books

#BookReview: Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook

Here we present a review of new book ‘Transit Lounge’ by Myra Gupta .

Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook: Top 100 Indian Slow Cooker Recipes from Restaurant Classics to Innovative Modern Indian Recipes All Easily Made At Home in a Slow Cooker

Indian cuisine is widely acknowledged to be among the very best in the world. Now you can make all of the top Indian dishes at home in your own kitchen! From classic Indian dishes served in restaurants around the globe, to innovative fusion dishes that exemplify modern India on a plate, you are guaranteed to enjoy this curated collection of amazing Indian meals. This complete guide to cooking authentic Indian food at home empowers you to become a true master of Indian cuisine, even if you’ve never stepped food in South Asia.

You’ll learn what spices work best for bringing out the natural flavors of popular Indian ingredients, as well as the techniques employed by the most discerning Indian cooks, from international superstar Indian chefs, to the most experienced home-cooks in Mumbai.

The best part is that these recipes are easy to prepare at home in your slow cooker. The slow cooker is one of the healthiest appliances you can use to cook at home, and its “low and slow” style of one pot cooking lends itself perfectly to the demands of top-notch Indian cuisine. With 100 recipes there is something for everyone, from quick and spicy lunch dishes for one, to elaborate Indian feasts for the whole family, you’ll be equipped with everything you need to produce truly world class Indian meals at home every night of the week. The Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook is your all-in-one resource for enjoying the very best of South Asia wherever you are in the world!
This Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook contains:

100 Easy to Follow Recipes using ingredients that are easily found at your local grocery store and that are ideal for cooking in your slow cooker – each with complete nutritional information
Healthy and Delicious Indian Food For Every Occasion organized into chapters including Lentils, Beans, Peas, Vegetables, and Meat dishes
A Complete Overview of Indian cuisine detailing the essential information you need to know to master the very best dishes India has to offer
Handy Charts and Indexes so all the information you need is at your fingertips

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Review by our Editor on Amazon: “Yet another cookbook for DIY on Indian Cuisine”

I happened to come across the book while reviewing recent Kindle publications and was intrigued: was this yet another cookbook on Indian cuisine?

The title of the book is a mouthful though it describes what it is all about “Top 100 Indian Slow Cooker Recipes from Restaurant Classics to Innovative Modern Indian Recipes All Easily Made At Home in a Slow Cooker.” The sections of book are well written and follow a predictable format:
– Time to cook
– Basic ingredient list
– Recipe
– and ends with informative tips on calories, fat, Carbs, Sugar, Protein and Cholesterol

A+ for painstaking collation of information. Perhaps a few pictures of the dishes would be a nice addition.

#BookReview – The Bounce!: A Story of Love, Loss and the Life of a Global Indian #Free

The book, The Bounce!: A Story of Love, Loss and the Life of a Global Indian is available for #Free download from #Amazon (from Feb 1 – 5 2018)

The Semi-Autobiographical fictionalized story in the eBook is loosely based on a real incident – Infant Aditya Mohan died on Jet Airways Flight 229 ( Brussels – Delhi ), 17th June 2008 (link)

From the book blurb

The Bounce! is a human-interest story that chronicles the life and adventures of a computer programmer, Raj, as he migrates across four countries spanning three continents. The first half of this engaging story is about Raj’s experience seeking love by moving back from America to India, eventually migrating to Canada with his new bride. During their journey, the couple experiences a tragic loss onboard an international flight.

The second half of the book chronicles the protagonist and his wife bouncing back. It is a story of love, loss and the life of an Indian American who happens to be an accidental beneficiary of globalization and offshoring.

The author’s delicate narrative is, in essence a tragedy to triumph story that should appeal to everyone seeking their inner-hero.

The Bounce! gives an insight into the world of our educated, but globally transient workforce: how immigrants fit into American culture and communities, build their own away-from-home communities, and how they struggle with the age-old immigrant’s dilemma: balancing the adopted worlds’ needs against traditional values and cultures.

The book has 39 reviews on Amazon.com , and the top reviewer posts :

Absolutely Beautiful!

It is hard to find words to describe a story like the one that is shared in this book. Based on a true story and written in the first person, it is easy to feel deeply what the protagonist feels as he journeys (literally) through life. As one reads it is easy to feel the young Raj’s initial lightness as he works towards acquiring a green card and pursuing a successful career in the IT world while looking for love. His reserved joy at receiving his green card and the contrast made to the Indian youngsters seen in Bollywood movies, where dancing and singing are commonly observed, had me smiling as I read.

