i hope some on this list might find this of interest… best wishes, and stay negative.
> Begin forwarded message: > > From: "TASTE" <[email protected]> > Subject: Chaat Finally Gets the Cookbook It Deserves > Date: December 7, 2020 at 11:01:04 AM PST > > > > > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383236&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191> > Chaat Finally Gets the Cookbook It Deserves <> > Nine years ago, the chef and TV personality Maneet Chauhan met former Art > Culinaire editor Jody Eddy when the two teamed up on a story at Chauhan’s New > York City restaurant Vermilion. “We came up with this crazy idea right then,” > Chauhan recalls while chatting from her home in Nashville, Tennessee, where > she operates four restaurants while squeezing in a very active television > production schedule, including frequent appearances on Chopped and the Food > Network. > > The plan was to visit Chauhan’s home in Ranchi, a million-person metropolis > in the eastern state of Jharkand, but also to hit the rails and visit parts > of India that were personal to the chef. Indian food, in Chauhan’s > estimation—then and even more so now—had come a long way since its > association with “$8.95 all-you-can-eat greasy buffets.” The vast regionality > of the cooking, along with a less-discovered food group, chaat, drove the > pair to collaborate for nearly a decade on what is, hands down, one of my > favorite cookbooks of 2020 (a year of many favorites). > > Chaat: Recipes from the Kitchens, Markets, and Railways of India > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383236&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191> > is written with Eddy and photographed by Linda Xiao in the up-close, > reportage style that straddles the line between cookbook and well-funded > Instagram feed. It’s a pleasure to page through this book, even if the > reader’s idea of chaat may be unclear before encountering it. To clarify, in > Chauhan’s words, chaat is the union of sweet, tart, spicy, and a cooling > sensation, with an effect that makes dishes like ram ladoo—fluffy, round > fritters made with two kinds of dal (chana dal and mung dal) and covered in a > hot green chile chutney—some of Indian cooking’s most craveable dishes. “You > take a bite, and you’re like, oh my God, what’s happening over here?” she > says, laughing (but also dead serious). The book is organized by regions (New > Delhi and Agra in the north; Chennai and Mangalore in the south) and covers > India with a breathless pace—as if the reader is running to catch an > overnight train to Jaipur. And, as I found out in this interview with > Chauhan, some of those train rides offered a unique glimpse of the flavor of > India, past and present. —Matt Rodbard > > Let’s start talking about the concept of the book, because you’ve done > something that is extremely difficult, that many have tried—and it’s to write > a book about the entirety of India as a subcontinent, as a place. You’re not > focusing on the south or the north. So, the first question really is, how did > you decide that you were going to do this? > I grew up in a small town in eastern India. My dad was an engineer, and > because of his profession, this small community had people from all over > India—each and every state, each and every region in India has a very > distinct cuisine of its own. So, I was very fortunate that I grew up > surrounded by it—I grew up in a predominantly Punjabi household, so that’s > the food that my mother made. And after I would have dinner, I would go to my > neighbors’ place, who were from South India, and tell them that my parents > hadn’t fed me, so can I eat with you? But I would also sit with the aunties > in the kitchen and see them cook. And it would just blow my mind; there were > ingredients, there were techniques that I didn’t see in my household. So that > kind of really opened my mind to how vast Indian cuisine is. > > Why focus on trains? How do they tell the story of food in India? > We used to take trains throughout India, and these trains were not like the > ones here in the United States. Windows were open, doors were open, they were > three-day-and-three-night journeys, before Netflix or even iPhones. And I > would really look forward to the train journeys, because the train would stop > at each and every small station, and the local food vendors from that station > would come to sell their food at the train. So I got to taste the entire > vastness of the cuisine of India, from east to north, through these train > journeys. That was basically how the idea of the book came about. > > Tell me about your hometown of Jharkhand—what was the food like growing up > there? What were you eating? > I grew up with such a multistate cuisine because the local food over there > had things like sattu kachori, which is chickpea flour stuffed in these > deep-fried savory pastries, or baigan choka, which is an eggplant sauté, > almost like a warm baba ganoush, along with breads that are in the form of > these rounds that you crack and put ghee on it. That was the traditional food > over there, but then my sister and I, we used to like street food like > puchkas or pani puri or gol gappas; we weren’t allowed to eat it because it > was questionable where the water was coming from. We would save our pocket > money, hide from our parents—we would have a competition—“I had twenty!” “I > had fifteen!” So yeah, it was fun. > > And this leads to chaat, which is the unifying food of this book. How do you > define it? > So chaat, translated from Hindi, literally means “to lick.” Indian street > foods are so scrumptious and lick-worthy that you literally are licking the > bowl, the spoon, the hand that comes in contact with these chaats. Chaats are > a combination of different flavors and textures. So there is always that > sweet, tart, spicy, cooling, and creamy, crunchy, slightly mushy, which you > get from potatoes. It’s like each and every taste bud in your mouth gets > visited by the chaat, which is such an incredible experience. The loosest way > of saying it is probably a salad, but this book is a lot more than just that > category; it’s also the emotion of the dishes being lickable. > > I’m trying to think of the cognate in America or even the West, and it’s > hard, because it seems like chaat is a singularly Indian thing. The fact that > it expands from all food groups and is defined by its craveability is really > cool. > I think that the closest thing that I’ve had to chaat over here are probably > maybe nachos, because they have the same kind of feeling—you know, there’s > sour cream, and you can put some guac on it, and there’s that crunchiness you > get from the food. Or those Frito pies? Those two, in my estimation, have > been the closest thing to what I know as chaat growing up in India. > > I want to hear about the actual reporting of the book, because it’s clear > that you and your coauthor, Jody Eddy, and your photographer, Linda Xiao, > really put in the work. > I could spend my entire life traveling trains in India, and I would still be > scratching the surface of all the dishes that are there. We took trains, and > these were absolutely