Skip to main content

BOOK REVIEW : INDIA ON MY PLATTER



What is it about food that makes one so addicted to it? Chef Saransh Goila’s debut book provides an answer to this question in the most delicious manner possible.

Saransh Goila is an Indian chef who won the Maha challenge hosted by FoodFood channel in 2011. He also features in the Limca book of world records of 2014 for hosting the longest ever road travelogue show – “Roti, Rasta aur India”. Below is a short review of the book.

I refrain from calling it an actual novel. It is a journey described along with recipes. There is no story, no script, no characters. Food is the main character. Now let us accept few things right from the beginning. Firstly, Saransh is no professional writer. He is a chef, and a mighty good one. Therefore, do not go expecting heavy language and high – level English, primarily because that is not the focus of this book. The language is kept simple, grammatically correct and never over the top.
Secondly, you have to be a foodie to read this book. If you are not too much into food, cooking, etc, this book is not meant for you. It is inundated with recipes of all kinds including few non vegetarian items. So basically not everyone will take to this book. On the other side, if you are someone who devours food and take a keen or even remote interest in culinary, this book is for you.

The hundred day journey begins from Delhi which then proceeds to Himachal Pradesh, Rohtang, Leh, Ladakh, Kargil, parts of Jammu & Kashmir, coming down to Punjab, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, moving down to Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, taking a holy stop at Varanasi, moving eastward to Bihar, West Bengal, going further north – east to Sikkim, Assam and finally returning to Delhi.

A 20,000 kilometres journey, this was a refreshing read. Not often does one get a “TASTE” of India in real sense. With the ever – so – humble Saransh, things were always a joy. His humble nature, his immediate occupancy of the kitchen wherever he went, his lovely interactions with different people – everything was very good.

Be it visiting a langar in Kangra or making mouth watering Thupka soup in Leh or having almond milk with the pehelwaans in Karnal or making us reminiscent by cooking magi at an odd time or preparing chocolate pakoras or introducing us to Pulihora in Vishakhapatnam or making Tofu Kofta in Bhopal or making the fragrant Chandan ke kababs in Lucknow or preparing the lip smacking Kathi roll, every delicacy was a treat on paper. Even though I am a strict vegetarian and don’t even eat eggs, I went through the non veg and egg items. They too seemed well made.
This book is also a treat for those who love travelling in various parts of India.  Saransh cleverly fuses food with travel, giving us a beautiful experience.

POSITIVES
As I mentioned, including a road trip instead of a mere simple recipe collection is what makes this book different from the other books of this genre. It is not just a “Cook book”. It is much more. It is a glimpse of the diverse cultures of our country.

NEGATIVES
Not too many negatives, though the language and grammar could have been slightly better. Although I am not complaining too much since that is not the main focus of the book.
Also, what I would have loved is a systematic index of all the recipes mentioned in the book. Suppose I want to search for a particular recipe, it will be difficult to remember where exactly in the book that recipe appears.


OVERALL, “INDIA ON MY PLATTER” is a book worth cherishing. It is a book which will be used by the ladies of our houses whenever they need to refer to some delicacy’s recipe and ingredients.
It will also be referred whenever we need to look for few places worth visiting while going on a holiday to a particular place.

It is more of a book for keeps, rather than just a single read.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

TANU WEDS MANU RETURNS : MY THOUGHTS

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. IT IS TO BE READ ONLY IF YOU HAVE WATCHED THE MOVIE. IT IS NOT EXACTLY A REVIEW. IT CONTAINS THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW I LIKED THE MOVIE. IT IS LONG AND CONTAINS QUITE SOME IMAGES. Few facts we learnt from Tanu Weds Manu Returns – 1.      Southhall mein logon ke ghar ke baahar kacchhe sookhte hain. 2.      Tharki logon ki pasandeeda kitaab hain “LOLITA” 3.      “TILANDI” means “VANISHED” 4.      Tanu saves her husband Manu’s number in her phone under the contact name “HUSBAND” 5.      Delhi ka aadha pollution aashiqon ki wajah se hain. 6.      “JHAND” means “DESTROYED” 7.      “PEEPNI” means … “Bachpan mein buddha hota than a neeli aankhon waala, jisse pichkaao toh         aawaaz aati thi PEE PEE” 8.      Pappi ki colony ki do nikkar wali ladkiyon ne use propose kiya tha. 9.      Masoor ki dal mein ajinomoto nahin padta. 10.    Tanu and Manu last had sex in 2013, bhaiyya dooj ke din. 11.      Jab kahin jaana hi nahin, toh bus ke dha

MY TEN FAVORITE SHAHRUKH KHAN MOVIES

There are people who hate him. There are people who love him. And there are people who are crazy after him. My affection for him has always been variegating. While I have loved some of his performances, I don’t like certain avatars of him. One big problem I have had with Shahrukh khan’s acting is the times he hams on screen – you know when he is crying and gives that typical facial expression – which is totally a turn off. Whenever he has steered clear from doing that on screen, he has given some brilliant performances.   He is a fantastic actor, no doubt, and over the years, I have fallen in love with some of the characters he has played. Below is a list of my ten favorite Shahrukh films –   DISCLAIMER – Kuch kuch hota hai, Kabhi khushi kabhi gham, Devdas, Main hoon Na have not been included. Now you may read further. SWADES This is undoubtedly Shahrukh’s finest performance ever. With a wardrobe of only five to six simple smart shirts in the entire mov

MUSIC REVIEW : MTV UNPLUGGED (A.R RAHMAN)

Rahman begins the episode with “YE JO DES HAI TERA”. That was a smart move to ensure the audience get goosebumps right from the moment the shehnais start. the way ranjit barot changes the song (Deconstructs and reconstructs it, in Rahman’s words) is awesome. The “mitti ki hai jo khushboo” chorus is out of this world. Rahman’s rendition is near perfect. He sings the song with aplomb. The chorus before the second antara again gives you goosebumps. And Rahman escalates the song with his PERFECT tamil rendition. Although I didn’t understand a word of it, it is obvious that Rahman is much more at ease singing tamil lyrics compared to hindi ones. Overall, this was 5 minutes and 14 seconds of pure hair – raising stuff. Special credit to the shehnai players – Omkar dhumal, Raju dhumal, Sunil dhumal, Sanjeev shankar and Ashwani shankar. “REHNA TU” starts off with an addictive piano loop, the one which was heard even in the behind the scenes video released prior to the episode.