. Marinated and battered tender chicken thighs deep fried crisp and then tossed in a chilli-garlic-tomato-soy sauce situation. So delicious you’ll find yourself NEVER asking the “authenticity” question 😂 It is the perfect appetiser that can turn into a complete meal if you want to sit on your couch and do nothing. I had noble plans for making a egg fried rice to go with this but instead we watched back to back movies and a few G&Ts and no one missed anything ☺️ #IndianFood #IndoChineseFood
What a fine feast a simple Indian thali is. So man What a fine feast a simple Indian thali is. So many textures, so many flavours that go well together and so much harmony. What a treat to eat. This one is no different - from left to right - homemade raw mango mustard pickle, potato talasan (spices & smashed garlic), green beans & potato with fresh coconut, radish-cucumber-carrot yogurt raita, rawa fry almi (semolina crusted king oyster mushrooms), steamed basmati rice and Varan (lentils cooked with ghee, coconut & cumin). Only happy bellies at the dinner table! #IndianFood #GoanFood
Vietnamese Chả cá lã vọng - turmeric and d Vietnamese Chả cá lã vọng - turmeric and dill fish. Bone-less fish fillets (I’ve used local barramundi) marinated with fish sauce, turmeric, garlic, Vietnamese curry powder, oil, spring onion, dill and salt/sugar for balance. The fillets are pan seared, added lots of extra spring onion & dill and then just covered to let it finish cooking in its own steam. The herbs get this bright beautiful green colour and taste so fresh. Perfect with rice vermicelli noodles. #VietnameseFood #HomeCooking
Kolambi Bhaat (Maharashtrian style prawns & spiced Kolambi Bhaat (Maharashtrian style prawns & spiced rice). In this coastal dish - the rice and prawns are cooked together like a pulao in one pot. To take the prawn flavour up a notch I like to cook the rice in prawn stock made from the heads and shells. When I’m trying to make it milder, I replace half of the stock with freshly squeezed coconut milk. The fragrance of fresh curry leaves, goda masala, whole spices like cinnamon and cardamom and a sprinkle of fresh grated coconut is what makes this dish. The hardest part is actually letting the rice rest until you can dig in. Best served with a lemon wedge and simple side salad. #IndianFood #maharashtrianfood
Goan Amlecho Ross (Raw Mango Curry) - a traditiona Goan Amlecho Ross (Raw Mango Curry) - a traditional Goan GSB cuisine dish that focuses on simple seasonal ingredients and is beautifully balanced with the combination of spicy-sweet-sour flavours. Thank you to every single one of you who tuned in & watched me talk about Goan GSB cuisine and spices with @rushinamg - I’m so grateful for all the encouraging comments and to be able to share my love for Goan food with you all on such a great platform. Here’s the recipe for the Amlecho Ross I made yesterday (detailed post and more tips/tricks on the blog - link in bio). Hope you will cook and enjoy it in your own home kitchen. 
Ingredients
1 Raw Mango (sour)
¾ cup Fresh grated coconut
¼ tsp Turmeric powder
4-6 Whole Red Chillies (see notes in the post)
1 tbsp Coconut Oil
¼ tsp Mustard Seeds
1 pinch Asafoteida (heeng)
1.5 tbsp Jaggery (grated or powdered)
Water (upto 1.5 cups)
Salt (to taste)
Method
Peel raw mango, cut into large chunks. Grind together the coconut, red chillies & turmeric powder with water until you have a creamy base. In a pot, add coconut oil, temper it with mustard seeds & asafoteida(heeng) just until you hear a sizzle. Add raw mango, let it coat evenly in the oil. Add 1/2 cup of hot water to the raw mango along with the jaggery and salt. Cover & cook until about a couple of mins away from being fork-tender. Add the coconut sauce, cover & cook for a minute on low heat. Taste & adjust seasoning. The curry should have fine balance of heat,sour and sweetness. Once seasoned, cover and cook for another minute. #goanfood #indianfood #recipeoftheday
Goan Udid Vade, these deep fried split black gram Goan Udid Vade, these deep fried split black gram dumplings with a coriander-coconut-chilli-ginger chutney. The batter for is made by soaking the urad dal overnight and then ground coarsely. It is then mixed with fresh ginger, rice flour, semolina, green chilli, pieces of coconut flesh and salt. Plonked as bite size dumplings in hot oil. Just as good for breakfast as they are as an evening snack. #GoanFood #IndianFood
Kombdi Vade (Chicken curry with deep fried flat br Kombdi Vade (Chicken curry with deep fried flat bread), a dish native to the Konkan region of Maharashtra. I’ve eaten this combination on so many road trips around that coastal belt. Some of the smallest highway restaurants make the best versions of this specialty. The chicken curry has a base of slow roasted coconut, dry red chilli and whole spices. The vade/fried bread is made using rice flour, chickpea flour and soaked urad dal. Served with pickled onion and it’s the best, albeit indulgent, meal ever! The curry tastes even better the next day so always make more than you think you are going to eat! #indianfood #maharashtrianfood
🎼 We're all in this boat together And we're sai 🎼 We're all in this boat together
And we're sailing towards the future and it's alright
We can't make the whole thing better
We're the authors of forever and it's alright 🎼
Smashed Avo, smoked sea salt & @gewurzhaus Aleppo pepper on a toasted slice of my favourite @allarewelcomebakery sourdough potato loaf and a side of my morning brew on this cold rainy day here in Melbourne. Listening to @aliciakeys’s new album. Can’t complain! #breakfast #avocadotoast
Malaysian style Prawn Mee Goreng made with fresh h Malaysian style Prawn Mee Goreng made with fresh hokkien egg noodles from the Asian grocer. This is easily one of my favourite stir fried noodles dishes, one I order every time I can. I love the dark colours that the combination of kecap manis (sweet dark soy sauce/caramel) and shrimp paste bring to it. Added bak choy, purple cabbage and snow peas (oversupply in the garden). Some fish cakes would have been nice but I didn’t have any. Some fresh chilli and a generous squeeze of lemon to serve. Happy days! #MalaysianFood #asianfood
Fresh Spring Vegetable Soup straight after our wee Fresh Spring Vegetable Soup straight after our weekly trip to @melbournefarmersmarkets - I lightly toasted fennel, coriander seeds and white peppercorn, crushed in mortar pestle with some garlic and green chilli. Prepped all my veg (fennel, leeks, asparagus, green peas, baby spinach. Also sugar snap peas and spring onion greens from the garden). A can of butter beans to add more body. In a large pot, added olive oil and butter, bloomed the chilli, garlic and spices, charred my spring onion greens and added hot water. Once it simmered, I seasoned it with Japanese miso paste, then added the vegetables in stages so they would all be cooked perfectly at the end. Finished with adjusting salt, a fresh crack of pepper and lemon zest. Garnished with fresh fennel fronds. Served with one of our favourite @allarewelcomebakery sourdough lightly toasted. As someone who grew up in in a small coastal town with endless summers and then lived a decade in the desert, I am incredibly grateful and very sensitive towards eating highly local and seasonal now. When the produce changes at the market, you eat that little bit differently. It breathes an excitement into my home cooking and eating. And nothing screams change of seasons, from winter to spring, like this delicious  bowl of soup! P.S this bowl is a @sophie_harle beauty who I can’t believe is right in my neighbourhood ❤️ #homecooking #soupseason
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