Made me nostalgic.
"As i got older, i began to appreciate eating with my hands, which allowed me to savor the warm food through pliant fingers rather than a cold, hard fork or spoon. In fact, Indians believe that hands add flavor to food."
A TamBram's personal memoir laced with traditional South Indian recipes, this book appealed to me on many levels. The author writes about her early childhood at her maternal grandparents' home in Coimbatore, return to live with her parents and brother, school days in Chennai, train rides in October holidays, annual summer vacations with her paternal grandparents and extended family in Kerala, college years, family's opposition to her going to America, life as an art student in an unfamiliar country, friends and holiday trips, struggle maintaining her integrity as an artist, brief return to India, initial resistance to arranged marriage, wedding and life as a new bride with visiting family- all in the context of food.
This book could very well be about my life, sans the arranged marriage part. Oh, and sans the exciting college years in America. Mine were rather tame. I adored her descriptions of age-old traditions integrally woven into the fabric of life in India. My favorites are the chapters on making sun-dried vegetables, life in Madras and Kerala summers. The recipes are nothing to write home about. Most of them are neither authentic(Tamcon substituting for tamarind? That's a sacrilege!) nor original. It is possible that they were intended for the western audience. I would highly recommend this book for the delightfully evocative narrative and the excellent characterization."
Highly recommended
Must-read for anyone who claims to be a Tam Brahm.
The people, situations and recipes are too close to home to be missed.
Delicious Read
Never mind where you were when you experienced the 'big events' of your life, instead, can you remember what were you eating?
Shoba Nayaran remembers, and delivers those landmark flavors in print. From the comforting memories of her childhood, to the abuse suffered under her first graduate program, to her wedding and subsequent adjustment to married life, Shoba Narayn writes about each significant life event with an even hand, a light sense of humor, and perfectly chosen recipes to accompany every part of her story.
This isn't your traditional cookbook, nor is it a plodding, self-aggrandizing autobiography. It is instead a book that moves along at a fast pace, giving us glimpses of intensely personal moments, but then quickly, breezily moving along to the next topic, the next recipe, the next memory. The reader is never bogged down in this parsimonious trip down memory lane. Instead, we receive exactly what is promised: a memoir with food. (and succulent food at that!)
An excellent read, a fast read, a delicious read.
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