third class—the coach section—because those are the > compartments in which the local vendors climb up and sell between one station > and the other. It’s not going to be that way in the first class, it’s not > going to be in the AC coach, because those are much more—for lack of a better > word—sterilized. That’s not the experience we wanted. So we did that. We > traveled by train, we went to Old Delhi, we traveled by rickshaw, we ate > everything and anything. Jody was keeping a list—she had her diary, and she > was keeping a list of everything that we were tasting. And in the end of > seven days, we counted, and we had tasted over 670 dishes. Crazy! > > And so, when you’re in the third-class cars, what’s that like? Everyone > likely has a vision of traveling in India via the rails. But in your words, > what’s that experience like? > Let me say that the romantic vision that I had of these train journeys when I > was a kid—it’s changed a lot right now. Especially because you get used to a > certain amount of comfort. It’s hot, it’s a sensory overload, all of which is > fine, because I get really excited about that. But the toughest part is the > restrooms on the train. That is the toughest part. I keep on saying, it takes > so little for us to get spoiled. But I used to enjoy that when I was young! > > Okay, so how do you pick the regions to travel to? > There is a lot of nostalgia in this book. There are a lot of stories that I > have, which I have lived through, and those were my favorite stations, > because they made an impact on me, as a kid, and that resulted in the chef I > am today. Take Mumbai—I had not traveled much there, but that is such an > amazing melting pot. It has that Portuguese influence, and there is the > typical Maharashtrian food. So that’s why we were like, okay, let’s do > Mumbai. Jaipur is a station that really made a big impact on me; I had just > gone there once as a kid. And I’m like, “Okay, let’s go back, and let’s look > at that station.” So that’s how we came up with this different combination of > places. > > Are you doing television these days? > Yeah, it’s so interesting to see how production has changed. There is COVID > testing that is happening almost every day, and there are test kits that are > sent home, so the day before you leave, you take a test. So far, it’s been > very safe. To me, I am just amazed at the resilience of people and how smart > people are, and just like—okay, this is what needs to be done, this is the > problem, this is the solution. > > Which shows should we look out for? What are you in production on? > Chopped, definitely, is ongoing. I just did a new show, which is coming out > next year, but I’m not supposed to talk about that [laughs]. > > This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. > > > > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383236&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191> > > FOUR EXCITING RECIPES FROM CHAAT > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383236&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191> > Vada Pav > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383240&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191> > Vada pav, one of Mumbai’s most popular street foods, is a potato fritter the > size of a baseball stuffed into a flaky white bun, smeared with coconut and > spicy green chile chutneys, and then squished until it’s flat enough to fit > into your mouth. > > Ros Omelette > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383241&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191> > Goa is like the Ibiza of India, and this coconut-spiked omelet, with its > rich, comforting, fiery gravy, is enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in > the region. > > Lemon Rice > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383242&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191> > This summery rice, prepared with nuts, chiles, and dal (among many other > ingredients), takes the author back to her time at the Chennai train station > in southern India. > > Mumbai Faloodas > > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383243&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191>The > Indian falooda was introduced by the Mughal empire between the sixteenth and > eighteenth centuries. The essential ingredients in a traditional falooda > recipe include milk, sugar, ice cream, and a tapioca noodle frequently > referred to as sev. It’s similar to a vermicelli noodle and can be found in > Indian markets. > > > MORE BOOKS TO BUY, READ, AND COOK FROM > Last week, we talked to longtime blogger and cookbook author Mely Martínez > about giving justice to the often overlooked seasonality of Mexican > cooking—and her new book, The Mexican Home Kitchen > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383244&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191>. > > > We also talked to Matt Sartwell > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383245&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191> > of New York’s beloved cookbook store Kitchen Arts & Letters. He gave us a > look at some of his favorite fall releases in the cookbook world, plus a > discount code for TASTE readers that’s good until December 15. > > TASTE contributor Cathy Erway has brought the world 50 super creative recipes > with Sheet Pan Chicken > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383246&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191>, > one of our favorite books of the season (and one we helped publish, > alongside our friends at Ten Speed Press). Recipes include Thai yellow curry > chicken thighs, Nashville hot chicken breasts, and five-spice chicken > wings—all on a sheet pan, baby. > > Molecular biologist turned food writer Nik Sharma’s new book, The Flavor > Equation > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383247&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191>, > hit shelves a few weeks back. The book dives deep into how we understand > flavor > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383248&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191>, > from our feelings to our taste buds. > > The Essential Wine Book > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383249&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191> > is exactly what it sounds like: essential. Zachary Sussman’s field guide to > the new world of wine covers everything from today’s most exciting regions to > easy-to-use advice on finding the perfect bottle for any occasion. > > Friuli Food and Wine is a colorful tour of the Italian region that bridges > the Alps and the Adriatic Sea, featuring 80 recipes and wine pairings from a > master sommelier and James Beard Award–winning chef. Read our interview with > one of the coauthors, Meredith Erickson > <http://l.e.crownpublishing.com/rts/go2.aspx?h=13383250&tp=i-1NGB-Q58-Y8j-2Ivt5r-1o-2RqYS-1c-2Iuu7H-l5QwLnzsuo-1oCBOk&x=AF487EF949FB34ABE0534FD66B0ABD03%7c131237%7c2112036191>. > > > FOLLOW THE EDITORS OF TASTE > Follow along with our cooking (and let us know about your cooking) on > Instagram. 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