Raj’s initial humor and joy/hope for the future is heavily contrasted with the unthinkable tragedy he later experiences, yet themes of hope are strong throughout the book. The theme, “live in the present,” is subtly woven throughout Raj’s road to healing and hope after heartache. The reader is allowed to experience the whole spectrum of human emotion — humor, joy, love, hope, sorrow, shock, anger and ultimately revelation. These emotions are interwoven with fascinating revelations about various parts of the world, such as Switzerland, Canada, India, and parts of the United States.

This book is perfect for anyone who has experienced love, loss or both. It is especially powerful for those who may have lost a loved one well before it was thought possible. The ending is a poignant testimony to the God-given ability to not only survive a terrible loss, but to thrive as well. This short story was simply put – beautiful. I absolutely loved it and would not wish for any portion to be omitted. I would have loved a few more minutes with Ajay at the end, though!

Book Review: Bollywood Kitchen

Bollywood and Indian food are perennial topics of conversation among desis in pardes. The Indian diaspora in the North America, Europe especially in the US and UK has done a great job of ‘importing’ wholesome doses of both.

Indian entrepreneurs regularly take over movie theaters across US and Canadian cities to screen latest bollywood hits. This continues to be popular despite the pervasiveness of Youtube, digital streaming and to some extent torrents and (illegal) movie file sharing. Watching a movie on the big screen and enjoying a nice dinner at a local Indian restaurant is a common pastime.

A recent program ‘Getting to know Bollywood, one meal at a time’ in the popular NPR program, Marketplace, features the new book “Bollywood Kitchen: Home-Cooked Indian Meals Paired with Unforgettable Bollywood Films.” In the interesting interview, the host Kai Ryssdal interviews the author Sri Rao. The Indian-American author talks about working between two film industries, being part of the first generation of American-born Indian-Americans and what his mom said when he told her he was writing a cookbook.

Rao describes his background and the reason for bringing Bollywood and Food together in the book

Yeah, so I’m from a small town in central Pennsylvania, and I was one of very few nonwhite kids in my community growing up. Every day after dinner, my parents would pop a tape into VCR and we would watch these fantastic Bollywood movies, and that’s how I learned the language. That’s how I learned about the music and the culture and so many of the traditions of where my parents came from.

The Indian food in America is now its own thing. And as people like me are starting to come of age now — you know, I’m one of the oldest American-born Indians in the country. Immigration from India was only legalized in 1965. At that time in 1965 when immigration was opened up from India, there were only 10,000 Indians in the entire country, my dad being one of them. And now there are over 4 million I believe, something like that. And so you’re starting to see us as a group come up and sort of find our voice in various fields. So people like, you know, Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari in entertainment or Kamala Harris and Nikki Haley in politics. And then in the world of food, this is one of the first or one of a few cookbooks that have been written by someone born in America who is of Indian descent.

Check out the book, Bollywood Kitchen: Home-Cooked Indian Meals Paired with Unforgettable Bollywood Films, on Amazon:

The reviews thus far have been quite flattering

publishersweekly.com

Readers expecting wildly complex preparations and nothing but showy musicals will be pleasantly surprised on both fronts, as Rao offers a refreshingly diverse set of movies as well as recipes that are easily sourced without sacrificing flavor or requiring too much time to prepare.

Houston Chronicle

In “Bollywood Kitchen,” Rao gives new meaning to “dinner and a movie” by creating menus inspired by classic Indian films. Example: Keema (ground beef curry), rajma (kidney bean stew) and naan crisps that are evocative of the lavish melodrama “Devdas.” Masala-crusted salmon, rice and lentils, grilled asparagus and mustard seeds, and mint/cilantro chutney drawn from the Oscar-nominated “Lagaan.” Pan-seared cod with curry leaves and lemon rice with lentils, peanuts and chile for “Guru,” the rags-to-riches story of a self-made billionaire and the woman he loves.

Our editor, Mohan, posts on Amazon Just what a desi mom ordered!

Sri’s new book touches on the heart of two things that keep desis in pardes going: Bollywood and desi food. For those like me of Indian origin, who grew up on a steady diet of desi movies and food, the book is a walk down the memory lane.

The illustrated book has brief movie reviews and recipes interspersed with glossy photographs from bollywood movies. If you are looking for an Informative and entertaining primer on Bollywood and some Indian-American recipes, this is the book for you.

#BookReview – Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows: A Novel

Balli Kaur Jaswal, a writer-in-residence at the University of East Anglia and Nanyang Technological University has third novel Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows (Harper Collins/William Morrow) released internationally in March 2017.

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows: A Novel by [Jaswal, Balli Kaur]

With visions of emancipating the women of the Sikh community she left behind as a self-important teenager, Nikki is shocked to find her creative writing class is a group of barely literate women who have no interest in her ideals of liberation.

