Journeys from my Living Room…

I recently read this book, “Gourmet Journeys in India” by Prof. Pushpesh Pant. It took me on a whirlwind culinary tour across 15 regions of India, all without budging from my living room! Be it the busy, bustling streets of Delhi, the regal heritage of Jaipur, the conservative yet culturally rich traditions of Tamil Nadu, or the susegaad lifestyle of Goa, the book captured it all through beautiful photographs and vividly described imagery.

What caught my attention was the extent of Mughal influence across the country: Delhi, Agra and Lucknow in the north, Jaipur, Udaipur and Ahmedabad in the west, and Hyderabad in the south are all renowned for their Mughal-influenced cuisine and culture. So much so, that almost half the recipes featured in the book are of Mughal origin!

I’d never imagined that iconic dishes like the Hyderabadi pathar ka gosht or the kakori kabab of Lucknow could be recreated at home; after reading this book, I will now actually dare to try and make them.

Living in Bangalore as I do, I haven’t had much exposure to the cuisine of Kashmir, so I really relished the chapter on rich Kashmiri fare and food habits. It spoke of a tradition called waazwaan, a 20-to-36 course meal that the host prepares by laying out everything they have in their kitchen, and the guest must in turn do full justice to. Sounds like hospitality fit for royals!

I also enjoyed the little tidbits of knowledge that are scattered through the book. For example, the wok-like pan used to make appams, called a ‘China chatti’, probably came to Kerala along with Chinese fishing nets. Or the fact that Punjabi restaurants in Delhi (many of which were started by Punjabi refugees from Pakistan) originally had many sub-types like Peshawari, Rawalpindi and Baluchi, but over time they have merged into one type, ‘Delhi-Punjabi’!

Whether explaining the architecture of Agra or telling the story of how butter chicken was supposedly invented, the various historical references added a whole new dimension to the journey, making this so much more than a mere recipe book!

Short, yet with so much to say, this is definitely a book that I’m going enjoy flipping through time and again.