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BOOKS & READING
Our fascination with ideas, objects and places, both classic and commonplace
Further Reading: On Cooking and Eating
Date: 12/11/2019
A list of recommended reading on the nuances of cooking and the pleasures of eating — from stories on food that transgresses borders to recipes which evoke the memory of home
The Flavor Matrix: The Art and Science of Pairing Common Ingredients to Create Extraordinary Dishes (2018) by James Briscione and Brooke Parkhust
Books that discuss flavour profiles and pairings are the kind that one can go back to again and again. Knowing how ingredients complement each other is extremely important. The Flavor Matrix takes common ingredients and gives a comprehensive pairing list — great for everyday use or special occasions. While creating new desserts, I usually begin with a concept comprising one or two main elements or ingredients. As plated desserts need multiple components, referring to such a book helps me add depth and flavour, even inspiring me to use an otherwise favourite combination in a different rendition altogether.
—Jahan Bloch, pastry chef
You and I Eat the Same: On the Countless Ways Food and Cooking Connect Us to One Another (2018) edited by Chris Ying
This collection of essays and stories focuses on the ways in which cooking and eating connect us across cultural and political borders — all from some of the world’s best food writers and journalists right now. It is edited by Chris Ying — the former editor of the now-discontinued magazine Lucky Peach ― with a foreword by Rene Redzepi, the founder of Noma. The very premise of the book is that “cuisine cannot exist with the free and fair movement of ingredients, ideas, and people. Deliciousness is an undeniable benefit of immigration. When people move around, food gets better.” Considering the world we live in today, nothing feels more timely than this compilation. Food is political; it always has been, and this book so deliciously illustrates this idea.
—Sana Javeri Kadri, founder, Diaspora Co.
The Tiger Who Came to Tea (1968) by Judith Kerr
As a new parent, my current favourite book (presented to my one-year-old by my partner at Goya, Aysha Tanya) is The Tiger Who Came to Tea. Yes, it’s a children’s book, but is also filled with delicious writing about food and eating. I read it aloud to my son at least three times a day and I can promise you, it teaches you so many things you need to know — how to be a good host, how to keep a well-stocked kitchen, how to eat heartily and how to share, how to set up an afternoon tea that would be the envy of the queen, even how to dine at a café in your pyjamas. The pop-up pictures are an entirely delightful bonus — what’s a book about food without visuals?
—Anisha Rachel Oommen, co-founder, The Goya Journal
Samaithu Pár(1951) by S. Meenakshi AmmalSamaithu Pár (Cook & See) is a set of nearly 70-year-old cookbooks that I discovered only a couple of years ago, thanks to a lovely story by Meera Ganapathi on Scroll.in. The author S. Meenakshi Ammal was a young widow with exceptional cooking skills. Relatives often called upon her for kitchen advice, so her uncle urged her to publish recipes to distribute among their family. These recipes eventually became Samaithu Pár, a practical and slim trilogy, packed with enough recipes to plan meals from for years, possibly even a lifetime. The recipes themselves are uncomplicated and succinct, but the approach is that of a grandaunt who is looking over your shoulder and giving you firm, specific, matter-of-fact instructions — vishesh tippani that can come only from decades of experience in a busy kitchen. I’ve found myself going back to it often in the last year, not only for inspiration in the kitchen but also for its tone of common sense and wisdom.
—Roshni Bajaj Sanghvi, writer (and the author of Pantry-Trippin’, a regular column on food and design.)
Longthroat Memoirs: Soups, Sex and Nigerian Taste Buds (2016) by Yemisi Aribisala
I read Nigerian writer Yemisi Aribisala’s Longthroat Memoirs shortly after I began my career as a food writer three years ago. As a new entrant into the field, I found most writing that people exalted to be somewhat timid and risk-averse. Aribisala’s writing, at once charged and temperate, woke me from that stupor. “The instinctive connection of “Nigerian” with “soup” and “stodge” is a lazy stereotype,” she writes. “Nigerian food is often stodgy and soupy, but it is also misunderstood, atrociously photographed, not yet given its due.” Aribisala spends this book reclaiming a cuisine — her cuisine, one that has been dismissed and subject to mockery — through the prism of her own story. She works with a skilled hand; her language is often playful and surprising, but never self-consciously so.
