Before it fills your stomach, good food often serves as a feast for the eyes – and at times, a memorable cooking experience. Today we have Kt & Grace from Dimapur to guide us into their world of gourmet, and their Insta food blog ‘Gilt Gourmet.’
Sisters and best friends, these food curators from Nagaland have been enthusing their followers with their mouth-watering and eye-catching food photos – captured by them while cafe hopping or cooking at home. Their feed serves as an inspiration to go beyond our familiar food zone, and explore new cuisines, which can be just as enticing and comforting as our North Eastern palate. I chat with Kt and Grace to know more about ‘Gilt Gourmet’, their favorite meals, and even get them to share a super simple Italian recipe! Read on.
‘Gilt Gourmet’ curators – Kt & Grace from Dimapur, Nagaland
‘Gilt Gourmet’ curators – Kt & Grace from Dimapur
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Deno: Welcome to R&L! Please introduce yourself to our readers.
KT & Grace: We’re two sisters and go by the name Kt & Grace. Growing up, our love for food has always kept us close to the kitchen. We would watch elders in the household hustle & bustle in the kitchen to spread food on the table, and along with that, bring undeniable happiness to everyone at home!
These childhood joys have inspired us to do what we are doing today with ‘Gilt Gourmet’ – a personal food blog. That said, we love preparing good food for everyone at home. Although we really enjoy cooking, we must admit that it can be tiring or challenging at times to bring out even the simplest of dishes.
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Deno: How would your friends describe you?
KT & Grace: We’re known among friends as the ‘two sisters’ who always stick together almost everywhere, and known for our indecisive nature while choosing what to eat from a menu:)
Freshly Baked Buns and Bread by Gilt Gourmet, Nagaland
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Deno: Those who cook together, stick together 🙂 Tell me more ‘Gilt Gourmet.’
KT & Grace: Our love for food has always lived with us, and ‘Gilt Gourmet’ partially channels this passion. We started from café hopping on weekends in an attempt to try out the variety of food and cuisines on offer. Thus documenting our food diaries gradually morphed into our food blog, which goes by the name ‘Gilt Gourmet’ on Instagram. On this account, we share pictures of food from the various places we go to eat, and sometimes of the meals we cook, but we don’t share recipes here yet, as we ourselves are amateurs and still experimenting.
“Although our Insta blog ‘Gilt Gourmet’ was already in being for almost 2 years now, it was really the lockdown that served as an opportunity for us to experiment more with it. As we spent more time in the kitchen, there was a renewed interest towards documenting the food we make.”
Creamy garlic chicken breast with potatoes by ‘Gilt Gourmet’
Creamy garlic chicken breast with potatoes by ‘Gilt Gourmet’
Spanish Tortilla | Gilt Gourmet
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Deno: What do you cook a lot?
KT & Grace: We’re both more of a ‘quick-fix kind of person, so most days we settle for something simple like stir fry veggies, salads, fruits and eat just about anything with bread. We love our vegetables and we try to eat them daily to balance out the junk food we unapologetically indulge in. Rice still remains our staple so ‘aloo-fry‘ with it, is our go-to meal any day.
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Deno: Tell me about the best cafe that you’ve been to, and why was it special.
KT & Grace: Oh, it would be impossible to pick one particular café. There are so many places we thoroughly enjoy, each with its own kind of specialty and a vibe. Some days it’s a nice cute coffee shop, other days it’s an open outdoor café, and sometimes the crowded hyped places. So we think it’s the mood, the craving, and the weather that usually decides our favorite spot on that particular day.
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Deno: Any favorite indulgence(s) at the moment?
KT & Grace: Our cravings for chaat has been lingering around for quite some time now; it’s one of our favorite snack for most evenings.
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Deno: What is your favorite leisure activity?
KT & Grace: As much as we hate it, we are inevitably living in the digital age so we spend most of our free time scrolling through our phones and squander a fair amount of time on Netflix. However, we also like to spend time catching up with friends and family, take care of our humble collection of green plants and go out for walks.
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Deno: Totally agree. What are you currently watching on Netflix?
KT & Grace: K-drama would top our watch list on Netflix. Some of our current favorite watches include: The Penthouse, Mr. Queen, Once again, Skycastle, and the list go on.
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Deno: If you’re having a bad day how do you make it better?
KT & Grace: As cliché as it may sound, food can make anyone happy at any given point. Good food can do wonders when nothing much is going according to plan. So on days of gloom, we either just order in a lot of food or cook up something interesting. We also like to settle for just going out to a coffee/bakeshop and indulge in a lot of sweet treats, and wait for our sugar rush to make our day seem better 🙂
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Deno: Before you leave, would you like to share any pasta recipe that our readers can try out? An easy one.
KT & Grace: Yes, we love our pasta! We want you all to try making ‘Spaghetti Aglio e Olio‘ – a traditional Italian pasta dish from Naples. It’s a simple recipe made using 4 main ingredients: spaghetti, olive oil, garlic, and chili flakes. You can improvise by adding chicken or prawns, but it is just as delicious on its own. Super quick and easy to make, and thus our favorite anytime indulgence. Enjoy:)
‘Spaghetti aglio e olio’ by Gilt Gourmet. Full RECIPE LINK.
Spaghetti aglio e olio by Gilt Gourmet, Nagaland
Garlic butter prawns on a bed of toasted aubergine with rucola & mango salad. Follow Gilt Gourmet on Instagram.
Garlic butter prawns on a bed of toasted aubergine with rucola & mango salad by ‘Gilt Gourmet’
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