History Dishtory

ARE...YOU...READY FOR A FANTASTIC FLASHBACK FOODVENTURE? Have you ever wondered what the first meal was on the moon, or the last one on the Titanic? Was a stuffed turkey actually part of the first Thanksgiving dinner, and did Queen Marie Antoinette really say, 'Let them eat cake!' during the French Revolution? Take a trip back in time to 15 important events in the past on the WayBack Pod with trivia-crazy Siya and budding chef Sam. Discover a secret ingredient in Sir Edmund Hillary's Camp IX tent just before he reaches the top of Mt Everest, take a peek into the royal court at Calicut as explorer Vasco da Gama spices up the proceedings, sniff the salt in the air on the Dandi March with Gandhiji...and get a taste of history like never before. What's more, to savour the real flavour of these adventures, try out the yummy, easy recipes inspired by these key historical moments, sprinkled throughout the book! COLOUR PHOTOS INSIDE!

When I lost my mother to a long and painful battle with cancer, four years ago, I was thousands of miles away, alone and thick with grief. At first, everything seemed distant and pale, and I went through my days like a robot, lead-footed and sandy-eyed, trying to make sense of each moment. It took a while, but I came to understand that the only way out was through. At some point, I submitted to the dagger of sorrow, as it carved out a hollow in my heart, turning me into some sort of an unself-conscious, sculpted form. I re-lived all the memories of my mother, and gleaned new lessons from them. Through the eighteen essays in this book, I recount how her food, music, and stories -- all the things that she birthed in her spacious, sun-dappled kitchen -- helped me cope with long-distance grief, and taught me to look at life with renewed hope. I also present some special recipes, straight from Amma’s kitchen, and a bunch of kitchen poems in her honour, finding her in such things as the sizzling of spices, the bubbling of flavourful broths, or a melodious Raga swirled into my cup of coffee. My wish is that this book will come to stand for all this and more: a celebration of life and a quiet acceptance of death. I hope that it will inspire and touch many, those who are going through rough times, or those who are simply living the ordinary life, for often we forget that there’s so much magic in it.

Eat your way through Pooh Bear’s adventures one Honey-crunch Snack Bite at a time, nibble on delicious Scoop ‘n’ Drop Currant Scones while discovering lost treasures and secret passages with the Famous Five, or suck on tangy Tamarind Pops as you run through the by-lanes of Malgudi with Swami and friends. If you love to read and eat, Bookworms & Jellybellies is just the book for you. It is a joyride through some of the best-loved children’s books, with over 50 inspired recipes that can be easily whipped up in your own kitchen. It is packed with quirky introductions, simple recipe instructions, fun trivia and beautiful colour photographs that bring the featured dishes to life. In this fresh, imaginative take on books and cooks, Ranjini Rao and Ruchira Ramanujam, authors of Around the World with the Tadka Girls, give you recipes with their own dash of drama, adventure and plot twists – just like the books that inspire them.

Right from the chicken curry served in a food truck in a bustling New York city street, to the jhalmuri served at Eat.St in King’s Cross in London, Indian food today has become more mainstream and less exotic than it used to be. Everyone seems to like a taste of something Indian, a deep-fried samosa or a scoop of biryani, but they’re often a little intimidated by what they believe it entails - long hours of slaving in front of the stove and a gazillion spices to pepper everything with. And yes, volumes of text have been devoted to busting those myths. Every second Indian cookbook begins with the word curry, or Tandoori and goes on to show you a world beyond those on the Indian culinary map. So why are we taking it upon ourselves to write yet another Indian cookbook, and how will it benefit you? We didn’t really have a plan to begin with, no months of planning or strategizing leading up to this project. Rather, the book found us. Let us explain: we’ve lived outside India for years and on many an occasion, in small towns with no Indian grocer in sight for miles. Consequently, we’ve had to run our kitchens on a limited supply of out-and-out Indian ingredients. But that didn’t deter us - we simply reached out into the deep pockets of our local Supermarket, and made the best of what we had access to. And armed with what we learnt in the shadows of our mothers and owing in some part to our own innate instincts, we continue to feed our families the simple, homely meals that we grew up on. That is what this book is all about, and it’s virtually an extension of us and our kitchens.

They Made What? Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Indian Scientists A space scientist who sent a rocket to Mars A physicist who insisted that plants could feel emotions An engineer who solved a water problem with an ice stupa Meet India's brightest scientists and read all about their incredible, groundbreaking inventions in this first-of-its-kind book. Explore the most fascinating fields of science, from nanotechnology and engineering to tropical ecology and molecular physics, and find the answers to the scientific questions you've always thought about. Do all scientists wear lab coats? Where do they get their genius ideas from? How do they transform these brainwaves into life-changing inventions? Bursting with activities, quizzes, easy experiments, cool tips and a galaxy of knowledge, this informative, exciting and entertaining book is sure to awaken the intrepid innovator in you! They Found What? Stories of Daring Discoveries by Indian Scientists A biologist who smashed cancer cells A physicist who revealed the secrets of light An ecologist who stumbled on a rare species of frog Meet India's brightest scientists and read all about their incredible, groundbreaking discoveries in this first-of-its-kind book. Explore the most fascinating fields of science, from neuroscience and biochemistry to evolutionary biology and thermodynamics, and unearth the answers to the scientific questions you've always thought about. Do scientists never fail at maths? What tools and technologies do they use to uncover something new? Do they really have robotic assistants? Bursting with activities, quizzes, easy experiments, cool tips and a galaxy of knowledge, this informative, exciting and entertaining book is sure to awaken the intrepid innovator in you!