Launch of book The Food Trail of Punjab by Yashbir Sharma (a food travelogue).

The Cookshelf from A Perfect Bite was proud to host the launch of Yashbir Sharma’s new book The Food trails of Punjab on the 27th of September over a fabulous dinner of Punjabi food generously catered by the Legacy of Punjab restaurant. We were also honored to have some of the foodiest of foodies of Mumbai join us for the happy occasion.
 

I started Cookshelf  because, thanks to my friend foodwriter Vikram Doctor I have acquired an addiction to books on food and I wanted to create a repository of information of foodwriting and food books from around the world but most specifically from Indian. It is a work in progress, that I am adding to slowly. An objective of this blog is also to help good food books get attention. Having tried, rather unsuccessfully to sell my book on Uttaranchali cuisine to publishers for the last five years, I know how frustrating it is to have a good book and not find a publisher. And there are many brave foodwriters out there who believe in their books enough to put their money behind their passion and self publish books. One such man is Yashbir Sharma.

Yashbir Sharma

I first heard about Yashbir uncle and his first book The Dhabas of Amritsar through one of Vikram’s columns on restaurant cookbooks in ET, but never actually found a copy to look at. And then as serendipity would have it, I happened to meet his nephew, Manish. After that it was just a matter of me nagging Manish until he introduced me! When I finally met Yashbir Sharma, at his home in Delhi a few months ago  I was disappointed to hear that he did not have any copies of his book left BUT was quickly heartened to hear that he was soon to release a new book! I even got to see the dummy version of the book that he was self publishing; The Food Trail of Punjab. 

The Book - The food trail of Punjab

I decided right there that I would do whatever I could to help spread the word on the book. And when Yashbir Uuncle called last week to say he was bringing me some of the first copies of the book, I was thrilled. I worked against time, (even emailing from my phone of the deck of a houseboat on Kerela’s backwaters) to pull together the launch. Before I go on about the evening and the book, I would like to thank Varun Dhingra of the Legacy of Punjab restaurant, without which this evening could not have been as delicious. To launch a food book you need good food at the event and my big concern was what to serve for dinner. I am a good cook but for a book on Punjab I needed good Punjabi food, an area in which my repertoire is small. But luck favoured me again and as I was discussing things with my friend Pooja of Le 15 Patisserie, she told me that her brother Varun ran a Punjabi restaurant that had Amritsari cooks in the kitchen and would be happy to help with this. And so the table was set for The food Trail of Punjab to take off.

Varun Dhingra of the Legacy of Punjab restaurant

Amritsari Tikkis from Legacy of Punjab

As we dug into Amritsari Tikkis slathered in lashings of chutneys and Mooli salad, Yashbir Uncle told us about this book that was two years and several trips to Punjab in the making. 

"It all started when I was in Amritsar, I had an upset stomach  and decided to have some Trotters soup in Amritsar. Before you know it I was fine. The water of Amritsar is very good for the digestion. It allows one to eat the local food without getting sick." he said and the thought struck him to document the food of Punjab. And so he embarked on a happy trip through the state, pen and camera at the ready. 

“I have travelled the length and breadth of Punjab and found its people amazingly simple in their eating habits. Yet, they don’t compromise on their food. It is nutritious and delicious, with no frills attached to it. The recipes are simple, the Masallas do not number more than 7-8” 

The fertile state of Punjab in North India has always been considered the “bread basket” of the country. Famous for its vast rolling plains, endless fields of wheat, corn, millet and rice and the food! For the hardworking people of Punjab, every meal is little celebration and wherever you eat in this part of India, be it at restaurant, a roadside dhabba (as local street-side food vending stalls are referred to) or in a Punjabi home, quantity is definitely a measure of quality partly because Punjabis like to eat well but also because they love to lay a laden table.

And it is this legacy that the Food trail of Punjab brings us through recipes and the unforgettable stories behind them, culled from the owners of iconic eateries across Punjab. Featured in it’s pages are such hearty iconic delights as Kara Prasad, Dal Makhani, Amritsar Da Mutton, Gajjar da Murraba Meen Punjabi-Chinni Ishtyle Chicken and winding its way between these recipes, in the best tradition of the food travelogue are stories, vignettes of history, stories of iconic establishments and the people that run them. Full of candid photographs, charming commentary impassioned memories of the people and food of Punjab. The Food Trail of Punjab is a delicious romp of a book guaranteed to get you craving for a Punjabi meal.

It is a book that any food lover - but especially those who are afficionados of indian food and Indian culinary history - should aspire to own, because it celebrates an era of food - the kind that loved simple flavours, oodles of ghee and lots of deep frying - that is an iconic part of Indian cuisine and needs to preserved. 