—Mayukh Sen, writer
Tiffin: Memories and Recipes of Indian Vegetarian Food (2015) by Rukmini Srinivas
There was a time when the evening tiffin was a separate meal by itself, when hot filter coffee was sipped in leisure accompanied by bajjis or pakodas and long familial conversations. Tiffin, by Rukmini Srinivas, gives us a peek into those simpler times. The book brings together recipes, anecdotes, people and places, weaving together a soothing memoir/cookbook. The recipes here are like extensions of people. As you read about Athai’s (aunt) puli aval, Dr Chitappa’s (uncle) masala vadai and Kamalu’s averakai adai, you invariably stumble upon a distant memory or aroma. For instance, for me, it brought back the memory of eating tiffin in my paati’s (grandmother) kitchen in Madras. Tiffin is a humble reminder of how food is inextricably linked to every occasion in our life — big or small.
—Sharmila Vaidyanathan, blogger, theyellowturmeric.com(Note: When you buy something using the retail links in our stories, we may earn a small affiliate commission.)
MORE
Poetry Books To Pull Out For a Pick-Me-Up
Six writers recommend poetry collections that uplift and lend cheer
5 Books To Understand Caste Issues, From Navayana
Five recommended reads from the independent, anti-caste publishing house
7 Memoirs Through Poetry & Prose
Seven writers share their favourite memoirs of, and sometimes by, literary figures
Magazine of the Month: Wallpaper*
An issue devoted to the role of design in crisis
5 Feminist Must-Reads From Zubaan Books
A mix of fact and fiction on trauma, oppression and trans activism
Books That Bring You Closer to the Sea
Maritime story recommendations from five Indian writers
Things to Read: Notes On Grief, Peeking at Phone Screens & More
Stories from around the web that found our fancy
Magazine of the Month: Motherland
Back after a long time away, here’s what to expect from Motherland’s latest
Books On Queerness, Partition & More from Yoda Press
The publishing house recommends graphic non-fiction and real-life narratives from their roster
7 Excellent Short Stories On Gloom & Doom
For when you feel a storm brewing
Books to Re-Read While Staying Safe at Home
Five readers on books they’re returning to and why
5 Books That Tell Stories Of and By Adivasis
Ruby Hembrom recommends books to read from adivaani, her Adivasi publishing house
Things to Read: On Coronagrifting, Break-ups in Quarantine & More
Stories from around the web that found our fancy
Things to Read: On Bees, Bookstores & Throwbacks to 2014
Stories from around the web that found our fancy
Book List: 7 Photobooks That Are Real Treasures
Seven photographers and book designers share their favourite photobooks
Why You Should Start a Book Club
Boozy conversations, niche interests, brewing revolutions and supportive spaces — book clubs do it all
Magazine of the Month: Vestoj
A deeper look at fashion and identity
Things to Read: While Self-Isolating
Stories from around the web that found our fancy
Book List: Reading Picks from Ukiyo Bookstore, Imphal
A hotspot for reading culture in Imphal, Manipur
Things to Read: On Where Our Food Will Come From
Stories from around the web that found our fancy
A Sense of Travel: Books In Which A Place Is The Character
Six writers recommend books where the place is the protagonist too
A Peek at Meera Ganapathi’s Bookshelf
The founder and editor of Soup on Russian folk tales, romantic gestures, and a compulsive need to read more
Magazine of the Month: Little White Lies
For lovers of film and pop culture
Things To Read: On Community Kitchens, Feral Cats & More
Stories from around the web that found our fancy
Magazine Of The Month: Monocle Forecast 2020
Settle into the new year with a holistic look at what lies ahead
Further Reading Via Rachna Books, Gangtok
A must-visit for book lovers in Sikkim’s capital city
Things To Read: On Protest Movements, Minimalism & The 2010s
Stories from around the web that found our fancy
13 Books to Gift This Christmas
A list of recommended gifting for lovers of literature, food, art and more
Magazine of the Month: Apartamento
Everyone’s favourite everyday life interiors magazine
Things to Read: On Home Delivery Habits, Overtourism & More
Stories from around the web that found our fancy
Magazine of the Month: Fantastic Man
With all-new dimensions for its 30th issue
Things to Read: On Culinary Distresses, Art Vandalism & More
Stories from around the web that found our fancy
Magazine of the Month: The Gentlewoman
Marking its 10th anniversary, issue number 20 is one to keep
Things to Read: On Chairs, Cup Noodles & More
Stories from around the web that found our fancy
8 Books on Indian History, As Read by Avid Readers
Titles that look back on desire, migration, geography and more, read by authors, historians, and poets.
Further Reading: Books Not Just for Children
Who says grown-ups can’t enjoy children’s books?
