BOOKS | SEEMA
DELICACIES FROM ACROSS INDIA 8 books that explore the country’s diverse regional cuisines PRATIKA YASHASWI
EAST INDIAN KITCHEN by Michael Swamy The Maharashtrian-Portuguese community of India is one that fuses influences through the ages of Mumbai’s history, bringing together flavors of the Portuguese, Greek, British, Arab, Mughal and Chinese traders and residents of the area. Multiple-time Gourmand awardee Michael Swamy highlights the history behind the various flavors in the cuisine, going through the steps right from how to purchase meat and seafood all the way to a glossary of food-related terms in the East Indian dialect for greater ease. Recipes that stand out are capsicum foogath, balchow cutlets, bottle masala and Bandra-style hot cross buns. 82 | SEEMA.COM | NOVEMBER 2021
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ne of the big attractions of India is that no two towns, even those just a few miles away from each other, are the same. The cooking of Andhra Pradesh, for example, varies from miniregion to mini-region. The coastal preparations in the Rayalaseema region and Visakhapatnam district are dissimilar. Just a few hours by train away from Visakhapatnam, the city of Vijayawada serves up a level of heat and spice that can make the smoke come out of your ears, and tears run down your nose. Hyderabad in the next state is influenced by the region’s centuries-old Nizami rule, and so the biryani is unlike any other in the country. The same goes for
every town and every region in the country: meaning that in its plurality and diversity, a whole lifetime could go into sampling the meals of every single region, small town, and large city in India. The myriad communities drive the difference. So to know India’s communities, as intimidating an endeavor as that is, is to know India. Food tells stories of winners and losers, the oppressors and the oppressed. Of where nomads come from and the geography of the region. Thus, regional cooking can teach us a lot about the culture that shapes the land and the country it is a part of. So for this issue’s food special, we’ve decided to explore the regional cooking of India, through cookbooks! Each cookbook tells a story. Let’s dive in.
SEVEN SISTERS KITCHEN TALES by Purabi Shridhar and Sangitha Singh The northeast of India, also known as the Seven Sisters, comprise seven states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura connected by the Siliguri corridor, is a region of India that remains vastly underdocumented and under-explored. There are actually eight states, the last being Sikkim, which is not connected by this corridor. So is its culinary history, which involves slow cooking, seasonal products and a no-oil, no-sugar diet. This book, although comprising recipes from these states, tells stories of north-easterners living across India who remember their past through memories of food. Quite a wonderful book to spend an afternoon with.
