The Book

Book on FlipKart -- Order my Book now.

Book on Amazon India -- Order now

Book on Amazon -- Pre-Order now

The Details

Name: Bong Mom's Cookbook
Author: Me. Yes, what were you thinking ?
Publisher: Harper Collins India
    
About

The book based on my blog, is well ummm as exciting as the blog itself. You all know how I feel about food, recipes and stories. I think the three go hand in hand and there can never be one without the other.

With similar thoughts, I did not try to write the book as a traditional cookbook. Instead this is what I write in the "Introduction" in the book and which I feel rightly surmises the book. 

"As I see it, recipes are a mere framework, guidelines to help you create your own food memories; to experiment and make it your own; to find your own joy and spice box in the kitchen and to weave your own tale. That is what I want you to do with the recipes in this book. I did not write this book as a cookbook and the recipes shared here are those I cook at home according to the tastes of my family of four. When it comes to you, adjust, taste, create and, most importantly, enjoy the process, for the food is good but the story that you knit around it is better. This is my story, but it might well be yours and maybe even yours. "

Of course it helps that there are many recipes in the book from Chhanar Dalna and Postor Bora to Kosha Mangsho to lure you in between. It is for you to decide what you want to do when you read. If you ask me, I would say, read the book and then go find your own spice box in the kitchen and weave your own story around the food you cook.

When

The book will be available across stores in India and also on Flipkart from May.
Soon after it will be available on Amazon and also as e-book for Kindle. 
I will update this page as soon as I get the know how.

Book on FlipKart -- Get my Book now.

Book on Amazon India -- Order now

Book on Amazon -- Pre-Order now

What Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has to say

 

Book Reviews

Time Out Mumbai/New Delhi/Bangalore -- "The book is semi autobiographical – it records Datta’s life, her past, her attempt at navigating the tricky turns of Bengali cooking, and her life as a working mother in the United States. In between are woven recipes .... Our other attempt at making the author’s mother’s version of gol morich murgi or chicken cooked with black pepper was also met with success. The few key ingredients required in the recipe such as fresh ginger garlic paste, freshly crushed black pepper powder, lime juice and ghee worked wonders for the chicken. The dish was ready in 20 minutes and the addition of fried onions was just what was needed to perk this light dish up. "

Review at Blog "A Mad Tea Party"  -- "A Bong Mom’s Cookbook could be a glimpse into your own life, more so if you are a foodie, and who isn’t one?  I could relate to the anecdotes about childhood summer holidays filled with food memories.  Isn’t it amazing how some memories are so clear in our minds?  And their associations stay with us forever....The book is replete with such recollections and makes you nostalgic about days gone by.  Even the mention of the brass pump-stove in her Chhoto Dida’s kitchen made me dreamy eyed!  The book also chronicles the process of orienting oneself in a new world, the quintessential immigrant from India, in the landscape of America, the land (or superstore!) of mind-boggling choices. "

Marryam Reshii, the very well known Food critic has some great things to say about the book on twitter

Review in Hindustan Times

Review in the blog Cooking with Siri

"Giving a good glimpse of her life in New York and expertly comparing with the charming place where she spent her childhood (Bengal) with her parents, Sandeepa evokes such humour & wit that you really feel that she is like your best friend narrating her life story to you. What's more striking (which sadly missing from many Indian works) is the choice of words she uses to describe a scene."
For a fun Q&A and more of the review visit "Cooking with Siri"

Interview at Women's Web

Interview and Giveaway at Women's Web

Interview in Mid-Day newspaper

Here is the Mid-Day article where I share space with some more bloggers.

Review at blog FinelyChopped

"For a first time writer, Sandeepa manages to smartly carry her personalised, light, irony smacked style of writing competently through the book. It is possible for such books to become too culturally referenced and specific and for the humour to become stale after a while. Sandeepa adeptly avoids that leaving us with quite a pleasant read."

For the full review visit "When a Blog becomes a Book" -- FinelyChopped

Review at Spice Scribe

"In comparison to those spartan tomes, ‘Bong Mom’s Cookbook’ is shahi kulfi. So rich that a single spoonful is too much and a whole bucket is nowhere near enough. I wanted to feast on Sandeepa’s family tales until I felt thoroughly sick, groaning on the floor with a stomach ache and an ice-cream headache. But no matter how hard I tried to ration the words like rainbow sprinkles, my tub runneth empty only too quickly."

For the full review visit "The Spice Scribe"

Review an Giveaway at blog My Diverse Kitchen

"The book started on that note and just went on getting more enjoyable to read as I turned page after page. And if you’re thinking of asking, “Why would you read a cookbook?” here’s the answer. Sandeepa’s book is more than just a cookbook. Sure, there is a lot of traditional authentic Bengali food that has been cooked by the older generation of women in her family, and Sandeepa’s recipes make them easy to cook in a modern kitchen. She also weaves stories of her childhood which are invariably connected to food to gives us glimpses of a lifestyle where people had time to cook and savour the simple pleasures of everyday life."
For the full review and Giveaway "My Diverse Kitchen"


Review and Interview at The Indian Express



Shantanu David of The Indian Express loved my book, got introduced to Bong food and asked me some questions over e-mail. This is the article. Click on the image to read.

Review and giveaway at blog Sin-a-Mon tales

You will know Monika Manchanda for her amazing bakes and cakes. She is a techie turned baking goddess and sells her cake creations and teaches baking at Sin-A-Mon
She also reviewed my book and was very kind to host a giveaway for anyone who is in India. Check out her space and see what she has in store.


For the full review and Giveaway "Sin-a-Mon Tales"

Review at The New Indian Express 

"An easy narrative coupled with helpful and practical tips make a new Bengali cookbook a must-have in the kitchen."

  

Click to read the E-paper here

Review at The Hindu Business Line

"Her heady mix? One part US-based nostalgia for Bangali cookery or ranna. Two parts real-time motherly zest for Sukumar Ray and rooted-in-India culture. Garnished liberally with humorous anecdotes, starring an extended cast of family and friends, her husband (also known as H-man), and her two twinkle-tongued little daughters. Her light touch ensures that the fare dished up works like magic. Via kitchen and blog, she busts the myth that Bengalis survive on a diet of fish and rosogollas."

Click to read the E-paper here