Hi,

I am Riddhi, a dental surgeon, researcher in making and food enthusiast.

I live in Bangalore with my husband. I have loved food all my life (being from Surat, India I think it’s a given ? ) and despite my mom’s attempts at teaching me to cook I never learnt (children!!! ? ). Or so I thought! Curious? Read on.

I remember baking my first ever cake at the age of 13 along with my baby sister (who was 8 at the time!) as a surprise for mum. It was a vanilla sponge cake and mum loved it (the surprise and cake both). I remember enjoying the whole process of reading and understanding the recipe, mise en place, following each and every direction from my mum’s handwritten recipe book. I kept baking occasionally on mum or dad’s birthdays/anniversary but never really thought of pursuing it seriously (wish I had!). My love for baking and cooking flourished only after I started living on my own. I moved to Bangalore for my graduation and have lived here ever since (except a short stint in London). My initial days in the kitchen began with making Instant Noodles (I guess I am not alone in this. Right? Right.), eggs and rice and gradually kitchen became my happy place, my sanctuary. Probably I found it to be the only way to keep close to my roots – food memories from childhood, alive in my new home; away from my family. And during that experimenting phase I realized that mum’s attempts at teaching me to cook weren’t completely futile. I had learnt a great deal just by being coaxed into observing her cook and turns out I am just like her. When I make any of my mum’s recipe, I remember steps, details, kitchen hacks, the small nuances which she explained oh so nonchalantly while cooking back in the day, all so dear to me now.

This is a vegetarian food blog and because I love baking a tad bit more than cooking, you’ll see lots of desserts around here (Yes, I am a dentist and I have a sweet jaw!). I’ve got quite a global palate and I gorge on continental food pretty often but I love my bomb Indian flavours, hence the menu here is going to be quite a cocktail. ? Almost all of the recipes on this blog are my own but because I love reading blogs of my super-talented fellow bloggers, some of the recipes I share here might be an inspiration or a spin-off of them, in that case due credit will be given of course, just as I expect if you decide to use any recipe or an image from Cook By Book.

All the images for the blog are taken by me, on my trusted companions iPhone 4S and iPhone 5s as of now. I use Instagram and Pic monkey to edit my images. The images may not be as great as you get from DSLR but I try my best to make them eye-pleasing and I promise, the recipe will surely be kick-ass. I earnestly try to improve on my photography and styling with each post because we all devour our food with eyes first, right? I am enjoying it immensely as food photography and styling is every bit as beautiful an art as cooking and baking. I spend a lot of time browsing my way through hundreds of blogs and Pinterest for inspiration to improve my photography and styling. It’s like taking an online art class tbh.

I know I have a long way to go and surely the blog is just a beginning. ?

Have questions or just want to say hi, please email – cookbybook@yahoo.com, comment or submit the contact form below. I would love to know you! ?

If you’ve read this far thank you for dropping by! I hope you like what you see and would follow along on this journey by hitting Subscribe (on the right).

Happy Cooking!

Cheers! xx

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0 comments on About Me

    • Thank you for the follow back Gayatri! You have a great blog yourself and yes, we use the same theme! All I can say is Great Minds!! 🙂

      So glad to connect! Happy Blogging!

      Reply
  8. Pingback: Guest Star: Pineapple Coconut Breakfast Loaf | The Vanilla Bean

    • First of all I’m extremely sorry for replying so late.. I just missed your comment. And thank you so much for the nomination! I’m truly thrilled receiving so much appreciation in such a short soan of time from wonderful fellow bloggers. Thanks again for considering me. Happy blogging!! 🙂

      Reply

  15. Hey Ridhi,
    Thanks for stopping by my blog 🙂 and introducing yours :).
    Browsing through your blog was fun, creatively charged and ironical in a good way… A dentist…. So many sweets and deserts…. Lol…. Nonetheless…. Awesome recipes and ready to dig in… Loved the kiwi cheesecake one.. Awesome!
    Am following your blog now for some great creative innovative food:).
    Cheers
    Sonal

    Reply

    • Thank you so much Sonal for stopping by and spending time browsing through! You yourself have an amazing blog!
      I’m so glad you liked what you saw & I would be glad if you’ll try some of the recipes.. Yes, I totally get when you say ‘ironical in a good way’! In the hindsight, I’m just trying to increase my clientele you see! LOL 😀

      So glad to e-meet you Sonal! Looking forward to more ‘n’ more recipes from your blog.. Happy Blogging!
      Cheeres! xx

      Reply

  17. Hi, Riddhi! As I said, I will visit your blog. So, here I am. You have a nice blog. We all started with instant noodles and egg, I guess. But with our love for food, we develop our passion for cooking and baking. I am also a new blogger and it’s so nice to meet a newbie like you. I am following you now so I can get updates from your kitchen. 😀 Happy blogging!

    Reply

  18. Lovely blog Riddhi! Totally get it when you say looking at all the blogs out there is like taking an online class! 🙂 Looking forward to your posts! Happy Blogging!

    Reply

    • Thank you so much Priya for the follow! The blogger community has so much to offer really! 🙂

      Glad to e-meet you! You’ve got a lovely blog yourself! & Happy Blogging!

      Reply

    • Thank you so much Swati for the nomination! I truly appreciate it! 🙂

      I do not accept the awards but I’m so glad you considered my blog! Reading that you love my blog made me ecstatic!

      You just made my day, girl! Thanks a ton & hearty congratulations to you! xx

      Reply

  20. Thanks for checking out my blog and my recent Rainbow Swirl Cookies! I hope you get a chance to stop by again soon and try out a recipe for yourself too. I look forward to following your posts in the future.

    -Christine

    Reply

  21. You are one ice cream lover! All those recipes and all those pictures.. has me drooling. Loved browsing through your site. Im from Bangalore too, but living in Mumbai now.
    myfoodtapestry.wordpress.com is my pad. Do drop in.

    Reply

    • Thank you Namrata for taking time out to visit my place! As I type, I have already checked your yummy blog and given a follow too.

      Yes, I am a big ice-cream lover!!! Do try something which interests you… They all turned out pretty amazing! 🙂

      Reply

  23. Hello Riddhi. I really like your blog. I was browsing through all of your wonderful ice cream recipes and now I’m craving ice cream! Thank you so much for stopping by and following my blog. I’ll keep my eye out for your posts! 🙂

    Reply

    • The pleasure is all mine! Really liked your blog and photography..
      Thank u so much for visiting me here! Hope you found something you like 🙂

      Reply

    • Thank u Julie for your kind words!
      Your blog is truly inspirational for a novice like me..
      Its so lovely to meet you and I would be regular at your blog! ?

      Reply

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