History on a plate; A slice of Italy in Bengaluru
The Bangalorean staple spicy pepper chicken, tempered with curry leaves and mustard seeds, might be a crowd-pleaser today, but it is an evolution of a humble Anglo-Indian delicacy. The original version has been a longstanding staple in Anglo-Indian homes.
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After months of hype around OpenAI’s GPT-5, users were left underwhelmed with the lacklustre performance of the AI model released recently. The “PhD-level expert” model was reportedly struggling with basic math and English questions.
Now, experts are questioning the model’s energy costs.
Meanwhile, the Sam Altman-led company—like most of its competitors—has released no official information on the power usage of its models since GPT-3, which came out in 2020, reports The Guardian.
CEO Altman revealed some numbers on ChatGPT’s resource consumption on his blog this June. However, these figures have no supporting documentation.
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Did you know that Anke Gowda Jnana Prathistana, or "Knowledge Shrine", in the village of Kennalu, near Mysore, is one of the largest known private book collections of its kind. It's thought to be home to more than 1.5 million books!
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- History on a plate
- A slice of Italy in Bengaluru
- Building a girls’ football team
Here’s your trivia for today: What type of pasta’s name means “little tongues” in Italian?
Food
History on a plate
Classic Anglo-Indian Mutton Mince Ball Curry (Bad Word Curry): Tender mutton mince koftas are simmered in a mildly spiced, delicious and mouthwatering coconut-based curry. A typical Anglo-Indian Dish that has passed through the ages. This curry is also known colloquially as “Bad Word Curry". As the word Ball’ was considered as a slang word by the elders in the olden days, hence the name ‘Bad Word Curry’.
The Bangalorean staple spicy pepper chicken, tempered with curry leaves and mustard seeds, might be a crowd-pleaser today, but it is an evolution of a humble Anglo-Indian delicacy. The original version—cooked using only pepper, garlic, onion and meat—has been a longstanding staple in Anglo-Indian households.
Chef Bridget White-Kumar shared this trivia with YS Life during a conversation at her pop-up in Renaissance Bengaluru Race Course Hotel.
Exploration:
- In the last 25 years, the Bengaluru-based chef has authored eight cookbooks on Anglo-Indian cuisine. Two of them—Anglo-Indian Cuisine—A Legacy of Flavours from the Past, and Nostalgic Anglo-Indian Comfort Food—have won several awards, including the best Culinary History Book in India.
- She has partnered with notable establishments, including the JW Marriott Aerocity in New Delhi, The Oberoi Mumbai, The Taj Group of Hotels, Sujan Luxury Rajmahal Palace in Jaipur, and Hyatt Bengaluru, to spotlight the lost recipes of the community.
- When asked about a dish that best defines the Anglo-Indian cuisine, Bridget mentions the meatball curry. “Also called the bad word curry,” she jokes, referring to the cheeky nickname coined by schoolboys.
Food
A slice of Italy in Bengaluru
Bengaluru’s pizzeria Serious Slice makes you pause before biting into a slice. Tucked in Cunningham Road, the space wraps its diners within surf-blue walls, layered with Napoli-inspired art, and offers a trattoria vibe. It doesn't scream for attention, but gradually transports you to the Italian Amalfi Coast.
Perfect pizzas
- Serious Slice’s menu also features a Napoletano secret—Panuozzo—an Italian sandwich, essentially a pizza bread.
- From the hot honey and gorgonzola gnocchi and shrimp yuzu butter bucatini, to the chorizo carbonara and lemon ricotta chicken ravioli—one cannot stop at one pasta order.
- The open-fire kitchen adds theatre, and the Serious Slice experience is as much about the mood as it is about the meal. It is designed not just to serve a taste of, but transport the diner to a trattoria in Napoli, and the sunny coastline of Italy.
Inspiration
Building a girls’ football team
In 2021, FC Garhwal, with a 67-year history of men’s football, did something it hadn’t before. It began building a girls’ team from scratch. Today, those girls are lifting trophies, making national squads, and changing what football looks like from the grassroots up. In 2023, FC Garhwal won the Delhi Women’s League, a first in the club’s history.
News & updates
- Lost connection: People’s connection to nature has declined by more than 60% since 1800, almost exactly mirroring the disappearance of nature words such as river, moss and blossom from books, according to a study. Computer modelling predicts that levels of nature connectedness will continue to decline unless there are far-reaching policy and societal changes
- Demise: Astronaut Jim Lovell, who guided the Apollo 13 mission safely back to Earth in 1970, has died aged 97. Nasa said he had "turned a potential tragedy into a success" after an attempt to land on the Moon was aborted because of an explosion onboard the spacecraft while it was hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth.
- New planet: Scientists have found strong evidence of a giant gas planet in the nearest star system to our own. At four-and-a-half light-years away, the lifeless planet would be a close neighbour to Earth in astronomical terms and could have moons that sustain life.
What type of pasta’s name means “little tongues” in Italian?
Answer: Linguine.
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