Sayuli Pai Raikar juggles her myriad roles as a lawyer, a home cook and a new mom. An aspiring cook-book author, she highlights her journey from eating delicious meals cooked by her mother to becoming a food blogger
Sayuli describes herself as a legal practitioner, home cook, new mom and a cookbook nerd. Born to doctor parents, Sayuli chose to go off the beaten track though she was fairly good at studies and sports. She was the National champion twice, in her category in Diving at the National Age Group Championship and has represented India at the Annual Asian Age Group Event in Hong Kong where she won a bronze medal.
She is the first lawyer in her family and the legal field has always fascinated her. “Legal practice is not monotonous at all and it’s not a regular 9-5 job. Every day is different and every case is a different story.”
Sayuli elaborates on her entry into the world of food blogging. “I fell in love with cooking with my very first attempt. My mother was a brilliant cook and although she was a full time doctor, she still managed to find time to cook us 3 amazing and different meals a day. She loved cooking and I am glad I’ve inherited that trait from her.” She began cooking when she was in college and would miss her mother’s food. When she joined Instagram in 2013, she found it fun to share pictures of everything she cooked. “It was the only creative thing I was into since I had just started working independently. After a couple of years, and after receiving several requests, I started posting down the recipes and an insta-blog was born. What started out as a hobby became a passion. A few years and a better phone later, I became enamoured with food photography. It’s like telling a story and even the simplest dish or meal can be a fairy tale.”
Sayuli was drawn to the culinary world as she enjoyed every opportunity she got to cook and care for her family and friends. “It’s a way of expressing my love for them. My time in the kitchen is like therapy or meditation. Especially after a long day at work, it relaxes me. I prefer being by myself in the kitchen chopping and sautéing instead of sitting on the couch for the same amount of time.” She believes that delicious and nutritious food need not be something that is complicated and takes hours to cook, and prefers to keep it simple.
Sayuli loves cooking South East Asian fare. “It’s bright, colourful, flavourful and pays a visit to each of the 6 tastes. It is as complex as it is simple. I prefer making my own curry pastes with fresh locally available ingredients. I also enjoy cooking our very own Goan delicacies. I like creating new dishes with different ingredients.” Sayuli is also a cookbook nerd and makes it a point to buy a recipe book every month as it’s exciting for her to chance upon new recipes, something which one can’t experience when one tries to look themup online. “To cook, you need to have a great palette and the desire to do so in your heart. My dishes that get requested the most are ‘Gai Pad Krapow’ and Chicken Cafreal.
Despite her busy schedule, she finds the time to juggle between her various avatars. “For several years, I have been cooking before and after work. Sundays are for prepping and planning the weekday meals ahead. Now I’m also a mom, and that is a full time job especially considering hiring help during the ongoing pandemic isn’t an option.” She chose to take a temporary sabbatical from her legal practice which wasn’t difficult since the courts weren’t fully functioning for the past several months; but she’s hoping to get back to her legal work at least on a part time basis after her baby is a year old. “Till then, I can always work from home. I watched my mom juggle between work, family, home etc and I think with a little effort it’s not impossible. She’s my inspiration in more ways than one.”
Sayuli is currently working on a cookbook but it’s a slow process of trying and testing each recipe several times for perfection. “I also wanted to start a dine-in with a table-sharing concept on weekends, wherein the diners get to experience local ingredients and several courses with wine pairings or maybe even themed meals at my home. I’m hoping to get the wheels moving on that as soon as the situation on the pandemic improves,” she adds Her husband is her biggest supporter and understands the passion she has for food. Along with him, her family and friends are her biggest cheerleaders and are always there any time she wants to try new menus, dishes or flavour pairings with them.
Sayuli concludes with advice to aspiring professionals, bloggers and mompreneurs. “I realised only in my 4th year of law school that I really enjoy being in the kitchen. It was only after getting married that I actually started increasing my repertoire, capabilities and know-how in the field. It was while I was pregnant last year that I came up with the concept and idea of starting my own place. It is never too late to find a new dream, follow it and make it come true and you will always find time for things you like