Fabulous stuffed Kulchas!

Tandoori Rotis

Shanky and Lotsoffood!

Shanky

Feast of Food and friends

The French connection? Food writer Mangal Dalal and Pooja Dhingra of Le 15

Chole

Mini Rasmalai

The book and the food!  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GYAN

The Food Trail of Punjab is widely available at bookstores all over India. For more information you can get in touch with Mr. Sharma at mryashbirsharma(at)gmail(dot)com. 

‘Legacy of Punjab’ Asli Punjab Da Tashan as a grade 1 restaurant on the Mumbai – Nashik / Shirdi highway, 3km from Shangrila Waterpark. A spacious restaurant, that recreates the ambiance of a Punjabi farm house, Legacy of Punjab, uses solar energy fas its primary power source and growis most of ithe produce it uses on the 10,000 sq feet farm attached to the restaurant where vegetables like cauliflower, okra, brinjals, sugar cane, corn, papayas, radish flourish. For further enquiries please call +91 93231 07555 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +91 93231 07555      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or email legacyofpunjab@gmail.com, or look for them Facebook under Legacy of Punjab.

Book review - Modern Spice

I have known Monica Bhide, almost as long as I have been a food writer. In fact she was kind enough to guide me on many early queries on aspects of food writing. I was always curious to get a look at her cookbooks (she has two previous cookbooks to her name; The Spice is Right and The Everything Indian Cookbook) but I never got my hands on one because they did not make it to India. So I was determined to change that when I heard that about her latest offering 'Modern Spice' and had asked someone in the US to pick up one. But it turned out I did not need to however, because Random House released an Indian edition and were kind enough to send me a copy. A lot of cookbooks wash up on my doorstep, but very few pass the test that gets them through to this blog. Modern Spice did.

Indian cooking is a classic example of fusion going right. And anyone that scoffs about that or about fusion is too full of themselves and needs to get a good dose of Chopsuey Dosa in Mumbai! That is a story for another post however. The point I am trying to make is that Indian cuisine is a classic example of fusion. The roots of Indian cuisine were put down millennia ago when the geographical borders of the sub continent of India were drawn. Indigenous ingredients were harvested by ancient civilizations of India and the resultant cuisine formed the base of Indian Cuisine as we know it. However, the sub continent of India spans many climates zones and is home to a variety of flora and fauna. So as civilizations spread out over the subcontinent with time, they took with them the food ways they practiced but adapted them to suit locally available ingredients.

And today the world is a much smaller place. Indians have moved all over the world taking their cuisine with them and adapting it to what is locally available. In a modern day evolution, Monica has adapted the culinary knowledge she inherited, to the foods she has found in America. The difference is that where expat accounts of food cooked abroad once read as an account of traditional curries and Indian food cooked painstakingly from scratch by mothers and grandmothers to recreate the flavours of home and carried melancholy undertones, Monica’s book reflects a more refreshing positive evolution, a reflection of the lives of Indians living abroad today, easy, fun, intensely flavourful and inclusive! This is food to welcome, become a PART of a world that is coming closer, evolving together not exclude, by saying – you would not understand Indian spices.....

In the forward, Monica says “Just because we have always done something in one way, it does not make it the only way to do it” and that to this cook who like to experiment with ingredients and push them to their limits is what appeals. Monica Bhide’s book Modern spice gives the world a small taste of what you can do with a little Indian spice and exotica such as Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli we have only just begun to experiment with in dishes other than salads and Chinese food!

I look at a cookbook for inspiration and Modern Spice offered lots of new ideas I especially loved the drinks section that sexed up homely classics such as ROOH AFZA (of all things) into a sultry Rum and roses and spiked a plain old Pineapple juice with chillies to make Hot Passion. But that said my biggest grouse is that there are no pictures. A lot of pain has been taken to lay out pages and add breaks in text with innovative touches of colour and graphics but it would have been nice to actually see what some of the more unusual recipes looked like when I was trying to decide what to make!

All eaten and tasted however, I think this is a great book to invest in, as a gift for non Indians wanting to try their hand at Indian influenced cooking; it keeps a western audience in mind, using ingredients found in most western supermarkets. But (and this is even while I am aware that some of the ingredients used are not available in India) it is also a great book for the modern Indian cook who likes a little adventure. The recipes are designed with the modern sensibilities of health in mind: lighter than most traditional Indian recipes and easy to cook in spite of frantic schedules we have these days.

