The Case for Having a Bed Picnic
Bed picnic featuring the Dishoom masala chai and chilli cheese toast. Photography by Rakhee Bhatt. All rights reserved.
There’s eating in bed…and then there’s the bed picnic. At its core, both are the same, but the latter necessitates a little extra time that feels well worth the effort.
I first learned about the concept of a bed picnic from Padma Lakshmi. Many years ago, for the Sunday ritual section of The New York Times, the television host and author shared her weekly routine of having a bed picnic, and it altered how I viewed my “lazy” time at home. Essentially, Lakshmi takes a more self-care approach to this practice by first making her bed, taking a shower, and getting into a fresh pair of pajamas. From there, she makes a stack of sandwiches and a pot of tea—all neatly presented—to savor back in bed while watching a series.
Lakshmi further explained her bed picnic habit a few years later on the YouTube talk show “Hot Ones,” stating, “You actually think of it as the activity, so you feel no guilt or shame. It’s not like ‘Oh, I was such a schlub today and I just stayed home.’ You say, ‘No, I’m having a bed picnic.’”
This ability Lakshmi has to treat her rest as a sacred activity reminds me of the adage, “If you don’t pick a day to relax, your body will pick it for you.” I find that when I go too long without prioritizing my mental, physical, and spiritual health that life grinds on me until I take the requisite pause.
I’ve tried Lakshmi’s bed picnic in various ways and, while the food I eat tends to vary, one thing that is a constant on my tray is the masala chai in the style of Dishoom. The Bombay-inspired UK restaurant group holds a special place in my heart for their ability to bring together dishes cooked in Parsi, Muslim, Hindu, and Christian traditions onto one table. Their self-titled recipe book, Dishoom, is a love letter to that spirit. While every Indian household has their own spin on chai—mine included—the Dishoom version with their aromatic profile is something that I love to savor on the weekends when I have a bit more time to dedicate toward the simmering of this restorative concoction.
Dishoom Cookbook
“From Bombay With Love,” this is the first recipe book from the famed UK restaurant group.
Photography by Rakhee Bhatt. All rights reserved.
DISHOOM MASALA CHAI
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tbsp loose Assam or Darjeeling tea, or 3 English breakfast teabags
12 slices of fresh ginger root
1.5 tsp black peppercorns
12 cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cloves
3 tbsp granulated white sugar
2 cups whole milk
Instructions
1. Put the tea, ginger, and spices into a saucepan, pour in 4.25 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until you can smell the spices, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the sugar and milk, turn up the heat, and bring to a boil. Allow 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (A skin will form, but this strains off at the end.) Taste to see if the chai is to your liking. Boil a little longer if you wish for a stronger flavor.
3. Strain, discard the solids, and serve immediately.
Masala chai recipe shared with permission from Dishoom.