What We're Reading: 4 Cookbooks to Dive into this Season

Ruth DSouza Prabhu picks up 5 of the season’s most exciting cookbooks. From Iran & Italy with Sagher Setarah, to a tome that travels the breadth of India with Bloomsbury, and a few more in between.

As we settle into the next few months of monsoon rain, we recommend picking up these delicious tomes with a glass of something warm. These are not books to cuddle up with under a blanket - not merely because of their heft, across the board - but because they will most likely have you underlining and bookmarking for future reference. Books to return to; books that will inform you, but hopefully also, keep you cooking.

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine

It’s hard to summarise India in one word, but if it had to be done – ‘diverse’ just about begins to scratch the surface. The 7th largest in the world in area, the largest in population, 18 official and 1600 minor languages, several religions, cultures and influences all converge to create syncretic identities, even if current ground realities may seem otherwise. All this diversity in culture naturally reflects in the food of the country, and being able to capture it comprehensively is the daunting task that The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine undertakes.

At 488 pages, this is a sizable tome that attempts to explain the vastness and intricacies of Indian cuisine, not through elaborate story-telling, but through easy-to-reference entries. Perhaps the only other work similar to this is K T Achaya’ Indian Food – A Historical Companion (1994), A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food (1998) and The Story of Our Food (2003). The book encompasses a tremendous amount, brought together in the simplest and best way possible – through collaboration.

While a large portion of the book has been written by its editors – author and culinary historian Colleen Taylor Sen, journalist and food writer Sourish Bhattacharya, and author Helen Sabari, it also has relied on 26 accomplished and well-known personalities from the Indian food world. There is the Matriarch of Malabar cuisine, Ummi Abdullah, food historian Tanushree Bhowmik, Hoihnu Hauzel, author of The Essential Northeast Cookbook, vegetarian food service sector consultant and restaurateur Sandip Nowlakha, Marryam H Reshii – Times of India food critic, and many more.

The book befittingly begins with an entry on K T Achaya, and 266 entries later, the reader will have learnt a bit of the cuisines of the states of India; seasonal produce like Bael, Cassava and Lichen from across the country and their significance; creations like the Chicken 65 and Eggs Kejriwal; Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts on food; communities like the Sheherwali Jains, the Bene Israelis, Palghat Iyers; personalities like Camellia Punjabi, Pragyasundari Devi, the author and co-creator of the Icmic steam cooker, and a lot more.

Entries vary in length from 450 words going to over 1000. Each one ends with references for further reading. Many entries are cross-referenced in the book for a more rounded understanding.

The book is an excellent primer for readers looking to understand Indian cuisine and its nuances. Each entry is a great conversation starter and jump-off point to explore an aspect on your own.

Keep this Handbook at your bedside table to read a few pages before lights out. Dip into it over a cup of tea or when you just need a break from something you are doing. Read through it in sequence or randomly open a page. This is one for the bookshelf, which will surely be adorned with a ton of sticky notes.

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine
Edited by Colleen Taylor Sen, Sourish Bhattacharya and Helen Sabari
INR 1383 (Paperback)

Full disclosure, I have written the entry on Mangalore for this book.

GetSetUp Kitchen - A Collection of Recipes by Active Agers

The common refrain among most people in the food world is that their knowledge and passion come from the seniors in their families. Mothers, grandmothers, fathers, aunts and uncles always feature prominently in the stories of food folk. And so, GetSetUp Kitchen – A Global Culinary Journey – a book of 49 recipes, all by active agers (I love this term from the book), complete with their stories, is nothing short of a treasure. These are first-hand stories and recipes that have been perfected over years of wielding the knife in the kitchen. A sense of warmth is a natural part of the book.

Based in both India and USA, GetSetUp helps people over 55 years learn new skills and experience life in newer ways. Since its founding, the company has grown to more than 4.5 million users worldwide. An array of cooking classes and demos are part of the many experiences offered. Deval Delivala, co-founder of GetSetUp says that especially during the pandemic GetSetUp brought people together through virtual cooking classes and kitchen tours. “We've seen first-hand how food can connect people from all over the world. A recipe is about culture, history and a family’s story on a plate. We started thinking about how we could capture all of the incredible traditions and recipes that our members shared with us. And that's how the idea for our cookbook was born!” she says.