Shrimp in Green Mango Butter Sauce
Serves: 4
Prep/Cook Time: 20 mintues
Green mangoes cooked in a sweet butter sauce add a delightfully different tart, tangy, and sweet touch to this shrimp curry. Serve this with steamed basmati rice.
3½ tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
10 fresh curry leaves
2 large or 4 to 6 small shallots, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon table salt to start
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
¼ cup chicken stock
1½ pounds or about 650 grams jumbo
shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup diced, peeled green (unripe) mango
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup water
Half a fresh lemon
1. Heat two and a half tablespoons of the butter and the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until the foam subsides. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves and sauté just until the mustard seeds pop.
2. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté for two to three minutes until aromatic and golden.
3. Add the turmeric, salt, pepper, broth, and shrimp and simmer for a few minutes until the shrimp is almost cooked through. Remove from the heat.
4. In a medium pan, melt the remaining one tablespoon of butter on medium heat. Add the mango and sugar and sauté for a minute. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cook for five to seven minutes until the mango starts to soften.
5. Transfer the mango mixture to the saucepan containing the shrimp. Mix well, then reheat gently. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.

------
GYAAN and legend
Priced at Rs. 499, Modern Spice is published by Random House India. Monica Bhide is a cookery writer and blogger whose articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economic Times, Femina, Bon Appetit and eGullet. In addition to her writing, Monica owns and operates her own cooking school which has been featured in Bon Appetit.

A Perfect Bite...: VIRTUAL BIRTHDAY POTLUCK WEEK. - What will you cook for me on my birthday?

A Perfect Bite...: VIRTUAL BIRTHDAY POTLUCK WEEK. - What will you cook for me on my birthday?

Author Interview - Bulbul Mankani, Bollywood Cookbook .

Bulbul Mankani is a gem of a person I have the good fortune to count amongst foodie friends. Born in Delhi, Bulbul grew up in many countries and cities and recently moved north to look after her mom.  Just prior to that she was teaching at a film school- whistling woods international. Trained in food at IHM, New Delhi Bulbul  only really cooked for the first time at college and then everyday for three years after. Over the years she has worked in the hotel industry and in media (television and advertising), having directed a 39 part TV series on food called Shahi Dawat, a show on the royal cuisine of India..... A while ago I interviewed her on her cookbook for an article. Thought I would share it here! 

RMG: Why the Bolly wood Cookbook? What inspired you? Why did you choose the subject you did to write about?

BM: Funnily, there was no inspiration, my publishers wanted a book that combined Bollywood and food - as both are favourites in Europe presently - and they asked me to come up with a book... So I would say the subject chose me! And my training in food and film helped

RMG: How did you become interested in cooking? When and how did food and its exploration become important?

BM: I come from a foodie family- in good, bad, rich, poor times there was a lot of great food cooked and eaten.... One side of my family are Sardars from Rawalpindi and they enjoy this full blooded meaty cuisine.... the other side is Sindhi with their highly disciplined eating... I used to watch some cooking as a kid but the first time I really cooked was at college and boy did we cook- almost 8 hrs everyday!!

RMG: How did you set about working on this book?  Did you travel, meet the celebrities whose favourites you featured, actually cook with them in their own kitchens?

BM: The toughest part was to get the celebrities to participate! Once they agreed I would interview them, the ones I knew from before actually cooked and showed me their skills but the others shared their food stories and told me about their favourite dishes. I then took the recipe from their mom's/ uncles/ aunts/ khansamas (cooks), tested them and wrote the chapter on each of them.

RMG: Would you share some of your most pleasurable moments during your
research, interactions with celebrities, tastings?

BM: Most of the actors were great to meet and talk to. I think one of the fun things was meeting them in their make up vans on film sets and talking about food for hours.... it was really such a heady mix.  I love food and films and they came together in a great way... I travelled to Amravati to meet Nandita Das and I remember the lush orange trees for miles and she was such an easy natural person.... I think each one of them was a pleasure. Most were very passionate about food despite the need for fit bodies.  Not all cooked themselves but they all knew their food.  I discovered Manisha Koirala is a great cook and hostess. I tasted her Italian cooking and it is good.  Shabana Azmi is articulate and funny - a great raconteur... as is Rahul Bose.... both do not cook at all but know their dals! 

 
RMG: What's your favorite recipe from your book?

BM: If I have to choose just one it has to be Junglee Mutton, the recipe shared by Rishi and Neetu Kapoor - it was unusual and truly represents food born by necessity. 

RMG: What's next on the menu? What can we, look forward to next from
your kitchen/pen? I know it is a little soon, but do give us a hint...

