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.
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