How the Banana Goes to Heaven: And Other Secrets of Health from the Indian Kitchen

Ratna Rajaiah takes a walk down memory lane, only to find it redolent with the aromas of her mother’s and grandmother’s kitchens, and lined with the spices and condiments of her youth. Pausing often, she meets old culinary friends – coconuts and chillies, mangoes and jackfruit, ragi and channa dal, ghee and jaggery, mustard seeds and curry leaves – and introduces us to almostforgotten joys, like the sight of steaming kanji or the scent of freshly cut ginger. Taking detours, she shares recipes for old favourites (often with a surprising twist) and reveals delightful slivers of trivia and fascinating nuggets of gastronomic history. Delving deep, she discovers that traditional fare is much more than comfort food (many local ingredients are health-giving and healing too) and that much of what the West is discovering about herbs and spices has been known to our ancestors for centuries. An unabashed and wonderful ode to the  blessings of simple, traditional vegetarian food.