BM: I had written a film script set in the food world and am turning that into a novel.  Plus working on two cook books- one on Ayurvedic cuisine and another is a food travelogue....

 
RMG: What do you have to say about the lack of food representation in Indian Movies?

BM: True, our cinema misses out on this aspect completely- except for the odd dinner table sequence- even a film like Bawarchi did not create enough food moments.   

RMG: Favourite foodie movie? Why?

BM: Like water for chocolate- its sensual and had that premise that food carries our emotions 

RMG: What were some of the things you were uncompromising about as regards to your book, that you think should be given more attention in other cookbooks? (Language, recipe testing etc)

BM: Recipe testing and description - a lot of books assume you know the ingredients or spice mixes and one needs to appreciate that books travel all over the world I keep the lowest common denominator in mind... so i explain how to make all the subset ingredients/chutneys... 

RMG: I found you through your blog (a great tool since I was looking for you) but in general do you think a blog/website is important to promotion? And have you done anything special with any bloggers to promote your book?

BM: Like you an accidental food blogger found me and promoted the book plus ran a contest.... I love blogging but am lazy about it.... I think it’s a great way to promote the book.... so I think it should get linked to sale through a internet purchase....

RMG: Anything you would have done differently?

BM: I would have attended the food photography sessions, we were on a tight time schedule so I could not be there...and the photos are sometimes not accurate...

ORGANIC FOOD IN INDIA - An interview with Dr. Anjali Pathak, naturopath and organic consultant

Dr Anjali Pathak

Will organic ingredients make a noticeable difference in gourmet and home cooking?
A world of difference! Organic food tastes better, looks better, feels better and nourishes better than chemically grown food. You may not be a gourmet cook but if you cook with organic ingredients you will get rave reviews and lavish praise from all who taste the feast.

We all love our baingan bhurta, so why this fuss over Bt brinjal?
Because Bt brinjal may kill or maim us and our children in silent and unexpected ways. We still do not know enough about the long term effects of genetically modified food upon the human body. We may be able to produce more food in terms of quantity but whether this food is going to be healthy food remains unanswered to date.

Agreed that organic food is healthy but why aren’t more shops selling it?
Good question. Firstly, most of the organic food being grown in India is being exported abroad. Secondly, the supply chain from the farmer to the shopkeeper is erratic and fluctuating as far as organic food is concerned. Thirdly, the high cost of space rental in big cities means that organic stores often cannot break even. And fourthly, consumer consciousness and hence consumer demand for organic food is low. In fact an ASSOCHAM study revealed that only 3.3% of the population in our metropolitan cities opt for organic food.

Where can I find fresh organic produce, cereals and pulses in Mumbai?
The Yusuf Meherally Centre in Babulnath carries fresh produce. Dosti Land Developers who have farms in Dahanu also carry fresh produce and do home deliveries. For dry staples there are a number of supermarkets and hypermarkets including chains like Spinach, Akbarally’s, Godrej Nature’s Basket, Food Bazaar, Spencer’s and Fabindia. Navdanya, Conscious Food and Nishtha Organics are stand alone stores. Firdaus Bakhshay is a manufacturer and bulk supplier of 25 varieties of natural cheese, fruit yogurt, processed meats and omega 3 eggs.

And what about organic restaurants, can you suggest a few names?
There is a paucity of good organic restaurants in our metros but hopefully more will open soon. Navdanya restaurant at Dilli Haat serves delicious meals prepared with organic ingredients.
Sunil Jalihal, an IT fellow turned entrepreneur has opened up a branded organic salad and juice bar with outlets in Bangalore and Pune called deli,in. Unfortunately deli.in is only operating on IT campuses. Sunil is optimistic about opening more deli.in outlets in say Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai if business investors come forth to invest in the chain
Seva Café in Ahmedabad sources its raw materials from an organic farm near town and the food it serves is simple, delicious and down-to-earth (www.sevacafe.org).




You are saying that commonplace food items like sugar and tea are full of chemicals. So what is a healthy substitute for my daily cups of chai?Have herbal tea and better still prepare it at home. This is not chai, rather it is a “kadha” or herbal decoction or infusion and it tastes delicious. My personal favourite is tulsi-ginger, lemongrass, geranium, mint and rosehips (I collect them from wild rose bushes). Add honey or jaggery or palm jaggery as a sweetener and a dash of lemon if you must. Organic green tea is also great and yes, it is being produced and sold in India. Look for the MAKAIBARI brand of green tea in the stores. This is being grown in Darjeeling and is 100% organic. For those who are short on time, several varieties of herbal tea, both Indian and imported are available on the shelves of supermarkets in the big cities.