The book is a curation of over 200 recipes that were submitted by the community. Categorised as appetisers, salads, soups, main courses and desserts every recipe is preceded by the creator’s story. Linda from Arizona, USA took on the mantle of being house-mom, as the eldest of seven children and learnt cooking from scratch under the watchful eye of her mother, passing that knowledge to her children and grandchildren. Ellen J from Florida, USA is a vegan advocate and a keynote speaker, author, athlete and former investigative reporter. Helping people live their best lives by finding and providing them with accurate information is her aim. Roweena K from Mumbai speaks about how marrying into a vegetarian family threw up interesting challenges for her to overcome and expand her culinary repertoire. These peeks into every contributor’s life will have you nodding in agreement and smiling in reminiscence.

The recipes in the book are not exotic – but rather homely dishes – from all over the world. I tried New York based Helen C’s Hearty Lentil Stew, representative of the Galician cuisine of northwest Spain. I substituted Kielbasa with Goan Chorizo and it turned out to be a hug in a bowl. There is Aloo Mastani, plant-based sausages and grapes, Japanese-inspired rice balls, savoury green pancakes, eggplant casserole, Armenian Eech (Bulgur salad), a carrot-top pesto, and more.

Besides getting to know the contributors better – you learn the basics of an unfamiliar cuisine, ingredients that may be new, and personal twists to a dish that made it a family favourite. Some tips will help you ace cooking - Madhu Singh, from Lucknow shares her Tricolour Bell Pepper Paneer recipe and says, “I recommend that whenever you eat something, try to think of what ingredients went into the dish so you can replicate it later. Cook from your heart and don’t think of cooking as a hassle.”

The pictures in the book are just as relatable as the recipes – no fancy food magazine-level professional photography – but rather, how you would plate things up for visiting guests – with a personal sense of creativeness. I would have liked to see a few inclusions from outside of USA and India and from gentlemen of the community too. Nevertheless, the book is from the heart and one you are sure to dog-ear in the kitchen.

GetSetUp Kitchen – A Global Culinary Journey
Author – GetSetUp Inc
MRP – INR 3465

Why Cook by Archana Pidathala

The first time I had the pleasure of meeting Archana Pidathala was at a panel discussion I moderated on food writing at Atta Galata in Bengaluru in 2018. Archana talked about her first book, Five Morsels of Love – a collection of 106 heirloom Andhra recipes based on her grandmother G Nirmala Reddy’s 1974 book Vanita Vantalaku. By way of introduction, Archana said that she was a food writer completely by accident. And even though it took her 9 years to research, test and write out her recipes in her debut book, a reader would be hard-pressed to believe that her style and writing were accidental.

That same passion and a unique style of story-telling continues through her second book, Why Cook. For many of us, some of the most cherished times in our lives have been with friends we cherish. In this book, Archana tells the stories of 16 dear friends, and what food means to them. Each chapter begins with the story of their friendship, and moves on to a biographical sketch. Each friend shares not one but several recipes, making the progression from story-telling to food a delightful and delicious one.

Musician Aditi Kaikini Upadhya summarises the beautiful oral tradition of recipes in India, passing from generation to another. She says ‘Tradition is such a living thing! It’s impossible to tell how rasam was made or a raag was sung 500 or 600 years ago. But artists have the responsibility to take tradition forward by evolving it with their own style.’ For most women in India, cooking continues to be instinctual and a continuation of family tradition.

