What does it take three women, two housewives and a professional living in three different cities to get a vegetarian foodie book together? Hundreds of hours of work, some Blackberry technology and loads of inter-city travel. Which is what it took Anju Poddar, Sangita Biyani and Manjri Agarwal to put together Meals Menus & More,the result of their collaboration being a global smorgasbord of culinary delicacies with an Indian emphasis.
Did you know, for example that in the absence of other treatmentscoffee powder serves as an effective remedy against bleeding cuts and wounds? Or that if entertaining guests from a different community than yours, it’s best to offer up a cuisine from your own area of expertise and add on a supplementary dish from the cuisine the guest is familiar with? These and other insights have been gleaned after years of experience in keeping dinner (and lunch) tables by these gracious hostesses, one of whom is the wife of Future Group czar, Kishore Biyani. While techniques on entertaining guests forms a substantial portion of the book, there are sections catering to the needs of young mothers, growing children, people with medical conditions, foods for religious festivals etc.
Anju Poddar, author and spokesperson of the group believes that you are what you eat. “For me as a child, the smells of my mother’s familiar cooking instilled a sense of coming back into the fold, a feeling of cocooned security and it was a binding force for our family.” While keeping the spirit of the book on the same lines, the trio have updated it to contemporary times for recipes that are both quick fix and leisurely offering up food combinations that combine the novel and the traditional for a rounded experience in playing hostess.
Marwari, south Indian, north Indian, Bengali recipesas well as Continental and far Eastern recipes gatheredfrom a social circle that encompasses India’s brightest business and professional families “over the phone and several hours of personal interaction” have resulted in a book that helps in planning meals over a sustained period of time. “The aim is to provide a complete sensory experience in taste, colours and textures for someone coming to the dining table — whether it is making children’s food interesting enough for them to eat, providing a combination of wet and dry dishes or even using the varying natural colours of food to your advantage,” says Poddar.
Interestingly the book is backed by stalwarts of the social community including Rajashree Birla who advocates that “this could well be the next bible for Indian cooking.” Says art magazine publisher and industrialist wife Sangita Jindal, “For someone who’s not a good cook like me, it offers useful tips.” Kokilaben Ambani on her part has written a special (and rare) foreword for the book. Done up with fabulous production values this (almost) coffee table book should help those with a commitment to the art of raising families in contemporary urban milieus.
Comments