In which areas of India can a traveler expect to get well prepared organically grown food?
In the tribal, remote areas of India food is still being grown organically today. The northeast has organic food by and large but their preparations are simple, almost bland for the taste buds of urban people. Still the food is wholesome and grows on you if you eat it for a couple of weeks. The same hold true for Bastar in Chattisgarh or Wayanad in Kerala, Leh in Ladakh, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh, Kutch in Gujarat… The list is a long one!

Several eco-resorts all over India are growing and serving their own organic vegetables and fruits, like the Hermitage near Belgaum; Soans Farms, Moodabidri, Karnataka, Rainforest Retreat in Coorg; Tranquil Plantation Hideaway, Sultan Bathery, Wayanad; Philipkutty’s farm, Kottayam, Kerala; The Bamboo Resort in Sikkim; Karmi Farm, Darjeeling; Yangsum Farm, Rinchenpong, Sikkim; the Ahilya Fort hotel in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh; Wildernest at Swapnagandha, Chorla Ghat, and Savoi Plantation in Goa; Himalayan Village, Sonapani, Kumaon; Ambiya Himalayan Paradise, Kodiya, Garhwal; Shahpura Bagh in Shahpura, and Apani Dhani in Nawalgarh, Rajasthan and many, many more.

Tell us about your book ANNAM BRAHMA: Organic Food in India, in a nutshell.
ANNAM BRAHMA: Organic Food in India (Pilgrims Publishing, Varanasi, 2009) is a compilation of articles by organic farmers, organic shop owners, ayurvedic vaidyas and naturopaths. All recount their personal journeys which led them to either grow, sell or prescribe organic food and the changes it has brought about in the lives of their customers and patients as well as in their own lives. It also has a 50 page all India organic directory to assist readers in finding a good place to source their organic food supply. Swamini Mayatitananda who healed herself of cancer by living on a carefully planned diet of organic food has written an enlightening preface to the book Organic Food: Honouring Mother Earth. Organic food is available all over India and probably in a location close to you at rates which are pretty reasonable. So get out your shopping bags and make a beeline for organic food. Life is amazing and fun with organic food!

GYAN and Links:
ANNAM BRAHMA: Organic Food in India, ed. Anjali Pathak ( Rs. 650, Pilgrims Publishing, Varanasi) is available at Strand Book Stall (ph:22661917, 22661994), Oxford Book Store (ph:66364477) and Chetna Book Centre (ph:22851243 ) in Mumbai; and at Bahri Sons (ph:24694610), Oxford Book Store (ph: 23766083), Om Bookshop (ph:41664200), Bookmark (ph:24693216) and Midland (ph:24653880) in Delhi.

Cookbooks for mE

Cookbooks roundup for mE magazine

When one is bonkers about something, it tends to permeate every aspect of one's life. But when two loves combine, well it is a recipe for chaos! I have always been book lover. Then gastronomy writing happened to me and food took over my life. My husband may well disagree but it has to be said, that my bookshelf bore the brunt (literally) of my new interest!

With a new one arriving almost every day for review, my husband stopped commenting, or even looking heaven wards about 200 cookbooks back. In fact when I carried in a bagful of new cookbooks on Saturday, he made me so proud by not batting an eyelid! (Although I suspect that might have more to do with the array of dishes and cuisines he's been coming home to every night!)

The first book I snagged on my latest shopping spree was One Perfect Ingredient by celebrity-chef, Marcus Wareing. The beauty of it is that it offers simple but unusual ideas to get creative with easily accessible ingredients. Got cabbage? Do a Savoy Cabbage with Nut Butter, spiced red cabbage with apple or with hicken. Fishwalla delivered prawns? Try the Prawn Laksa, Panceta prawns or Prawn Bisque, defrost that chicken and roast I with forty cloves of garlic, toss it with bacon and pesto or make a Thai green curry. One Perfect Ingredient is a neat book that delivers on its promise, 50 ingredients X 3 recipes each that cover each section of the kitchen; vegetables, fish and shellfish, meat and poultry, dairy and eggs, fruit and the store cupboard. It has been written for a UK audience so access to some ingredients (negligible) might be difficult and a few recipes might be too complicated for Indian kitchens but that said it is a practical book that you will actually use AND come to love. I have added several recipes from it to my home menus already, most celebrated of which has been the Lemon and Olive oil cake. Not only did the recipe inspire me to bake after YEARS but it turned out the PERFECT cake in with no wrist exercise required!