Through the book, you meet Archana’s friends and get a peek into their world. Founder of Ranga Shankara, a celebrated theatre space in Bengaluru, Arundhati Nag recalls cooking dinners on their coconut farm for a circle of friends after she moved to Bengaluru with her husband, the late Shankar Nag; the beginning of their theatre group Sanket. To keep her husband’s memory alive, she continues to cook his family’s Saraswat dishes. Homemaker Shri Mirji’s story covers the expanse of her life as an air force officer’s wife, living ‘everywhere and nowhere’, longing for a taste of home, bringing up children and through it all, finding solace in food. There is Azra Javed, an education administrator, and musician Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy; the founder of Soul Slings Chinmayie Bhat, and co-founder of The Farm (of which I am an ardent fan) in Chennai, Shalini Philip and others.

Each story is told from the heart, and could just as easily be the story of you or I, in part or whole.

The book, just like Archana’s first one is beautiful – the hardcover theme continues, dotted this time with silver mandalas depicting the feminine energy. The pictures truly do speak a thousand words and to me this makes the book more a coffee table one than something I would take to the kitchen and write notes over. I also love the idea of each friend having more than one recipe in the book.

Aashna Behl’s Tomato Chutney with roasted peanuts and a tempering of mustard oil is simple and delicious. And while a Tomato Saar is a regular feature on my table, I tried Aditi’s version with coconut milk and it truly takes the humble dish several notches up. Anita Tikoo’s Kashmiri Bumtchoonth Wagun recipe is the first I have come across of quinces being used in Indian cooking, and I have bookmarked to try.

As you read through the book, you will be encouraged to move forward to look at a picture, relating to one of the stories, or a cross reference that takes you back a bit, making reading the book an intimate and fun exercise.

Through the book, the idea of food being comfort comes across, whether in Aashna’s cooking for weary trekkers coming to her farm, or Anita’s reminiscing about how Kashmiri Pandits even today return to Kashmir and bring back with them suitcases filled Quinces, Kolhrabi and breads.

Archana’s book is a celebration of friendships – with people and with food. Her writing sweeps you into a world that seems far removed from everyday life, but it will have you smile, nod and even elicit a good-on-you-sistah!

Why Cook
Archana Pidthala
INR 2400 (Hard Cover)

Pomegranates and Artichokes by Sagher Setarah

The premise of this beautifully conceptualised and created book is how author Saghar Setareh draws connect between Iran and Italy. The first is the country of her birth and the other is a country she migrated to as a student and now calls home. Through the years, her experiences and memories of food are captured in a journey that travels through Iran, moving west to the Levant and eastern Mediterranean regions and finally to Italy. ‘Ingredients, recipes and stories form the guiding stars’.

Saghar’s book is divided not by recipe categories but by her journey. Introducing Iran, she gently points out the many misconceptions of the country – beginning with how the name is pronounced – ‘its ee-ran and not eye-ran’! She shares stories of her childhood: her mother wary of street-side snacks, a youthful Saghar nevertheless discovering and enjoying them. The importance of bread in the Iranian meal – Sangak, Lavash, Taftoon and more. Her grandmother’s bi-coloured tea – a sugar-heavy hot syrup over which freshly brewed black tea is gently poured, allowing density to separate the two liquids. I bravely attempted this and was chuffed to have succeeded on my first try!

From Pomegranates & Artichokes, a recipe for the author’s grandmother’s bi-coloured tea – a sugar-heavy hot syrup over which freshly brewed black tea is gently poured

Sagher points out that migration for opportunities depends on which side of the fence you are coming from. For some, facing discrimination and rudeness is common, for some escaping the horrors of a country ripped apart negates being unwelcome, and for the few that have had the privilege of moving countries, simply for a better future through what is considered regular means, the experiences can be varied. The in-between section focuses on recipes from the countries in-between (across the Mediterranean and between Iran and Italy), that people who migrate come from and head to.

And then comes Italy, where the opening story is one every student leaving home will resonate with. A lot of the dishes in this section draw parallels with Sagher’s food in Iran – the importance of bread, the extensive use of aubergine, quick, filling midnight meals.

