culinary heritage - The Locavore

Bommi’s Crab Pepper Fry

April 11, 2025
Bommi

Seasoned by the Sea is a coastal community cookbook published by Uyir Pathipagam (2025). Bommi’s family is widely known as crab-sellers in the Thazhankuppam region of Tamil Nadu. Her crab dish, involving simple ingredients and techniques, highlights the flavours of fresh crab.

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Books on Food

Dried Fish At Amma’s Memorial

April 10, 2025
Niranjana R., Bhagath Singh A., Palanikumar M, Anthoni Guruz, Nithya K.

In a three-year-long cookbook project spanning the Coromandel coast, Bhagat Singh A. writes a tribute to his late mother.

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Dehrauri

March 12, 2025
Garima Tiwari

A sweet innate to Chhattisgarh, Dehrauri is made by fermenting rice. Glass jars filled to the brim with these treats can be found in Chhattisgarhi homes during most festivals.

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Saffron Sandesh

March 11, 2025
Swapna Mazumder

A quintessential Bengali sweet, Sandesh can take on a multitude of flavours, no matter how technique-driven its preparation is.

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Desserts and Mithai

Patishapta

February 24, 2025
Ishani Banerjee

Every year, the arrival of the harvest festival brings the sweet aroma of Patishapta, a traditional Bengali dessert, to Ishani Banerjee's home.The recipe for this simple delicacy, passed down over generations, represents rich, nuanced familial ties and maternal love.

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Snacks and Appetisers

Jolada Kadabu (Jowar Dumplings with Wild Edible Greens)

February 15, 2025
Dr. Shridevi Gothe And Suresh Hinduja

A healthy snack that can even double as a meal, the Jolada Kadabu is cherished in several Kannadiga households. It brings together the goodness of jowar with the unique flavours of wild greens.

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Main Course

Chutagi, A Hearty Ladakhi Stew

February 7, 2025
Dechen Chuskit

Dechen Chuskit shares her recipe for chutagi, a brothy dish from Ladakh featuring round wheat dumplings and meat, which she learnt from her parents.

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Patla Macher Jhol

February 6, 2025
Inseason Fish

This Bengali recipe from sustainable seafood initiative InSeason Fish highlights the bold, meaty flavours of the tonguesole fish,abundantly available in December along both coasts of India.

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Culture

The Dispute Over Guava Jelly: What Indian Women’s Cookbooks Tell Us About Their Lives

January 27, 2025
Sohel Sarkar

With women's education in India taking off only in the 1860s, it isn't surprising that cookbooks were authored by men until then, in tones ranging from disciplinary to mansplaining. When women began to write these themselves, they did so on their own terms.

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Main Course

Ariputtu

January 14, 2025
Sarala Thomas Palivathukkal

Puttu, a widely popular dish consumed across Kerala is said to have been a Portuguese import according to Sarala Thomas Palivathukkal. While modern conveniences may have changed the preparation style over the years, puttu-making is still a tradition in many Syrian-Christian households.

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