Books by chefs seem to be all the rage currently, Exploring Taste and Flavour by Tom Kime is another one I am glad I bought. It is not as simple to use as One Perfect Ingredient but Kime uses the principles of the Eastern taste theory and shows why combining the 4 main 'taste' elements of hot, sour, salt and sweet guarantees truly delicious food, every time. Ever one for exploring interesting combinations of food, Exploring Taste and Flavour offers a lot of scope for exploring fusion cuisine.

And then while I am reveling in these two current favourites - "Exploring taste and flavour" and One Perfect Ingredient another book arrives for review. Italian Khanna by Ritu Dalmia. I find it extremely EXCITING. Because for the first in my five years as a food writer, here is an Indian cookbook that is at par with the other two. I have lamented often at the dismal standard of cookbooks that come out of India, but Italian promises to be fun. It promises to show the Indian food lover how to cook authentic Italian food using ingredients from the Indian kitchen. It shows one that it is possible to cook a cuisine from halfway across the world with intelligently used substitutes.

I am sure puritans will scoff but I believe that the evolution of all cuisine is in fusion and adapting to local produce. Which is why I love cookbooks Italian Khana and American Masala by Suvir saran, they explore the melding of varied culinary influences but celebrate the beauty that is to be found in local and seasonal produce. I had been waiting for American Masala because I liked Saran's approach to cooking in his first book Indian Home Cooking (which makes the ideal gift for newbies to Indian cuisine incidentally). I was eager to see what American Masalla would serve up. I was not disappointed Classic western recipes were served with a intellgent masalafied twists and Indian recipes were tweaked to perfection. His Kararee Bhindi is a favourite with my husband's beer buddies and the Chicken Chickpea Harrira has become a comforting spicy meal to make ahead and eat with pav on weekdays. I am so glad my darling husband did the forbidden and picked up this book for me on a recent trip to the USA.

He also got me another book I have been dying to get my hands on. Namely Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson, a book that has been hugely coveted by me for a while now because I admire the author but her book never made it to Indian shores. I love experimenting with unusual ingredients, but I love discovering unusual local ingredients more and Super Natural Cooking offers a lot of inspiration. Written as a guide for cooks so they can cook with more natural (less processed) ingredients and recipes, like most cookbooks written in the West, it tends to be a little of the beaten track for Indians, but indirectly, this book has served to awaken me to the rich repertoire of whole-foods, whole grains and their flours, minimally processed fats, sweeteners, and phytonutrient-packed fruits and vegetables we have access to locally in India. Ingredients we should be fighting tooth and nail to save NOW rather than trying to revive them 10 years down the line.

And you will find the best recipes for these indigenous ingredients, in a special genre of homegrown cookbooks. The kind of cookbook self published by enterprising ladies or representative bodies of the various communities of India. Communities defined by religion, geographical location, history and a variety of other things but with a distinct cuisine of their own. Each of these books are full of recipes following the "a little this and a little that" advice grandmothers would be known for but they are invaluable to cooks of every stripe from the community they belong to and are often the uncelebrated but mandatory in the wedding trousseaus for girls getting married.

By that definition, On the Threshold of Kitchen, by the Danthis sisters has to be my most treasured possession. In no small part for the "Rasoda ni rani banje" (may you be the queen of your kitchen) inscribed in it by my mother. But also because, growing up in a modern Mumbai home I very rarely stepped into the kitchen, so this book that came as my "dowry" became my fallback when I needed to cook traditional Gujarati recipes in my North Indian marital home. I also love Dadima no Varso a beautifully put together cookbook of Palanpuri Jain cuisine by Nita Mehta, Rajul Gandhi, Dr. Satyavati S Jhaveri and the Rachana group of women because of its amazing attention to detail and comprehensive coverage of Palanpuri jain cuisine. In this genre, I also group a pile of local language and unusual cookbooks, I wont get into details but the I have to mention here "My Lady's Everyday Cookery Guide" by PD Dias. I just had to buy it after I read the following "late cook to Their Majesties King George 5 and Queen Mary and two former viceroys Lords Minto and Hardinge." I also love a Marathi book that promises 150 recipes for Baigan, a gujarati book of Faral or fasting recipes and a hindi recipe book of the unknown cuisine of Kumaon.

