Your Weekly Food Horoscope (Feb 23-Mar 1): Comfort Cravings & Cash Checks
|
Mercury retrograde stirs nostalgia, Mars courts chaos — this week calls for simple meals, steady budgets, and flavours that feel like home.
|
THIS WEEK tastes like déjà vu with a side of impulse.
Mercury turns retrograde in Pisces on the 26th, and suddenly everyone wants their childhood snacks, their ex’s pasta recipe, their grandmother’s stew. Logistics wobble. Orders get mixed up. Groceries are forgotten on the counter.
Then Mars squares Uranus and someone almost rage-orders a ₹3,500 delivery at 11:47 pm.
The assignment?
Keep it simple. Keep it nostalgic. Keep your receipts.
♈ ARIES
You are not meant to be seen this week. You are meant to be swaddled.
Solitary comfort meals win — khichdi, congee, dal-rice, soup eaten from a deep bowl under a blanket. Do not “accidentally” pick up the tab for the entire table. Do not grocery shop hungry. Budget discipline is sexy right now.
Private food > performative food.
♉ TAURUS
You want old friends and familiar flavours.
This is not the week for that impossible-to-book omakase. Order your favourite noodles, sit cross-legged on the floor, and laugh until your stomach hurts. Keep plans stupidly simple — Mercury retrograde will punish over-organisation.
Nostalgia is the seasoning.
♊ GEMINI
Your mind is busy; your fridge should not be chaos.
Structured grocery lists. Pre-planned meals. No improvising mid-aisle. Cook something that requires reading — a recipe from a book, not a reel. Feed your intellect as much as your appetite.
Clarity in the pantry = clarity in the brain.
♋ CANCER
You are reclaiming territory.
If someone has been steamrolling your tastes, this is the week you say, “No. We are not ordering that.” But avoid complicated dinner logistics — reservations will glitch, plans will wobble.
Cook at home. Choose boldly. Keep the drama out of the sauce.
♌ LEO
Shared money, shared groceries, shared expectations — it’s all under review.
Untangle the fridge politics. Have the conversation about who keeps finishing the good cheese. Then cook something intentional for the person who’s felt second-place to your ambition.
Less FOMO dinner parties. More focused intimacy.
♍ VIRGO
Put the apron down.
You are not hosting. You are not meal-planning for everyone else. You are not optimising protein ratios for the household.
This is solo nourishment territory. A decadent takeaway eaten alone. A slow breakfast in silence. Radical rest includes not chopping onions for others. |
♎ LIBRA
You are organising chaos by day and romanticising life by night.
Pantry reset. Fridge wipe-down. Meal prep for the week. And then — excellent wine with someone charming.
Health systems + la dolce vita. No guilt allowed.
♏ SCORPIO
Domestic volatility is real.
If the kitchen feels tense, exit gracefully. Take a long solo grocery walk. Buy fresh herbs like you’re planning a new life. Avoid cooking in a crowded, emotionally charged room.
Space is the main ingredient.
♐ SAGITTARIUS
You are bored and slightly feral.
Do not demolish your kitchen in a fit of restlessness. Instead, introduce novelty through flavour — Ethiopian one night, Korean the next, something you cannot pronounce on Thursday.
Burn the agitation through spice, not renovation.
♑ CAPRICORN
Money wake-up call.
If you’re splurging, it better be on something timeless: proper olive oil, aged balsamic, real vanilla, good knives. Hunt for a deal like it’s a sport.
Quality over chaos. Elegance over impulse.
♒ AQUARIUS
You are frugal, sensitive, and one minor inconvenience away from snapping.
Farmers’ market produce. From-scratch soups. Cheap, nourishing, deeply satisfying food cooked at home. Avoid overstimulating restaurants.
Your nervous system needs gentle flavours and low decibels.
♓ PISCES
Mercury is reversing in your sign. Your nervous system is raw.
Cut back on caffeine. Be cautious with sugar. Alcohol will hit harder than you think. Choose grounding, earthy meals — root vegetables, grains, warm broths.