Things to Read: On Anti-Anxiety Apps, Climate Change & More
Stories from around the web that found our fancy
Things to Read: Peppa Pig, Typing in All Caps & More
Stories from around the web that found our fancy
Further Reading via Champaca Bookstore, Library and Café
A cosy new space in Bangalore
Further Reading: For the Rains
Recommended reading to lose yourself in while skies threaten the onslaught of a downpour
A Peek at Tarq’s Bookshelf
Hena Kapadia, founder of Tarq, lets us in on her well-catalogued collection
Further Reading: On Nature
Recommended reading that brings the living world alive
Further Reading via Purbasha Sarkar
Web Editor at the Delhi-based May Day Bookstore and LeftWord.com
Further Reading: On Love
Recommended reading on love in all its many forms
A Peek at Pooja Dhingra’s Bookshelf
The Le15 pastry chef speaks about her reading habits and favourite books
Further Reading via Rajni Malhotra, Bahrisons Booksellers
Curator of books at the Delhi store
Scaling Fear
Navigating the tough terrain of a climber’s mind
Illustrated Books for All!
These titles from Tara Books are beautiful and compelling to read
An Ode to the Anthology
These books from Marg make for rich bite-sized reading for the festive season.
IN PRAISE OF FLOWERS
Discovering floral flavours and fragrances in places near and afar
THE TALE OF THE ITINERANT CANOPY
Tracing the journey of a marble canopy across Bombay
Travelling through time at Baradari
Jaipur’s City Palace reinvented
Further Reading via Virat Chandhok
Curator of books at Bombay’s Wayword and Wise
2017 Christmas Playlist
Tunes to celebrate Christmas
Introducing The Move Magazine
A UK based quarterly
Introducing Anxy Magazine
Venturing into mental health issues
Introducing Drift Magazine
A New York based biannual magazine
Introducing Lost Magazine
Self-discovery through travel
MIXX
Boys equal girls
Introducing Science of the Secondary Zine
Issue 1 – Apple
Introducing Curry Magazine
Exploring communities and culture
Introducing Accent Magazine
A photography &lifestyle magazine
Introducing Cereal Magazine – Volume 13
The redesigned CEREAL
Introducing Pasture Magazine
A US based food quarterly
2016 on Instagram
The year in a nutshell
Introducing 212 Magazine
‘Strange Days’
Introducing Concorde Zine
Featuring photo stories from India
Introducing Filmme Fatales Zine
Films and feminism
Introducing Weapons of Reason Issue 3
‘The New Old’
Kadak
A ‘strong’ collective
Introducing Lunch Lady Magazine
An Australian quarterly
Happy 3rd Anniversary, White Print
White Print completes 3 years
Introducing Weapons of Reason #2
‘Megacities’ Issue
Introducing Sirene Journal
An independent Italian publication
Introducing The Great Discontent Magazine
‘Ambition’
Introducing MARFA JOURNAL
A biannual publication made by artists for artists.
Introducing Another Escape Magazine
Lifestyle, creative culture and sustainable living.
Introducing MOOD Zine
Music & Food Magazine.
Introducing Holo Magazine
‘Emerging trajectories in art, science and technology’
Introducing Lagom Magazine
A UK based lifestyle magazine
Introducing All-In Magazine
A biannual arts and culture print publication
Introducing Cherry Bombe Magazine
A magazine dedicated to food and women
Introducing FUET Magazine
Food and its peripheries
Introducing Apartamento Magazine
An everyday life interiors magazine
Introducing frankie Magazine
‘Dear frankie’ – Our letter to frankie.
Introducing Kyoorius Magazine
An ode to the creative community
Introducing [Wherever] Magazine
An Out of Place Journal
Introducing Lucky Peach Magazine
A quarterly on food, writing and art.
Introducing The Travel Almanac Magazine
Examination of post-touristic matters
Introducing Perdiz Magazine
“Happiness is Contagious”.
Introducing Dumbo Feather Magazine
Conversations with extraordinary people.
Introducing Avaunt Magazine
Form the makers of PORT
Introducing Four&Sons Magazine
An Australian biannual publication
Introducing Works That Work Magazine
a self-published magazine about creation
Kuhu Kochar
This April we did something new again!
Prateek Kuhad
A playlist from the best
Introducing It’s Nice That Annual 2014
Now Available on our Online Store
Introducing 100% Zine
Where artists doodle and sketch as they wander.
Introducing The Helter Skelter Magazine
Anthology of New Writing.
Award it.
Magazine Design, has come to be recognized as a force to reckon with and hence deserving of an award category of its own by many creative communities.
Charlie Hebdo
It was a woeful day yesterday, when yet again our right to freedom of expression was threatened and saw retaliation unmatched and cowardly,