For the Tiwaris, cooking is a family affair. When sisters Bhavika and Shraiya were growing up, the kitchen was the bustling centre of this joint family. "But we never got the chance to experiment with recipes, as they were heavily guarded by our mother. Also, we were little and would end up dirtying the kitchen," recalls Shraiya, 29. Years went by and the sisters, originally from Uttar Pradesh, got busy in their respective professions. While Shraiya moved to Pune a year ago, Bhavika, 24, who is a lawyer, stayed back with the family in Mumbai. "But somehow, both of us took out time to cook vegetarian recipes. I was with mom, so she taught me the basics, and I used YouTube to better some of the preparations. Shraiya, on the other hand, was living alone in Pune, and had just started to cook there," Bhavika shares.

But it was the Coronavirus-led lockdown that proved to be a game changer. "For the longest time, I have been posting pictures of what I cook. My friends and family always ended up asking for the recipes, but I didn't take it seriously until the lockdown was imposed," Shraiya says. This was when the sisters decided to launch The Ladle Story on Instagram. "The lockdown turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it helped me realise my passion for cooking. While it was Shraiya's idea to start the page, we both try to post at least one new vegetarian recipe daily," Bhavika adds. Most of their recipes are easy to execute.