Feeding the Gods or Flavoring with Spices

Feeding the Gods: Memories of Food and Culture in Bengal

Author: Chitrita Banerji

As the pungent fragrance of spices transports the author back into memories of childhood, we too are plunged headlong into the rich tastes, textures and colors of food in her native Bengal. Here, food is a ritualized and intrinsic part of the culture, particularly of the culture of women's lives. Beyond the meals prepared and cooked for everyday life, food offerings blessed by the gods are shared by devotees in daily ceremonies of worship, special dishes are cooked on auspicious days, and ritual ways of preparing foods are carefully mastered. Combining social critique with the intimacy of memoir, Banerji writes of growing up from girlhood to womanhood in Bengal, a land where food and ritual are intimate experiences which shape day-to-day life.

Table of Contents:

1	The hour of the goddess	3
2	Feeding the gods	15
3	Powder and paste	35
4	A dose of bitters	47
5	Food and difference	61
6	Crossing the borders	73
7	The Bonti of Bengal	95
8	Five little seeds	109
9	What Bengali widows cannot eat	121

Look this: Country Living One Dish Country Suppers or Spain

Flavoring with Spices

Author: Clare Gordon Smith

In Spices, 30 easy recipes attest to the versatility and appeal of spices. For an appetizer, try Eggplant Dip with Coriander and Sesame Seeds. Entrees include Malaysian Lamb Curry with Green Curry Paste. Spices can bring vegetables to new heights, as in Spicy Potatoes with Garlic Three-Seed Sauce. They can even work their magic in desserts, as in spicy chocolate fig "cupcake" dessert.

Spices is beautifully illustrated with full-color photographs. If variety is the spice of life, then use them to introduce variety into your kitchen.