NEW YORK TIMES: THE YEAR’S BEST COOKBOOKS

To make this year a sweet one, my book Street Food of India seems to be doing very well worldwide. It made it to the list of The Year’s Best Cookbooks in The New York Times and received very good reviews.

“My favorite is “Street Food of India” by Sephi Bergerson, a photographer who lives in Delhi. In just 50 recipes and under 200 pages, Mr. Bergerson accomplishes the rare feat of capturing how people eat, not just what. He shows people eating, making and clamoring for the outdoor snacks that are nearly universal in India: cool lemonade spiked with cumin and salt, scalding hot sweet tea with ginger, potato cakes with vibrant herb chutneys.”
Julia Moskin, The New York Times

GOURMAND WORLD COOKBOOKS AWARDS 2010

To top that, An exciting turn of events and an early Christmas present as I was recently notified that Street Food of India was selected as the UK winner in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards “Best Cookbook Photography” category! This means it will continue on to compete against winning cookbooks from other countries for “Best in the World.” The results will be announced on March 3, 2011 in Paris. Of course I am hoping that I’ll be forced to fly to France to accept this award.

This year I have also finished shooting and editing two other books that are now lined up for publication.
‘Horn Please – Trucks and Trucking in India‘ was a sponsored project I did for a corporate client. It has already gone down to press but is delayed for reasons only books know. A book is always a long project in the making and will sometimes take longer that expected.

The Indian weddings book currently bearing a working title of ‘Traditional Weddings in Modern India’ is done and I will be editing it in the next few months. It was very difficult to figure out how to edit a book about weddings without making it look like someone’s wedding album but I think I finally have a good idea of how it will look. I am very excited about this project that was initially planned for a year but has been in the making for three years already. This project had brought me into the world of wedding photography which was a territory I never thought I would venture into. The journey to learn about various traditions of weddings in India brought young couples to request me to photograph their weddings in India and in the last couple of years I have been enjoying it tremendously.

I have also had a chance to work on a few corporate assignments in other parts of India and have traveled quite extensively. Magazine assignment were also more regular than in the last couple of years and it seems we are over the recession now. A wonderful trip to Spiti valley in the upper Himalaya following a great motorcycle tour had brought me closer to action and adventure photography and I hope to be doing more of that in the next year.

Moving to Goa will probably open new channels and bring new kind of assignments and I look forward to that. If nothing else, I am sure that my family will be happy to live close to the beach and I simply cannot wait for that.

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from India.

You can’t leave without trying…

Banta in Hrishikesh
There’s nothing like banta to beat the fierce north Indian summer. For the uninitiated, banta is an indigenous lemon soda sold all over north India in unique Codd-neck bottles with marbles in their necks to keep the fizz from escaping. The soda is served with loads of ice and a special masala, and is priced between Rs 5 and Rs 20.

Left: Chuski in Delhi. Louis Vuitton-ed ladies and street children alike find the lure of chuski—Delhi’s version of the ice-lolly—absolutely irresistible. When the mercury rises to the mid-40s, this crushed ice treat, drizzled with khatta meetha, cola, orange, rose or any other syrups the heart might desire, becomes a real favourite with Dilliwallahs.Even five-star hotels like Claridge’s serve chuskis, in exotic flavours and even spiked with Vodka.

Right: Lafing in Dharamsala Lafing is a spicy noodle dish that is a huge favourite with refugees in Dharamsala, although you’re likely to find this dish in Tibetan centres in other parts of north India as well.

Left: Sandwiches in Mumbai A sandwich doesn’t seem like a very novel idea. But when Right Place, a snack joint in Mumbai’s Breach Candy, simply layered potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums and onions between bread with a generous amount of chutney, and offered it grilled or plain, customers loved it like it was the best thing since sliced bread. This very filling snack costs Rs 60 only. To try something more adventurous, head to the stall near National College on Linking Road. Two slices of hot, buttery bread are packed close with grated cheese and a home-made jam of bananas, papaya and the fruit of the day, and then grilled till the cheese and jam blend together.

Right: Sugarcane in rural Bengal Banana leaves are an inalienable part of life in Bengal, especially on auspicious occasions, and sugarcane served in banana leaves makes the deal sweeter. While the rest of the country gulps down glasses of its juice on a hot summer’s day, villagers in West Bengal prefer to gnash into fresh sugarcane for better, stronger teeth, and to enjoy the natural goodness of the juice. Village boys participate in the sugarcane chewing competitions, and the winner gets yet another piece of sugarcane lovingly wrapped in a banana leaf. The real prize is the villagers’ pearly whites, for Rs 3 only!

