Finger lickin’ good

█ BOOK NOOK

Books on food can be both nourishing as well as comforting reads. Try it

Our relationship with food has always been more than that of mere sustenance. It’s been at the core of many a pleasure, politics and war. Look at life under lockdown, for instance. While some of us have unleashed our inner masterchefs in the kitchen (where would we be without Instagram), others have dug out long forgotten family recipes — even as millions continue to confront the relentless demon that is hunger every day. But the pandemic has also made us aware of how precious and nurturing food is — for the body and the soul. Explore it some more with the help of these acclaimed food writers.

PUSHPESH PANT PICKS

► Life and Food in Bengal by Chitrita Banerji

My all-time favourite cookbook is Chitrita Banerji’s Life and Food in Bengal, a magical depiction of the changing cycle of seasons, and a chronicle of eating in harmony with nature. Along with shades of Kalidas’ Ritu Samharam, the narration is enriched by family anecdotes, folklore and delicious references to medieval Bengali poems. It’s a veritable key to Bengali culture through its cuisine. The author is sensitive to regional variations within the sprawling province that once included present-day Bangladesh and had its gastronomic footprint extending over Odisha and Assam, as well as Bihar. Recipes are correlated with fairs and festivals, rites and rituals and cover the entire gamut from street foods to formal fare at banquets. Diverse foreign infl uences haven’t been overlooked either. A lovingly chiselled, brilliant gem, it puts to shade pretentious profuselyillustrated coffee table challengers.

► Parsi Food and Customs by Bhicoo J Manekshaw

The second ‘cookbook’ that has its special place on my bedside bookshelf is Bhicoo J Manekshaw’s Parsi Food and Customs. Ms Manekshaw, a graduate from the famed Cordon Bleu School of Cookery in London, was the doyenne of all culinary writers. She inspired and exhorted Penguin Books to publish a series of cookbooks covering different states/regions of India. Her own book is a delightful blend of the history of her colourful community. Eclectic in their taste and cosmopolitan by temperament, Parsis have never shied away from adopting and adapting recipes that favoured their palate, regardless of their origins. Here again, the richness of the fare makes the offering immensely satisfying and one doesn’t miss the pictures of glamorouslystyled dishes.

NANDITA IYER PICKS

► Cook and See by S Meenakshi Ammal

Samaithu Paar (Cook and See in English), a threepart book covering all aspects of Tamil vegetarian cooking, written by S Meenakshi Ammal, is one of my most read cookbooks. The fi rst volume was published in 1951, at a time when cookbooks were not at all common in India. While glossy cookbooks with beautiful photos serve their need, a book like this is a workhorse. Anytime I need to fi nd a recipe for a dish that was a childhood favourite, I can be sure that Cook and See will have it. I keep the series right next to my kitchen counter to be referred to at a moment’s notice. During this lockdown, I prepared a big batch of ‘podi’ that featured in a Podi Brinjal recipe in the book and shared the recipe on social media. The same has been tried by dozens of people who are amazed by how simple yet delicious it is. That is the magic of Samaithu Paar.

► Will Write for Food by Dianne Jacob

This is not a cookbook. Rather, this book teaches you how to write about food, be it recipes, cookbooks, features or any other form of food writing. Food writing, as a specifi c genre, is a relatively new one, having caught on only in the last two decades or so. This book covers a lot of ground for someone who is fi nding his/her feet as a food writer, and it also provides inspiration to those already into food writing. From print to online, restaurant reviews, getting published and interviews with well-known food writers, there’s nearly everything about food writing in Will Write for Food. It is my go-to book whenever I feel a writer’s block taking over.

RACHEL GOENKA PICKS

►White Slave by Marco Pierre White

Marco Pierre White’s journey is more that of a rockstar’s than a chef, and his memoir is both hilarious and sad, peppered with some ridiculous but moving experiences. The insight into White’s relationship with his father and devotion to his mother paints a different picture of the sometimes brusque public fi gure. It also offers a glimpse at a more vulnerable version of the man. White’s never-ending quest to push all boundaries of the culinary landscape borders between inspirational and the impossible, and makes for a riveting read.

► The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

This one is a delightful work of fi ction that romanticises good food. Revolving around a cooking teacher and her students, it weaves different stories around food and the journeys of individual characters. Bauermeister shows her knowledge of food and its processes through a very Bronte-esque narrative, making it a read-at-a-go book.