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In Eating India, Chitrita Banerji takes us on a thrilling journey through a nation’s food formed by generations of arrivals, assimilations and conquests. In mouth-watering prose, she explores how each wave of newcomers brought innovative new ways to combine the subcontinent’s rich native spices with the vegetables, fish, grains and pulses that are the staples of the Indian kitchen. Along the way she visits traditional weddings, tiffin rooms, city markets, roadside cafes and tribal villages to find out how India’s turbulent history has shaped its people and its cuisine. |
“A rich and evocative book, the perfect introduction to Indian gastronomy.” “An exhaustive, salivating, hunger-inducing history of the varying regional cuisines of India…. Eating India pulses with life — enveloping the reader in the scent, taste, heat and flavor of an ancient cuisine.” “Banerji has a special gift for making the cuisines and the dishes come to life: she puts them into the contexts you find them in today, and makes the dishes sound mouth-watering.” “Banerji...regards India with the intimacy of a native, the curiosity of an outsider and the broad vantage of an expatriate.... It is to the author’s credit that her journeys to Benares, Gujarat and points south retain their unique flavors.” “An education and a pleasure.” “Thoughtful, well-expressed, informative…the description of spices and flavours leaves you yearning for the foods themselves.” “Chitrita Banerji unravels the many influences that have gone into shaping today’s Indian table…A fascinating book to tickle your taste buds.” “This is food writing at its best, historically and culinarily informative, not overwrought taste descriptions as some writing tends to be, and filled with the interestingly personal…what distinguishes this work from others is how well integrated the treatment of food — individual dishes — is within their historical/cultural contexts.” “Chitrita Banerji is one of those rare writers who can tease the meaning out of ordinary foods without ever seeming trivial, pretentious, or self-indulgent… Even if you have only a passing interest in India, this book is worth a read.” “Award-winning food writer Banerji examines in marvelous detail the cultural and historical influences that have shaped regional cuisines in ancient and modern India.” “Totally unforgettable…[a] marvelous survey of Indian cuisine…her zest is infectious and her eye for points of connection and contrast excellent.” “Like good soul-satisfying food, it manages to leave a subtle and long-lasting taste…a gifted narrator, Banerji’s prose is all about how food can be a source of sustenance not only for the body but also for the mind…an exciting, racy read even if you are not a foodie.” “This book is about ‘tasting’ the soul of India. [It] takes us through India on the aromatic wings of food…the spread of a cuisine whose contents define the nation through mouth-watering, appetite-whetting images.” “An extremely enjoyable and informative book that…gives us an interesting insight into why we eat what we eat. Banerji’s insatiable curiosity, her hunger for new culinary experiences, engaging style and gentle humour makes Eating India a worthwhile read.” “Eating India is a marvelous read…a gorgeous book…. Banerji blends history and sociology, folk stories and whimsy in her writing.” “Eating India is a heady blend of travelogue and food writing.” |
