Books on Food - The Locavore

Books on Food

This Ethnography Highlights the People and Skill Behind Bengal’s Mishti

Ishita Dey
July 4, 2026

‘Sweet Excess: Crafting Mishti in Bengal’ by Ishita Dey was published by Routledge in 2026. Cover art by Sonali Chitrakar. Photo courtesy of Routledge.

How do we understand the knowledge required to make sweets? Ishita Dey’s book Sweet Excess discovers that it is an embodied knowledge, largely determined by caste- and class-realities.

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Chaapda Chutney

Budhram
July 3, 2026

The red weaver ants used in this chutney are foraged from the forest canopies of Bastar in Chhattisgarh.

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Tangthur

Nilza Wangmo
July 3, 2026

This Ladakhi chutney is made with buttermilk, seasonal greens, and fresh summer herbs.

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Books on Food

Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal on why chutney in India goes beyond one singular condiment

Ishani Banerjee
July 3, 2026

Chutney: A Compendium of Stories and Recipes (2025), comprises 230-plus chutneys, covering nearly every state and major culinary tradition in India. All photos courtesy of Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal.

Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal shares the process of mapping chutneys across India for her recent book, how they are born out of geography and practicality as much as for flavour, and why despite their ubiquity, chutneys are often sidelined in formal culinary conversations.

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Hands That Brew: The Complexities of Female Labour in the Making of Rice Beer

Rini Barman
May 26, 2026

The dhuasang above the clay-stove, or where the rice beer cakes are dried on rainy days in a Deori household. All photos by Rini Barman.

Traditional drinks are often regarded as repositories of culture. In Centrepiece, Rini Barman explores some of the less romantic aspects of this practice and the many implications of the act of brewing rice beer.

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Books on Food

Anumeha Yadav’s picture book asks—‘what are we doing to our rich food diversity, our seeds?’

Deepshika Pasupunuri
March 24, 2026

Based on her investigative series on the central government’s rice fortification programme, ‘Our Rice Tastes of Spring’ highlights why the locals’ right to control their own food systems matters.

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Desi Rice Made the Most Wonderful Bhaat Nu Osaman

Sheetal Bhatt
November 7, 2025

This rice-based drink is consumed in the hills of Dahod and Panchmahal in Gujarat.

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Gunda Na Mor Ni Kadhi Is Only Made During the Brief Springtime

Sheetal Bhatt
November 6, 2025

This kadhi made with glueberry blossoms is still consumed during the brief period of spring in the northeast regions of Gujarat.

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No Meal in Northeast Gujarat Is Complete Without Vaatelo Masalo

Sheetal Bhatt
November 6, 2025

This hand-pounded masala paste is often used in dishes prepared by the Garasia, Dungri Garasia, and Bhil communities in northeast Gujarat.

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Books on Food

Nothing For The Bin: Lessons from ‘The No-Waste Kitchen Cookbook’

Arina Suchde
October 1, 2025

Arina Suchde’s debut book, ‘The No-Waste Kitchen Cookbook,’ was published in 2023 by Harper Collins. Cover image courtesy of Harper Collins. Cover design by Ramnika Sehrawat. Illustrations by Sayan.

Bruised tomatoes, cauliflower stems, orange peels—what we dismiss, Arina Suchde wants you to begin redeeming. In this excerpt from The No-Waste Kitchen Cookbook, she makes a case for our everyday food scraps as the beginnings of a meal, not its discard.

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