Essay that won a James Beard Award
This essay won me a James Beard MFK Fisher Award for Distinguished Writing. My first book, Monsoon Diary, based on this essay was nominated for a James Beard Award also.
Fine Fast Food for Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie
FINE FAST FOOD I feature at 00:32 for a snippet and later at 17:18 minutes. You can watch it here. Who says fast food can’t be superb? Join us as we visit chefs around the world who are redefining [...]
South India for Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie
Join us as we experience the flavors that define South Indian cuisine. We’ll visit the home of an award-winning author where she savors the enduring recipes and aromatic spices that connect her to family and an ancient past.
Bread for Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie
BREAD: THE FOUNDATION OF A MEAL The part where I feature begins at 8:00 minutes here We talk about malabar paratha, appam, ragi mudde, rotis, dosas and everything flat and fermented. EPISODE 23 Bread: a simple staple at the [...]
Herbal medicine from an Indian bazaar: for Gourmet magazine.
SHOBA NARAYAN SEARCH FOR THE CURE 10.08.07 The practice of herbal medicine is alive and well in rural India. The herbalist at a greenmarket, in the village of Maralawadi (a couple of hours outside of Bangalore), sits amidst the [...]
Mango Magic for Gourmet magazine
Mangoes PDF here MANGOES A GO-GO SHOBA NARAYAN 05.09.08 It’s that time of year again, when the sweet scent of mangoes fills the air. Every Indian bazaar is stacked with crates and crates them, and hungry Indians everywhere slice and [...]
Changing the restaurant paradigm for Gourmet magazine
SHOBA NARAYAN TAMPERING WITH TRADITION 06.05.08 Recently, I dined at Masala Klub, a new upscale Indian restaurant at the Taj West End hotel in Bangalore. I went with my mother, mostly because my husband refused to go. (“I wouldn’t [...]
Sacred Food: Kashi Part 2: for Mint on Sunday
MINT ON SUNDAY Home » Mint on Sunday » Big story Last Modified: Sat, Feb 27 2016. 11 35 PM IST How blind faith is choking the Ganga The mission to clean the Ganga will be a pipe dream as long as Indians have no [...]
Sacred Food: Kashi: Mint on Sunday
MINT ON SUNDAY Home » Mint on Sunday » Big story Last Modified: Sun, Feb 21 2016. 06 59 PM IST Of dead cows and the Ganga: The paradox of religion In her quest to embrace faith, the ultimate feel-good pill on the rocky road [...]
Sacred Food: Puri Jagannath: Mint on Sunday
Home » Mint on Sunday » Sacred Food Last Modified: Fri, Jan 01 2016. 04 19 PM IST What use is temple cuisine? Dining locally and seasonally is a fad now. Most traditional societies used to do just that. The second of a three-part series [...]
The beautiful Lord: Mint on Sunday
MINT ON SUNDAY Home » Mint on Sunday » Sacred Food Last Modified: Sat, Sep 12 2015. 11 30 PM IST Azhagar Kovil’s excellent dosai The humble dosai, a staple at breakfast tables in south India, takes a divine turn in the kitchen of Madurai’s [...]
Sacred Food Palani: Mint on Sunday
MINT ON SUNDAY Home » Mint on Sunday » Big story Last Modified: Mon, Aug 10 2015. 07 12 PM IST Palani’s heavenly panchamritham The prasadam of the popular hill temple not only tastes out of this world, but is also a healing potion Photo: [...]