Protect your energy like it’s the last jar of honey in winter.
Madame Zest's Parting Spoon
This week is about maturity. In appetite. In love. In rhythm.
The question isn’t “What do I crave?”
It’s “What will sustain me?”
Cook accordingly. |
Hey there, foodie! You're the planet we set our sights by 🪐 Want to get in touch? Just drop in on our Insta page and say hi! Forward this newsletter to someone who'd love bite-sized tidbits on all things food, or share using the buttons below ⬇️ Got this email from a friend? Sign up ! |
| | 8-10 bone-in chicken* thighs
10 cloves garlic, minced
3 inches ginger, minced (around 50 g)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
6 medium red onions, minced or finely chopped (about 6 cups, or 900 grams)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup berbere*
2 cups water
1/3 cup niter kibbeh*
1 tsp korarima* or green cardamom seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt or to taste
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
injera* to serve |
Combine ginger, garlic, and oil to make a paste. Set aside. Place a large Dutch oven (or similar pot) over low heat on the stove top. Add the minced onions to the dry pan and cook slowly, stirring regularly as the liquid releases, allowing the onions to simmer and caramelise. If necessary, you can add a little oil. Cook until the onions are caramelised and fragrant — generally around 25-30 minutes.
(Note: don't try to rush this step, as it's key to the flavour of the finished dish!) Add the ginger/garlic paste and tomato paste to the pot. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add the berbere and stir to combine, then saute for about 1 minute. Add 2 cups of water. Increase the heat to medium and bring the pot to a low simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add the niter kibbeh and spices and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
Add the chicken. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the chicken is very tender — around 1 hour. If the sauce starts to thicken and sputter a bit too much while cooking, you can add a little extra water.
Add the hard-boiled eggs, and continue to simmer gently for about 10 more minutes.
If you want a thinner/soupier sauce, you can add a little bit of water. Adjust salt to taste if necessary.
Serve with injera and plenty of extra sauce.
*Some notes for your reference:
Chicken: Traditionally, doro wat is often made with a whole, separated chicken. I use bone-in thighs for simplicity, but you can also use drums and thighs, or other pieces. Chicken breasts are not usually recommended, as the long cooking time tends to make them stringy and tough.
Berbere: The quintessential Ethiopian spice mix, berbere can be found at Ethiopian stores, online, and often at well-stocked grocery stores. Or you could also make it at home.
Niter kibbeh: Spiced, clarified Ethiopian butter. You can make your own or buy it at some African or Ethiopian grocers. If you can't find it, you can substitute it with ghee.
Korarima: Often called Ethiopian cardamom, this spice can be found at Ethiopian/Eritrean grocery stores. Green cardamom tastes quite similar and can be substituted 1:1.
Injera: This soft, springy, tangy flatbread is a side dish and serving utensil rolled into one. Any Ethiopian restaurant will happily sell you a few sides of it to go along with your own home cooking. If you can't find injera, serve with a soft flatbread or savoury crepe.
- Recipe via Diversivore |
| | In-depth, well-researched narratives about food. From the evolution of mock meats, to the cuisine of Gondal's royal kitchen, you’ll find a food story that keeps you hooked. | These stories and recipes celebrate a vital part of Indian festivals: food. And our editors will even line up star chefs to share their holiday cooking secrets with you. |
| Food journeys that take a turn for the unexpected. Serendipity guides these down-the-rabbit-hole explorations: who knows, poee might just lead to
misal pav. |
In which Nirmalya Dutta and Avinash Mudaliar pick a theme, any theme, and find a way to introduce readers to all the food trivia that might be linked to that idea. |
| | Hindustan Media Ventures Limited,
Hindustan Times House, 18-20,
Second Floor, Kasturba Gandhi
Marg, New Delhi - 110 001, India |
DOWNLOAD THE SLURRP APP ⬇️ |
| |
If you need any guidance or support along the way, please send
an email to slurrp@htmedialabs.com. We’re here to help! |
©️2026 Slurrp, HT Media Labs. All rights reserved. |
| | |
