Product Description

Offers step by step guidelines in tempering and cooking, with special tips running throughout the book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #354830 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .56" h x 9.47" w x 9.46" l, 1.51 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 86 pages

Features

• New
• Mint Condition
• Dispatch same day for order received before 12 noon
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• No quibbles returns

Review
"A family monument to mother love... A dazzling array of dishes that will surprise even the most ardent fan of South Indian cuisine." India Today "A pinch of magic." Femina

Excerpted from Cooking at Home With Pedatha: Vegetarian Recipes from a Traditional Andhra Kitchen by Jigyasa Giri, Pratibha Jain. Copyright © 2007. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
A TRYST WITH TRADITION

A full-spirited claim by one of Subhadra Rau's nephews, "My Pedatha is the best cook in the world," became the inspiration for this book and its title. The nickname `Pedatha' was a simpler, child's version of `Peddha Atthayyâ' which means oldest aunt (father's sister) in Telugu.

We have grown up believing that cooking is all about being quick, clever, and creative. Readymade powders, instant purees, and our freezers are now our salvation. It is remarkable; it is practical. Every generation must and does `contemporarize'. Nevertheless, as we interacted with Pedatha, we realized that although ease has been gained in the kitchen, a certain unhurriedness as a way of life has been lost. For us, it was a peek into another time, another world, a unique kind of `patience'.
Two years ago...After indulging in another soul-satisfying meal at Pedatha's home in Bangalore, we re-crowned her the world's best cook. The `Vângi bâth' was exceptional. She smiled indulgently and simply said, "Anybody can cook that, it is so easy to make".

We didn't quite believe her until she gave us the recipe which, despite being exotic, was amazingly clear and precise. On an impulse, we switched on our laptop, and keyed in the recipe. Pedatha was amused, and happily gave us some more. Back home in Chennai, we were excited at the accuracy of her recipes every time we tried them out. After that, whenever we visited her in Bangalore, her cooking became an integral part of our conversations. And somewhere along the way what would have remained a personal collection of recipes evolved into this book.

Pedatha's culinary treasures are well-known among family and friends. This book is only the tip of the iceberg, not just of Andhra cuisine, but also of Pedatha's knowledge of it.

When it came to sharing recipes, she was always more excited about pachchadi, podi and pappu rather than idli, dosai, pesarattu or vadai. Accordingly, the contents of this book reflect her joy for sharing some of her favourite lunch and dinner-time recipes.

Giving us exact measures like cups and tablespoons, she never took for granted that we would understand a general quantity. An embodiment of patience, she would answer our barrage of questions, always ending with "Amaloo (darling), did you get that right?"

Of course, one thing we never questioned her about was how much time any recipe would take. We already knew her answer to that - "As long as it takes for a good dish to be ready." Though approximate timings during the various steps of the recipes have been given, preparation and cooking time have not been mentioned. "Don't look at the time, look at the pan", she once remarked.

As she spoke, we wrote, attempting to absorb her experience and her knowledge. To capture her years of wisdom in limited words of print was indeed an exciting and enriching process, albeit, no easy task. As Raimon Panikkar, the cross-cultural thinker, has aptly remarked, "Wisdom resides in the spoken rather than in the written word."