Left: Pani puri on Juhu Beach, Mumbai Come weekend, and Juhu beach spills over with families and lovers enjoying the weather and waves. And no outing is complete without a spicy mouthful of pani puri while watching the sunset. Delicate puris are filled with potato, sprouts or boondi, topped with a dash of tangy tamarind sauce and generous amounts of spicy chilli- coriander pani. Bliss comes cheap at Rs 20 to
Rs 30 a plate (six to eight puris).

Right top: Ghevar in Jodhpur Deliciously crunchy and sweet, malai ghevar, paneer ghevar and misri mewa or rabdi ke ghevar are Jodhpur specialties popular throughout Rajasthan, especially during special occasions. Head to Jodhpur Sweets at C Road for the best there is, although most sweet shops will prepare fresh ghevar if you order it in advance. Ghevar is topped with thinly sliced almonds and pistachios and a sprinkling of cardamom powder.

Right bottom: Chhole bhature in Amritsar You can’t go to Amritsar and not try the chhole bhature. Spiked with dark, fiery masalas, the chhole here is irresistable. Anant Ram on Lawrence Road is a great place to sample this Punjabi delicacy.

Left: Tender coconut water on Marina Beach, Chennai Priced between Rs 15 and Rs 20 a pop, tender coconut water is the best bet on a hot day, and you can request the vendor to scoop out soft chunks of the coconut, which you can slurp up after. Coconut water at sunset equals sublime entertainment !

Right: Lassiwala’s special in Jaipur The best lassi you’ll find in Jaipur is available at Lassiwala, a street stall on the famous Mirza Ismail Road, close to Amrapali at Paanch Batti in Jaipur. The lassi here is so popular that only when Lassiwala runs out of its daily quota do the other shops (like Kishan Lal Agarwal) start selling their own. Lassiwala sells its rich creamy perfectly chilled lassi in kulhars or small earthen glasses. The locals swear by glasses of this fresh lassi, which they think is the perfect way to beat the desert heat. Head to Lassiwala early in the day, before they run out.

Left: Assamese bread in Goapalara Add some yummy to your ferry ride from Goaplara in Assam to Dimapur in Nagaland by munching on the local fresh bread. Grab some of it early in the day when it’s freshly baked and served wrapped in old newspapers.

Right: Chowmein in Kolkata In Kolkata, chowmein vies for the top spot with maach bhaat, and wins more votes, at least with younger foodies. You can have it any time of the day, it is inexpensive, hygienic, and you have options (chicken, egg, etc)—just some of the reasons it has emerged as Kolkata’s favourite food. Originally brought to Kolkata by the Chinese community, which started restaurants in Bow Bazaar and Tangra, chowmein street stalls later came up everywhere in the city. Now, every square kilometre of the city comes equipped with at least 15 chowmein stalls.

Right top: Ram laddoos in Delhi Ram laddoos are deep-fried moong dal pakoras, served with generous amounts of grated radish and mint chutney. A Delhi specialty, these snacks are sold at many public spaces, including at Lodhi Gardens, where vendors set up trays
laden with goodies, on their khomchas (tripod-like folding stands).
Right bottom: Woodlands’s dosas in Chennai Soft, fluffy uthappams, crisp, golden dosas, and the scent of coconut chutney in the air—Woodlands Hotel’s dosa stall outside Narada Gana Sabha on TTK Road promises all this and more! Try the masala dosa, an all-time favourite. The ghee roast is filling and great value for money, priced between Rs 25 and and Rs 50. Idlis, vadas and other fresh snacks are just
as popular. Open only in the evenings from about 5 pm, this is one of Chennai’s landmarks.

left top: Benarasi paan in Varanasi
The Benarasi paan is an important part of the city’s culture. Leaves are halved and a lime- and-catechu paste smeared on them. If you’re so inclined, your paan can be spiked with aphrodisiacs, intoxicants and even ground pearls, and covered with gold leaf or silver foil. Maghai is the most expensive kind, followed by Jagannath, and mitha and mahoba from West Bengal.
left bottom: Thandai in Varanasi Varanasi is justifiably famous for its thandai, that sugary cooling drink, infused with watermelon and muskmelon seeds, almonds, cardamom, saunf, rose petals, saffron, and if you want it, bhang! Thandai is also mixed with sookhaa mewa—crushed nuts such as cashewnuts, pistachios and almonds. Try the thandai at Mishrambu in the heritage city.

