What A "Devil Is Loose" Tastes Like
- Arpana Gvalani
- Dec 6, 2025
- 2 min read
Asha Puthli — The Devil Is Loose
Poached Pears with Chocolate Chilli Sauce
(Track 6 of the “What A Song Tastes Like” series)
Some songs don’t rush toward you.
They settle into the room like a city at night.
The Devil Is Loose is one of those songs
a quiet stride, a late-hour glow,
the feeling of walking through Bombay and New York at the same time.
It doesn’t demand attention.
It just finds its own corner and begins to colour the space.
Asha Puthli’s voice has that kind of cool confidence -
smooth, unhurried, a little mysterious -
like the soundtrack to a street you’d follow without checking the time.
That was the mood this dessert carried.
Why this dish
Pears felt right -
steady, classic, elegant without trying to impress.
Chocolate brought the warmth and smoothness of a slow jazz line.
Chilli added a quiet edge,
not sharp, not loud,
just enough to keep the softness from turning too sweet.
This is a dessert made for slow evenings.
For people who enjoy the night without needing it to be exciting.
For moments where the air feels unhurried
and the city finally stops demanding things from you.
A small night in the kitchen
The water warmed with star anise,
a soft bassline in the steam.
A squeeze of lemon brightened the room,
honey slipped in like an easy transition.
The pears poached gently,
taking their time -
the way the world feels when the streets get quieter.
Chocolate met a hint of chilli in a small bowl,
coming together the way two cities share a skyline in a single frame.
Plating it felt like setting a small scene:
Bombay dreams, New York swank,
the Beetle watching from the background,
the room lit the way jazz clubs prefer -
dim, but full of energy.
And then the final moment:
sliding the plate across the table,
letting the song do what it always does -
fill the night without filling the room.
The cities she carried
Asha Puthli’s voice has always sounded like travel -
not geography,
but mood.
A blend of where she came from
and the places her music lived.
These pears ended up tasting the same way:
soft, warm, lightly spiced,
simple but assured,
a dessert with two cities in its rhythm.
Not dramatic.
Just confident.
THE RECIPE
Poached Pears with Chocolate Chilli Sauce
Ingredients
2 pears, peeled and sliced
1 small star anise
1 tbsp honey
A squeeze of lemon
Water for poaching
Chocolate sauce
A small dab of harissa or chilli (as preferred)
Method
Heat water in a pan and add star anise.
Add a squeeze of lemon.
Stir in honey and let it dissolve.
Slip in the pear slices and poach until soft.
In a small bowl, mix chocolate sauce with a touch of chilli.
Spoon the chocolate onto a plate as the base.
Arrange the warm pears on top.
Finish with a light drizzle of the remaining sauce.
**Some songs don’t fill the room.
They fill the night.**
Listen while you eat:
Volume: dim.
Reel:
Comments