Bensimon Sidney - Bollywood kitchen: home-cooked Indian meals paired with unforgettable Bollywood films

Copyright 2017 by Sri Rao

Photography 2017 by Sidney Bensimon

Additional images: Eros International:

All rights reserved

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

www.hmhco.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Rao, Sri, author.

Title: Bollywood kitchen : home-cooked Indian meals paired with unforgettable Bollywood films / by Sri Rao.

Description: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [2017] | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017022339 (print) | LCCN 2017018110 (ebook) | ISBN 9780544971295 (ebook) | ISBN 9780544971257 (paper over board)

Subjects: LCSH: Cooking, Indic. | Motion picturesIndiaMumbai. |

LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX724.5.I4 (print) | LCC TX724.5.I4 R388 2017 (ebook) | DDC 641.5954dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017022339

Book and Cover design by Shubhani Sarkar

Food styling by Olivia Mack Anderson

Prop styling by Astrid Chastka

Author photo by Lisa Vollmer

Cover film credits: Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Kapoor & Sons under license from Dharma Productions Private Limited, Dharma Productions Private Limited; Devdas and English Vinglish courtesy of Eros International

v1.1017

For my mom,

Mrs. Anu Rao.

Every meal I eat and every movie I see will forever remind me of your love.

BABBU

In a way, Ive been writing this book all my life. Its a tribute to every Indian meal Ive eaten since I was a kid, cooked by generous and talented women at whose tables Ive had the privilege to sit. Of course, first and foremost is my mom, who brought to America a reverence for food that was instilled in her by my respected grandparents. The irony is, shes never particularly enjoyed cooking, nor does she consider herself very good at it. But as youll quickly discover once you try these recipesshe deserves more praise than Ill ever be able to give her. I thank her not only for feeding every person whos entered our home for fifty years but also for passing on to me her passion for Bollywood movies. If you think Im somewhat of an expert on the subject, my mom could fill twenty books like this one with her endless knowledge of the Indian film industry.

Although my dad, Mr. B. Prithvidhar Rao, has never cooked a single thing in my entire life, this book wouldnt exist without him. Sixty years ago, he had the remarkable courage to venture alone to an unknown country across oceans and continents. There were times in those early years when he didnt know where his next meal was going to come from. Yet his perseverance, sacrifice, and hard work became the foundation of a family whose abundance can be witnessed on these beautiful pages. Hes always been the quiet, solid anchor at our dinner table. And hes not just my dadfor generations to come, we will all look to him as our founding father.

When I was growing up, we didnt have many relatives in the U.S., so my parents created a family among the tight-knit Indian community in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My aunties fed me for yearsand continue to do so to this day. Memories of their food not only inspired this book, but will forever influence my life as a cook. I cant possibly name them all, but I hold a special fondness for: Hemalatha Venkatadri, Santosh Chadha, Sujatha Gangadhar, Prabhavati Kakarla, Suryakala Venkatadri, Geeta Kumar, and Snober Ketty.

And then there are my real aunties. Although Ive only visited my aunts in India a few times, they are always present in my life and in my heart. Each meal theyve prepared for me has been packed with intense love because they knew I wouldnt get another chance for years to eat food cooked by their hand (as we say in Telugu). Despite our barriers of language and distance, my respect and affection will always be with my pinnis, athas, peddamma, and akkas: Saroja, Aruna, Saraswati, Mallika, Santhi, Padma, Sashi, Lily, Swarna, Rani, and Lata.

This bookand my entire careerwouldnt be possible without my superbly professional team of agents at CAA. I feel the utmost gratitude toward: Ann Blanchard, the Texan tornado whose passion and energy are unbridled, the woman whos been my biggest cheerleader for over a decade; David Larabell, the guy Im proud to call my book agent, who believed in this first-time author and skillfully landed me a deal in a matter of mere weeks; and David Taghioff, whos made my childhood dreams come true by single-handedly building a career for me in Bollywood, a rarefied feat to say the least.

Thank god for my editor, Justin Schwartz. Over lunch at The City Bakery one afternoon, he somehow agreed to buy this book. He and his team at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt have weathered the journey with me for the last two years. I thank him for believing in my vision and giving me an incredible opportunity that means more to me and my family than he may ever realize.

I hope youll agree that the book youre holding in your hands is visually captivating. And I have a wonderfully talented design team to thank for thatbeginning, as most of my projects do, with my creative director, Shay Zamir. Had it not been for Shays beautifully designed book proposal, none of this would have happened. Shubhani Sarkar took the helm from there and elegantly designed this book. The cornerstone of it all, though, is the effortlessly stunning photography of Sidney Bensimon, styled by Astrid Chastka and Olivia Anderson (who miraculously cooked every single one of my recipes in just four days).

Speaking of photos, what would this book be without the Technicolor splendor of Bollywood? I am deeply indebted to the producers who graciously lent me the rights to reprint their films photographs. I send my sincere appreciation to: Apoorva Mehta of Dharma Productions, Siddharth Roy Kapur of Disney UTV, Madhu Mantena of Phantom Films, Rudrarup Datta of Viacom 18, Aabha Sachdev of Sony Pictures, Pranab Kapadia of Eros Entertainment, Shekhar Kapur, Mani Ratnam, Nagesh Kukunoor, and Aashish Singh of Yash Raj Films.

The life of a writer is incredibly challenging, full of rejection and uncertainty. Theres no way I could have survived the last twenty years without the support of my closest friends. Theyve picked me up when Ive been knocked down, given me inspiration for new ideas, andabove all elsetheyve continually believed in me despite what the industry was saying. I owe a round of drinks to: Brian, Emily, Doug, Angie, Shaun, Mary Catherine, Candy, Bill, Maria, Alison, Katherine, Todd and Bess, Nicole, Bleema, Danielle, Jobi, Paul and Sofya, Molly, Abby, Carrie, Steve and Jennifer, Jenn Parsons, Rekha, and Jahnavi.