But Indian Cookbooks have come a long way since these community cookbooks. With India becoming the flavor of the moment abroad, Indian cookbooks are all the rage. Unfortunately this means that one could end up with some really bad cookbooks but the silver lining to this culinary cloud is that some excellent region-specific cookbooks have been published and giving the extensive but often lacking Penguin culinary range a run for their money. South Indian cuisine has had particular attention with classics like Dakshin and Southern Spice (both by Chandra Padmanabhan), making space for Pedatha on Andhra cuisine on Indian bookshelves. Some excellent books on regional cuisines of India that have been published abroad. Indian publishers have missed the boat on these but it seems that Indian distributors don't seem to want to correct the error either to the great loss of Indian cookbook lovers. There is the little known Purba – Feasts from the East by Laxmi Parida – a nifty little book that long ago addressed the lack of information on Oriya cuisine but never made it to Indian shores for some reason. It was joined by the stellar Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts by Ammini Ramachandran that I cannot praise enough which is into it's second print run and continues to curry favour in foodie circles all over the world but is unknown in India. And then there is the graceful My Bombay Kitchen by Niloufer Ichaporia King that silently set sail last year and returned to port triumphant, having won the most prestigious award any cookbook can win, the James Beard award. We have many parsi cookbooks in India, but none tell the story of Parsi cuisine quite as beautifully or as inspiringly as this book. And since it is on my mind, I must say The Kitchen Revolution is another book that has been inspiring me greatly. The three authors, Rosie Sykes, Polly Russell and Zoe Heron have fine tuned a fantastic system that takes a 'back to the basics' approach to the kitchen. Travelling through the year one week at a time it offering 7 dinners each week that allow you to economize on time, money and ingredients and minimize wastage through thoughtful shopping and a little preparation. If you lived by the book (no pun intended) your week would start with a "Big Meal from Scratch" - a wholesome meal for the entire family that is designed to leave enough leftovers to make 2 dishes called "Something for Nothing" (recipes provided) later in the week. It also includes one Seasonal Supper recipe - a quick, simple supper made from seasonal ingredients, a Larder Feast - using ingredients from the store cupboard for later in the week when the fridge is bare and 2 for 1 - a meal that freezes well so that you can freeze half for another day. The recipes are foolproof, allow for division and multiplication and allow one to make the most of one's cooker, fridge, freezer and store-cupboard. The Kitchen revolution has been written for a UK audience but it includes recipes from all over the world. It is easy to see that if one did live by it, it would certainly save money and time. That said it doesn't matter if you don't live by it. Skip weeks, use only what you can or treat it like a normal cookery book and you still save money, eat healthy and widen your repertoire of dishes. I have been using the 2 for 1 and Larder Feast recipes to great advantage at home. All in all, I think the idea behind The Kitchen Revolution is brilliant. In fact I will go so far as to say it is the sort of book I would love to write in the Indian context. (Any publishers listening?) In the meanwhile I will continue to be inspired by it.