To her surprise, the white dupatta of the widow hides more than just their modesty. These are women who have spent their lives in the shadows of fathers, brothers and husbands; being dutiful, raising children and going to temple, but whose inner lives are as rich and fruitful as their untold stories.

East meets west and tradition clashes with modernism in a thought-provoking cross-cultural novel that might make you look again at the women in your life

Amazon review OUR EDITOR

The title of the book is a bit of a misnomer. While there is certainly some description of eroticism and sexual desire, Jaswal uses the theme of ‘Erotic stories’ as a catalyst for a glimpse into the imaginative minds hidden behind white dupattas of Southhall Sikh widows.

The novel begins with an introduction of the protagonist, Nikki, a law-school dropout who is trying to find her calling in life by bartending. Nikki tries to help with her sister’s matchmaking quest by making a trip to the Gurudwara in Southhall to post her matrimonial advert, and is amused to read other tacky adverts.

The author builds Nikki’s character with liberal doses of the clichéd desi issues: arranged marriage, gossip and conflicts that second-generation Non-Resident Indians face while trying to meet their parent’s expectations of life and career choices.

Those like me into this genera will find this an enjoyable East-West Mix.

Book Review: Read Rudyard Kipling’s classics for Free (Kindle eBooks)

Indian Tales Kindle Edition by Rudyard Kipling

The Kindle edition of this book is now available for Free download (as of October 2017)

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English short-story writer, poet, and novelist, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907. His children’s books are classics of children’s literature and his books include The Jungle Book and the Just So Stories. Kipling’s classics have been required reading for generations of Indian students.

This eBook was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web.

Review by our Editor on Amazon: “Read Kipling’s classics for Free!”

This is a great read, especially since it is available for Free download!”

This collection includes the following Kipling short-stories

The finest story in the World
With the Main Guard
Wee Willie Winkie
The Rout of the White Hussars
At Twenty-Two
The courting of Dinah Shadd
The story of Muhammad Din
In Flood time
My own true ghost story
The Big drunk Draf’
By Word of Mouth
The Drums of the Fore and Aft
The sending of Dana Da
On the City Wall
The broken-link handicap
On Greenhow Hill
To be filled for reference
The man who would be king
The Gate of Hundred Sorrows
The Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney
His Majesty the King
The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes
In the House of Suddhoo
Black Jack
The taking of Lungtungpen
The Phantom Rickshaw
On the strength of a Likeness
Private Learoyd’s Story
Wesssley of the Foreign office
The solid Muldoon
The Three Musketeers
Beyond the Pale
The god from the Machine
The daughter of the Regiment
The madness of private Ortheris
L’envoi

Book Review: All the Light We Cannot See

“A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II

Marie-Laure has been blind since the age of six. Her father builds a perfect miniature of their Paris neighbourhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. But when the Nazis invade, father and daughter flee with a dangerous secret.

Werner is a German orphan, destined to labour in the same mine that claimed his father’s life, until he discovers a knack for engineering. His talent wins him a place at a brutal military academy, but his way out of obscurity is built on suffering.

At the same time, far away in a walled city by the sea, an old man discovers new worlds without ever setting foot outside his home. But all around him, impending danger closes in.

Doerr’s combination of soaring imagination and meticulous observation is electric. As Europe is engulfed by war and lives collide unpredictably, ‘All The Light We Cannot See’ is a captivating and devastating elegy for innocence.

– Amazon’s blurb of “All the Light We Cannot See”

Review from our editor, Mohan, on Amazon

I chanced on a copy of Anthony Doerr’s bestseller with a bit of trepidation: was this yet another novel about WWII? One would think that all, if not most of the stories of the great war have been reviewed and written. But no, this came across as a surprisingly refreshing epic saga.

The focus of the story, set in the five years of the world war (between 1939 and 1944) is on the lives and travails of two main characters – Marie Laure and Werner. Marie Laure is a blind 14-year-old French girl who flees from Paris to the countryside with her father who is a locksmith for a renowned museum. Werner is a radio-and-gadget-obsessed German orphan picked from his orphanage to attend an elite military school.

The strong characters will leave you reflecting on the story much after you have finished the novel. The fast paced twists and turns in the plot with engaging characters keep readers hooked through the saga.

It is not for nothing that the book received several acclaimed literary awards, including The 2015 Pulitzer Prize and The Carnegie Medal for Fiction, ending as a New York Times Bestseller

About the author: Anthony Doerr has won numerous prizes for his fiction, including the 2015 Pulitzer Prize. His most recent novel, All the Light We Cannot See, was named a best book of 2014 by a number of publications, and was a #1 New York Times Bestseller. Visit him at http://www.anthonydoerr.com.