top right: Gulab jamuns in Delhi The halwais of Old Delhi are famous for their mouth-watering traditional mithais, like gulab jamuns and halwas. The best places are hole- in-the-wall little shops with no names, only advertising themselves with the heavenly scent of gulab jamuns being deep-fried in hot ghee.
bottom right: Lassi in Moradabad A tall glass of lassi is the drink of choice in north India during the hot summer months. Garnished with slivers of nuts and a generous helping of malai, a glass of thick, creamy lassi will keep you cool and hydrated. In small towns like Moradabad, ready glasses sit on a metal box containing ice, to keep them chilled.

top right: Phirni in Old Delhi Not too sweet, with a grainy but creamy texture, and infused with the cool scent of the earthen pot in which it is set, the phirni in Delhi is the perfect end to a meal. Chitli Qabar in Old Delhi is one of the best places to try this traditional dessert, or sample A-One’s superb phirnis that are priced at as little as Rs 10 a kulhar.
bottom right: Vada pao in Mumbai This is the Mumbaikar’s great weakness. Potato filling deep-fried in batter till crisp, and sprinkled with chutney, dark with garlic and masalas. There are many vada pao chains like Jumbo King all over Mumbai, but the taste that truly stays with you is sold in the ramshackle stalls on the road, especially outside local train stations.•

[With input from Anindita Ghosh, Anupa Shah, Neeti Jaychander, Roshni Mitra and Shivli Tyagi]

The sights and smells, noise and fervour, pomp and grandeur, rites and rituals… Can any other occasion on earth ever match the great Indian wedding saga? Yet, ask any married couple about the big day and they’ll tell you it was a blur, when they did as commanded – to keep the head low or dive for someone’s feet; to stand up or sit down; to hold hands or let go. Our weddings are a heady cocktail of religious and social commitments laid out like a cultural extravaganza. Rites and rituals form its backbone and every region, religion, community and sect has its own take. They celebrate the beginning of a shared life, assign roles, break the ice, and seek promises of loving and living together. Photographer Sephi Bergerson began documenting weddings two years ago.
His camera became an excuse to study this interesting social and cultural phenomenon. The original idea for Sephi’s book was to shoot five ceremonies. “But the subject kept growing,” says the Israeli photographer, who is stumped by how each wedding is different from the other. “I set out assuming a lot will be similar but there are so many different customs, they adapt and absorb.” And then there is Bollywood with its mehendi and baraat. Yet, when he asks people what is special about their wedding ceremonies, he is met with a dismissive shrug, “Oh, it’s nothing special, just a regular Indian wedding!” So it is.

Potpourri: (Top left) The bride was from Nagaland, her father a Sikh, the groom Swedish. As Bergerson says, “It was a mix of people that was so unbelievable that only India can provide.” Here, the bride, is being led down the aisle by her father at the breathtaking venue in Udaipur. Flying High: (Top) A Bengali wedding involves many elaborate and colourful rituals. On the night of the marriage, the bride sits on a low stool called piri, which is lifted by her brothers, and from her ‘elevated’ position, she circles the groom seven times, to indicate being wound-up securely to each other. The bride and groom then exchange garlands. Kabool Hai: (Left) A muslim bride signs the nikahnama before a Maulana. The bridegroom signs the Nikah separately and then the couple are pronounced married. “The entire ceremony took one minute and the wedding was over.” All In A Name: (Right) A Ladakhi Buddhist bride enters the wedding shamiana. Called bagston in the local language, weddings here are not religious but a social event. They don’t need a priest or a Lama. A couple can mutually decide to get married and inform the parents. This couple had been together for over 10 years and have two children. Relatives began to pressurise them to organise a ceremony where they could bless the couple by wrapping the sacred scarf or kathak on the pair as a symbol of their blessing