Gulp Fiction

I read every scrap of food writing I can lay my hands on, spend a small fortune every month on books and periodicals on cooking and food books and food blogs are part of my daily diet. And then there is that genre of books that will probably be the biggest drain on my wallet ever … edible fiction or Food Fiction!
If you’d asked me what food fiction meant to me a few weeks ago I would have named the food descriptions in Enid Blytons books I read as a child. For the longest time, I was utterly fascinated by large wobbly jellies, iced tea, balcmange, scones, treacle pudding, ices, sausage rolls and liquorice. Children always came home to "hot, buttered scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam". It all sounded so exotic, so delicious. And so different from the Bournvita and ganthiya I got at snack time! Ironically, years later my dad actually brought back liquorice from his travels. I hated it! However, I did like most of the other dishes I grew up reading about.
Or maybe I would have listed Charlie and the chocolate factory. Essential reading in school this had to be the most delicious bit of schoolwork ever! This children's book by Norwegian-British author Roald Dahl tells the story of the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside a chocolate factory. The description of the Chocolate Room with that Chocolate River, that mixes and churns chocolate by waterfall making as Willy Wonka proclaim that "There is no other factory in the world that mixes its chocolate by waterfall!" Pipes hang down from the ceiling and suck up the chocolate, sending it onto other rooms of the factory, such as the Fudge Room. But it isn’t just the thought of all tha molten chocolate that gets me goint, the fact that everything in that room is edible from the very pavements, bushes and grass to trees made of taffy that yield jelly apples, bushes that sprout lollipops, mushrooms that spurt whipped cream and pumpkins filled with sugar cubes, jelly bean stalks, sends me on a candy craving every time!
High school brought the menu of a midnight feast at St. Clare's or Malory Towers into my world. One description was all it took to convince me I wanted to go to boarding school! "Golly! Pork-pie and chocolate cake, sardines and Nestlé's milk, chocolate and peppermint creams, tinned pineapple and ginger-beer!" said Janet. I think "Talk about a feast! I bet this beats the upper third’s feast hollow! Come on—let's begin. I'll cut the cake." (From Enid Blyton, The Twins at St Clare's.). I did go to boarding school at Mayo girls. The school did not allow students to keep ‘tuck’ or food but we had many an adventurous midnight feast, with food smuggled in from local stores on days out; chocolates, burgers and bun omelets, cans of beans and condensed milk, Maggi which we ate uncooked was a favourite as I recall and Wai Wai which came from Nepal substantiated with pickles and chapattis smuggled out of the mess. But the best feast were when someone had a visit from parents and in came home made treats like laddus, mathri – achar and even home made food. We ate so ravenously on those days, that mothers would have felt liberated watching us! Reading descriptions of the back to school feasts at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry in Harry Potter really reminds me of those times.
Or perhaps I would say it was Like Water for Chocolate, the first book I read that was fashioned around food and I was captivated. As soon as I was done with it, I went looking for more! But my next find would have been a strong contender too. Chocolat! The chocolate theme seems to be a favourite with writers, I suspect because it is hard to resist as much as the treat itself. But if Charlie and the Chocolate factory gave me Candy cravings, Chocolat made me crave chocolate like never before. And not the industrial chocolate bar – I now have to have real handmade chocolate all the time! Written by Joanne Harris this is the story of chocolatier Vivianne Rocher who moves to the tiny French town of Lansquenet to open a chocolate boutique. But the hidebound local priest does not approve of Vivianne, and soon, a power struggle shapes up between the two of them. All of a sudden, strange things begin to happen. The townspeople begin to eschew the self-righteous gossip of small-town life, and they find the courage to break the rigid codes of provincial behavior. In short, they start enjoying life-all because of the sensual power of chocolate. When I want to indulge myself, I will make myself a cup of thick hot chocolate spiked with a little chilli and settle down to read it all over again.
Reading about food makes one hungry of course, but it needn’t always be a books centered around food that get you inspired. Two recent chick lit reads had me cooking up a storm in the kitchen. It all began with Anuja Chauhan’s The Zoya Factor. The protagonist Zoya Solanki is a client service rep with an advertising agency. Things start happening when she’s made to leave an ad film shoot, featuring SRK, to go to Dhaka to shoot stills of the Indian cricket team and the junior members of the team discover that they simply cannot loose a game after eating breakfast with her! Her birth at the exact time and date that India won the world cup in 1983 has a lot to do with this. The unbelieving team captain Nikhil Khoda adds chemistry to the story but even as I was laughing and crying my way through the book I also found myself inspired by the food described in it. I cooked up my version the ‘balls curry’ Zoya’s maid specialises in and spicy rajma pasta and pizzas with the works like Zoya’s aunt does! And as I dug into the results of my culinary experiments I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to sink into a story that only talked about food.
It was almost like the kitchen Gods were listening because a package turned up the next day bearing my review copy of The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. In this remarkable debut novel, Bauermeister creates a captivating world in which food becomes much more than simple epicurean indulgence. The story revolves around the protagonist, a respected chef and restaurateur called Lillian who has spent much of her 30-something years in the kitchen, looking for meaning and satisfaction in cooking. She believes that cooking and food have great healing properties and endeavors to pass that know-how to others through her cooking classes. The School of Essential Ingredients follows the lives of eight students who gather in Lillian’s Restaurant every Monday night for cooking class but it is soon obvious that each one is looking for more than just recipes and Lillian, a woman whose connection with food is both soulful and exacting, helps them to create dishes whose flavor and techniques expand beyond the restaurant and into the secret corners of their lives. One by one the students are transformed as they are brought together by the power of food and companionship, as their lives intertwine. I was lost in the sensual, lush narrative, captivated by the tender hopeful stories, and the magical realism that reminded me of the first food book I ever read all those years ago. In fact ever since I put it down, I have been hoping that pens stories of Lillian’s next class!
Eating is such a human enterprise – from heart to stomach - that it has been grist for many literary meals, feeding the imagination of poets and writers across the ages, offering them an infallible connect to their reader. After reading The School of Essential Ingredients, I find I want to explore his genre more.
Other books on my food fiction reading list
Atwood, Margaret - Edible WomanDe Blasi, Marlena - A Thousand Days in Venice: An Unexpected RomanceFlagg, Fanny - Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop CafeHinton, Lynne - The Friendship CakeLanchester, John - The Debt to PleasureMayes, Frances - Under the Tuscan SunMehran, Marsha - Pomegranate SoupTemple, Lou Jane - The Spice Box

This article on food in fiction appeared in the April 2009 issue of Me magazine.

The Kitchen Thinker: picnic food A charming article by Bee Wilson in the Telegraph UK on the food in Enid Blyton's Famous Five series.