.. and some thoughts on how a Bong Mom cooks

Sandeepa the Bong Mom is one of my oldest blogger pals way back from around 2005 . I have no recollection of how we met but it has now ended up in a bonding that transcends space and brings us together. Having ordered the book on Flipkart , I waited patiently for it and ultimately ended up buying it from Starmark because I was frankly impatient to read it .

Reading her eponymous book is like a coming home of sorts because the recipes she shares are reminiscent of my mother's cooking . The book is largely anecdotal in nature bringing together nostalgic memories of an idyllic childhood in small towns , her grandmother's house in Kolkata ,her culinary forays in Bombay and Bangalore and finally America which sees her evolving as a cook  . Through  all these places she lives in  , there is one tough string binding all together and that is , food . Her language is intimate ,personal , humorous , conversational and extremely fluid, enabling her to connect easily with the reader .

Most of the recipes she shares are from her blog to which I normally turn when I'm at a loss as to how to go about making , say , a labra or alur dom . I swear by her mother's alur dom , incidentally .One gets the impression that Sandeepa cooks with "toribot" which roughly translated would imply with care , elaborate preparations and of course , with love . She cites her grandmother who did not care much for precise measures - basically a pinch of this , a soupcon of that and a smidgeon of something else !

The recipes are quintessentially Bengali for the most part and the book is divided into sections , covering vegetables , meat ( the roast chicken or pepper chicken s phenomenal and I say this with authority because I tried it out last week ) , the roll - chop-cutlet without which no Bengali jolkhabar was complete when we were growing up , fish and desserts . They are easy to follow and therefore , to cook - the hallmark of  a good cookbook .

Her book brings to mind  Lila Majumdar's Rannar Boi with its elaborate compilation of recipes from the very easy to elaborate .

So , Sandeepa , here's to the success of your wonderful  book and to many more from your pen !