Customer Reviews

Food Culture in India (Food Culture around the World)

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Plenty of college-level texts cover Indian history and culture with mention of food - but few focus exclusively on the connections between food and culture as does Colleen Taylor Sen's Food And Culture In India. Using a historical approach, Indian culinary expert Sen provides an analysis of how cultures and cuisines have mixed within India from prehistoric to modern times. There are recipes peppered throughout, but the heart of Food And Culture In India lies in its cultural approach and college-level collections will consider it a valuable addition to any in-depth section on India.

I bought this for a research paper in my Eastern Religions class. My topic was Hindu food and I was having a terrible time finding a book that was not an Indian cookbook. This book was perfect for the task. It explained the history of Indian Cuisine, Indian ingredients, the importance of Indian food historically and presently, and it provided an unique and valuable insight into Hindu and Indian culture in light of food. Great and easy read--though it is a little pricy.

As the author says, this is not a recipe book. What this book does is that it meshes together extremely well the relationship between a complex culture and its culinary heritage. Replete with historical tid-bits, cultural trivia, origins of different dishes that we have become used to, this is a simply marvelous piece of work that will satisfy even cynics. Whether you are into food or history, this is a must-read!