Sagher’s story-telling effortlessly moves into her recipes. Only the ingredients are listed for each one – the method follows a story format. When you cook each recipe, it feels like she is standing beside you and guiding you. Take the Charred Aubergine with Egg & Tomato recipe where she writes ‘…add the beaten egg, Let it firm up, then casually stir, as if to scramble… we want to cook the egg completely and this will take 5 minutes.’ Or her midnight spaghetti recipe where she asks that you ‘don’t turn the heat on just yet; just let the oil and spices (chilli and garlic) get to know each other’.

Her descriptions make you want to try out as many recipes as possible, simply to sample the culinary magic it promises. I want to make the perfect golden onions with a touch of turmeric working its magic. I will make a saffron infusion for my tea and I will definitely try to find orchid roots to make Iranian-style ice cream!

Should you buy this book, I urge you to first listen to a short reading of the introduction by the author on her Instagram handle @labnoon, which will help you draw the perfect mental picture of the journey you will take. The journey will be one of discovery – of just how borderless food can be.

Pomegranates and Artichokes
Sagher Setarah
Murdoch Books

The Flavour Thesaurus: More Flavours by Niki Segnit

They say you can’t make everybody happy and so was the case with Niki Segnit’s bestseller The Flavour Thesaurus. While the book had a huge fan following, it also had a lot of people ask why an ingredient they liked or was common knowledge, was not included in the book. Well not everything can, and a lot was arbitrarily not, acknowledges Niki in her introduction, adding that the seed for this new book came from the many requests for a vegetarian/plant-forward perspective, and it was one of many reasons the seed for More Flavours took root — and then a life of its own.

And so, this sequel is plant-forward but does not strictly adhere to being vegan – it includes eggs, cheese, honey and also meat mentions. It also keeps Ravinder Bhogal’s Marylebone restaurant Jikoni as an ideal.

Much like her first book, this sequel celebrates a palette (pun intended) of pairings. There is chocolate with all-spice which we are familiar with and then chocolate with aubergines – in the dessert Melanzane al Cioccolato! Mustard is another pairing, and I am going to try the pinch of mustard in coffee that the author suggests. There is the predictable and well-known, like leek and mushroom, or lemon and peppercorn, and then there is enough to be sceptical about – spinach and vanilla pastry cream – a combination made as one of a dozen desserts served after Christmas Eve midnight mass. I, for one, did not think that white beans and oranges (navel oranges in particular) go well together – but in a salad, with a few other ingredients added, it's Spain in a bowl for you.

Like her first book, Niki masterfully organises the book into flavour families – Flower and Meadow; Sour Fruity, Zesty Woody, Allium, Dark Green, Leguminous and others. There are 66 new flavours in this book and 26 flavours that found a mention in the first, but see a deep dive here.

Each entry is accompanied by informative anecdotes (Niki and her husband testing a pine nut and apple combination on a wild night in Croydon in the Venetian Lagoon is hilarious), historical references, and helpful tips. The book's structure allows readers to navigate seamlessly, sparking creativity and encouraging us to venture outside our comfort zones.

Besides working as a flavour encyclopedia, the book is filled with culinary knowledge. The author's engaging style with words, complete with fun anecdotes and insights provides a deeper understanding of flavours. Her research and attention to detail are seen easily in sections that explain the origins, cultural significance, and traditional uses of various ingredients. This not only enriches our culinary vocabulary but, also deepens our appreciation for the intricacies of flavour.

The book has plenty of recipes from all over the world to support flavour pairings. There is a lot to experiment with. Several recipes are Indian and will seem familiar to those from the Indian subcontinent.

Whether you're a seasoned chef or an adventurous home cook, this book will expand your culinary horizons. And the plant-forward approach makes for a brilliant sequel. One can only hope that a never-satisfied audience will trigger yet another book with a whole new focus. Because as Niki says, the hope was to find a ‘Grand Unifying Flavour Theory’, but that did not happen. Perhaps it’s still out there!

The Flavour Thesaurus – More Flavours
Niki Segnit
Bloomsbury

INR 1834 (Hardback)

Ruth Dsouza Prabhu is an independent features journalist based in Bengaluru, India. She has been writing on food for over a decade. Her work has appeared in Al Jazeera, Reader’s Digest, and Condenast Traveller, among others.