You may also be interested in other recent book review (link) | You may also be interested in the Books section of GaramChai

Book Review: Stories from Tagore

This kindle edition of stories by Rabindranath Tagore was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. Rabindranath Tagore (1861 1941), is to the Indian subcontinent what Shakespeare is to the English-speaking world. A poet, playwright, painter, and educator, Tagore was also a mystic of great complexity and depth. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.

Review from our editor, Sujatha, on Amazon

I happened to chance on Tagore’s classic listed for Kindle’s and decided to check it out, especially since I had read some of his stories years ago. This edition of “Stories from Tagore” is a collection of classics from the master.

Novel laurate Rabindranath Tagore’s writing has shaped and transformed Indian literature, and has been an inspiration for generations. The stories in this collection cover a broad spectrum of themes and includes classics like the Cabuliwallah and Subha. These tales from generations ago which continue to enlighten contemporary readers.

About the author: Rabindranath Tagore was a Nobel Laureate for Literature (1913) as well as one of India’s greatest poets and the composer of independent India’s national anthem, as well as that of Bangladesh. He wrote successfully in all literary genres, but was first and foremost a poet, publishing more than 50 volumes of poetry. He was a Bengali writer who was born in Calcutta and later traveled around the world. He was knighted in 1915, but gave up his knighthood after the massacre of demonstrators in India in 1919.

You may also be interested in other recent book review (link) | You may also be interested in the Books section of GaramChai

Book Review: Children’s book ‘We Are One’

‘We Are One’ is a nice book that celebrates diversity in America, especially focused on South Asian toddlers and kids.

Pinky Mukhi, like many Indian mothers in North America began fielding questions from her curious toddler. While answering the questions, the Indian American author was inspired to convert the idea into an illustrated children’s book.

Book Blurb: After Mintu invites his friends over for dinner, he decides he might have made a mistake. He thinks he’s too different from his friends and that they won’t like the same food as his family. Will his mom and friends be able to change his mind?
Sure to instill pride in children for their own food, language, and culture, We Are One is an inspiring story that will lead to a meaningful dialogue with children of all ages.ISBN: 978-1-63177-847-6

Book review:

‘We Are One’ is a nice children’s book that celebrates diversity in America, especially focused on South Asian toddlers and kids.

The protagonist in the simple story, Mintu is curious and observant, and nothing misses his eyes. He wants to be a soccer player. However, Mintu also realizes that he is different from his American friends. His parents spoke Gujarati at home and his mother made parathas .

Mintu was planning to invite his friends home and was concerned his friends would find him strange for liking parathas. “It smelled, looked, and tasted different from the foods he saw his friends eat.” The narrative builds on from this point with a nice happy ending.

Inspiration for the book

We asked the author, Pinky for her motive behind writing the book:

“I am Indian Mother of a six-year-old curious and observant boy who finds his food, language and culture different from his friends at school and discusses these differences with me at home. He also at times feels food shame. I have written this Children’s book which deals with cultural and physical differences and reveals the secret of oneness despite the differences.”

Publisher: Mascot Books | Book’s Facebook page

Indian-American Book Review

Book Review: Captain Riddle’s Treasure

Here is a review of a recent book by Indian American author GV Rama Rao, a retired Commander of the Indian Navy.

Review from Amazon

The young-adult fiction, “Captain Riddle’s treasure” an interesting book that children and their parents are bound to enjoy. In the book, Rao skillfully weaves humor and action to keep readers engaged.

The story is that of three kids who have been punished for fighting with their siblings. Banished by the Night Fairy to a deserted island, they must find their way back home using their wits.

Rao draws on his seafaring experiences to imagine the adventures the children might encounter during a voyage onboard a one-of-a-kind ship. The book also has a healthy dose of pirates, leprechauns, a fire-spewing dragon, a knight astride a lion, and the Night Fairy herself; enough to keep any child imagining the art of the possible.

An engaging story for young-adults and their parents alike
-Amazon Review

More details of the book on GaramChai.com | You may also be interested in the Books section of GaramChai

Review by our Editor on Amazon: “Yet another cookbook for DIY on Indian Cuisine”

Amazon review OUR EDITOR

Indian Tales Kindle Edition by Rudyard Kipling

Review by our Editor on Amazon: “Read Kipling’s classics for Free!”

This collection includes the following Kipling short-stories

Amish Tripathi’s Raavan (A Preview): Orphan of Aryavarta

Review by our Editor on Amazon: “Nice preview”

Maha-bharata The Epic of Ancient India Condensed into English Verse

Review by our Editor on Amazon “Nice, readable translation of a great epic”