Showing posts with label Book review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book review. Show all posts

Saturday, March 1, 2014

‘A Pinch Of This, A Handful of That’ by Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal


Rushina, being a food blogger, she takes you through her passion of cooking with variety of anecdotes about the people closer to her. It is interesting to read about her first attempt of making tea with the help of her mother, about the charm of her Moti Mummy, who pickled tomatoes and lemon when they were bountiful in season, you understand her sense of culinary adventures that she inherited from her Nani who inspired her to recognize the ingredients by its taste.

Every section begins with an emotive story as you walk with her into her kitchen, meet different people in her life and read about her food adventures.

Every recipe gives a brief description about the dish, followed by step-by-step-easy-to-follow method of preparation.

On page 112, she writes:

“Kheema Pasta was a wicked combination of pasta and dense, grainy spicy kheema that was an occasional feature of the Friday ‘Conte food night’ at Maya. And this kheema pasta- the unholy result of spaghetti bolognaise corrupted with spices and silky Bombinos’ macaroni (not healthy durum wheat pasta touted as proper these days, but the maida version that reduces us to a stodgy mess if overcooked)- is the reason why the finest spaghetti bolognaise pales in comparison for me even today”

The book is the mixture of international and national dishes, there are Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Vietnamese recipes and then, there are traditional Indian recipes learnt in informal set up with house members and close friends

The ‘Index of Recipes’ is bit tricky to follow initially if you are searching for a particular recipe, and one needs to go through line-by-line to see the list, however, there is a surprise element when you suddenly stumble about a recipe that you would like to try on. 

Rushina has her own style of animated writing that actually transports you into her kitchen, you can feel her presence as you follow her method of cooking while churning out your favorite dish..

The book did inspire me to cook and here is my ‘Kheema Pasta’ lifted from the page 112 of this book. 



The recipe of Kheema Pasta appears in Rushina’s book at page 112

Time 1hour/ Serves 6-8

Ingredients
1/2cup ghee
2-3 cloves
1’ cinnamon stick
5-6 whole black peppercorn
2 green chilies, chopped
500 gams onions, finely chopped
1kg mutton minced
1tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2tsp red chili powder
1/2tsp turmeric powder
1tsp garam masala powder
500gms tomatoes, finely chopped
salt to taste
500gms Pasta

Garnish
1cup coriander leaves

Method
Put the ghee in a large heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat. When hot, add the whole spices, green chilies and onions. Stir fry till the onions have lost all their moisture and are well-browned.

Add the mince and stir to break up the lumps as it cooks

Add garlic-ginger paste and stir-fry till it has released its juices. Keep cooking till dried out. At this point, your mince will be crumbly and well on its way to browning.

Mix in the spice powder, reduce the heat and stir-fry till fragrant.

Add tomatoes, mix well and cook, stirring occasionally, till the tomatoes disappear and the ghee rises to the surface.

Add salt to taste. Your kheema should be slightly saltier than you would like because the pasta will come in.

Add the previously cooked pasta and mix well. (This is where a big pan comes in handy because things begin to fall out otherwise)

Cover and cook for few minutes, open and a fragrant cloud of steam, laden with aromas will rise up-awesome!

Wash the coriander leaves thoroughly in several changes of water. Drain well and chop fine.

Spoon the pasta in a serving dish, top with the coriander leaves and serve. You can serve it with bread and a salad on the side, but I never bother, because nobody touches anything else once the pasta is served.
Like it???

Book your copy now at BookShop Of India




Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Food Literature- Book review


How The Banana Goes To Heaven (Paperback)
by Ratna Rajaiah

Ratna Rajaiah is good, stylish writer with deep insight towards minute details. Her book is written with meticulously researched information, which she collected during her weekly columns in the Sunday edition of the ‘New Indian Express’, tracing back the history and the nutrition value of each ingredient. This book is like a food bible, where every food item is personified exposing its health and medicinal secrets, its origin, some anecdotes, some facts and finally a recipe.

Take the example of ‘White Pumpkin’ now I am not too fond of this ingredient and wouldn’t even touch it with a yard stick but the author arouses my interest by addressing this vegetable as ‘The Goddess Gourd’ and goes on to say “The white Pumpkin is not only a popular offering to the gods in Hindu ceremonies but is also considered effective in warding off evil spirit and evil eye- the very reason why it is often seen hanging outside newly built houses and buildings” An interesting information which will henceforth make me notice a Pumpkin if I see one.

There are many other secrets revealed in the pages as you go along with her exploring the traditional fare and, BTW, did you know that ‘White Pumpkin’ is used to treat various kinds of nervous disorders and mental illness? I didn’t. She writes: “One well-known Ayurvedic preparation made from it is used for the treatment of epilepsy and even insanity” She goes on to talk about its other medicinal and health benefits and how it is used to cure many other diseases.

Interesting to note: “The ash made from burning the seeds and the peel of white Pumpkin is mixed with coconut oil and is used to promote hair growth and as a treatment for dandruff” hmmmn!

Small wonders roll out from every chapter, unfolding the secrets of different ingredients, as we begin to understand the nutrients of various food items used in our everyday cooking. Every new chapter begins with a food quote on that particular ingredient, tuning your mind in the receptive mood. The book is packed with information on vegetables, grains, oils and also on vitamins, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, etc.

For a food lover like me, this book is a treasure, packed with so much information that I would recommend to everyone to have one copy of their own for regular reference PLUS one more to gift your loved ones whose health and well-being, you really care…..

Also Cross posted my review at flipkart
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