Quite An Earful: (Right) The sister of the bride examines the piercing for a dejhoru, an ear ornament that hangs from the middle of the cartilage. Young Kashmiri pundit girls get the painful piercing done as they prepare for their wedding. These ear ornaments symbolise marital status. Blown Away: (Below) Wedding games are part of most Indian marriages. In this wedding in Vishakhapatnam, the couple blows confetti into each others faces. “Sameera lived in Australia and Pradeep in the US and they came to their hometown to get married,” says the photographer. Strands of Love: (Above) In a Syrian Christian wedding, the sari that the groom presents his bride in church is called the mantrakodi. The night before the ceremony, strands of thread are drawn from this sari by the groom’s sister and twisted to form a cord. On this cord is tied the thaali, a leaf-shaped gold pendant with a cross. The mantrakodi is placed on the bride’s head by the priest, as he blesses her. Bangle Up: (Bottom right) The mother of a bride picks up the chura which is soaked in milk at a ceremony performed early in the morning on the day of a Punjabi marriage. The bride’s maternal uncles then slide the bangles down her wrist. The chura symbolises marital status and is worn by the bride for the next few weeks, or sometimes months. Tip Toe: (Left) In the temple town of Madurai, a groom slides a ring on his bride’s toe. The groom too wears his wedding ring on the second toe. The story behind this, says Bergerson, is that in the past, when women were expected to keep their heads down, the toe rings indicated to them the marital status of others.”

]]> http://www.sephi.com/press/our-big-fat-indian-album-marie-claire-magazine-october-2009/feed/ 7 http://www.sephi.com/press/books-review-street-food-of-india/ http://www.sephi.com/press/books-review-street-food-of-india/#comments Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:02:45 +0000 sephi http://www.sephi.com/?p=2516
Nilanjana S. Roy from OUTLOOK TRAVELER Magazine reviews my book Street Food of India (http://travel.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?261158)

I have a weakness for the half-plate — the ‘adha chai’ in a tiny kulhar, the half-portion of jhalmuri in a minuscule paper packet offered by some Calcutta vendors, the miniature dosa that would be slightly less than half a classic Udupi-sized portion. Sephi Bergerson’s Street Food of India is halfway between paperback book and coffee-table book, and in this format, his gentle photographs become alluring precisely because he’s offering an indicative, not authoritative, guide to eating out, Indian-style.

Bergerson flouted the two dictums handed out to every foreigner — don’t drink the water, and don’t eat the salad. From Paharganj and Chandni Chowk in Delhi to the bylanes of Bombay to Varanasi, Bergerson seems to have lived and travelled in this country using his eyes and his palate as a guide, falling in love with everything from the humble bread pakora in multiple variations to delicate daulat ki chaat. The South is under-represented in comparison, with just a few pictures and recipes — a sad omission that dilutes the value of the book.

Bergerson’s introductory essay is actually a thinly disguised love letter to the grand tradition of eating on the streets, a tradition that he fears is threatened by the explosion of food courts, and the demand for clean, hygienic fare that ignores what he considers the freshness, variety and the sheer spontaineity of street food.

The recipes that accompany his pictures are accurate but almost superfluous — his goal is to tempt you out onto the streets, not into the kitchen. This book is not definitive, nor is it an instant classic, but Bergerson’s carefully taken shots of everything we ignored, from a row of Banta bottles to the intricate curlicues of fruit juice vendors’ signs to a garlanded water cart makes it worth your while. This, like the street food it describes, is tasty, snack-and-go fare.

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Jewels on the street

For the people of India, street food is an every day thing, like the sacred cow that roams the streets. Nevertheless, as incomes rise and ways of eating change, the inevitable is happening and the street-side treats may soon be a thing of the past. Street food, that symbol of wild, chaotic, urban India, is slowly being harnessed.

“THIS book fills a gaping void in the literature on India’s food and its food culture and does so most admirably. . . The author has written an intelligent introduction to the book. It stands out because it has none of the pretences and silly jargon of the arriviste columnist who holds forth on food week after week. . . This book does a service to a neglected part of Indian culture.” ‘Frontline Magazine’ (click the link to read the full review)

And see ‘Mail Today’ on 03/15/2009 (see picture).

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Shailaja Tripathy from The Hindu newspaper had interviewed me for her column ‘Going Native’ that was published today. Read the interview online HERE

Please feel free to leave comments and if you like what you read, please subscribe to FotoWala articles via email alerts, or to the RSS feed. Now you can also follow me on Twitter

Please feel free to leave comments and if you like what you read, please subscribe to FotoWala articles via email alerts, or to the RSS feed. Now you can also follow me on Twitter