Bharti Kirchner
The Making of Singapore
Located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, the tiny island of Singapore is considered a modern success story. The city-state is a global financial center, boasts a high per capita income, and...
Three cookbooks offer flavors from near and far
The food books reviewed below, diverse though they may be, have one element in
common: An appreciation of flavors and an eagerness to share stories and research work.
Khabaar: An immigrant Journey of Food, Memory and...
It’s a new year. Get ready to eat, cook and read
Although there is no shortage of food books in the contemporary American cooking scene, two recent titles stand out, both with a British connection.
On the Himalayan Trail: Recipes and Stories from Kashmir to Ladakh...
This winter, cook Indian, Sri Lankan or Malaysian-style
Three recent Asian cookbooks, all of whom have been well-received, offer a wealth of flavors, family anecdotes, and cultural tips.
Rambutan: Recipes from Sri Lanka by Cynthia Shanmugalingam, Bloomsbury Publishing, 335 Pages, $35.
Cynthia Shanmugalingam, a...
Two books look at India through a different lens
Although much has been written about India, two new titles of narrative nonfiction offer fresh perspectives.
Midnight’s Borders: A People’s History of Modern India by Suchitra Vijayan, Melville House Publishing, $29.99, 315 Pages
Indian-born Suchitra Vijayan,...
An extra helping of food
Author Rabia Chaudry (“Adnan’s Story”) has a new offering, a coming-of-age memoir. It deals with food, family, the difficulty of trying to maintain an ideal weight, and a quest for what’s important in life.
Chaudry’s...
A smart and twisty thriller tale
Amanda Jayatissa who received acclaim for her debut psychological thriller, My Sweet Girl, now returns with another offering. It’s a thriller in the same category, perhaps even more suspenseful, and which will surely establish...
Two crime fiction reads for the autumn months
Two recent books of crime fiction stand out. One of them is an anthology of short fiction and the other is part of a popular mystery series.
The Perfect Crime: 22 Crime Stories from Diverse...
Sisters of mercy: Six nuns from Kentucky in a newly independent India in 1947
Sisters of Mokama by Jyoti Thottam is the true story of six nuns from Kentucky, of various ages, who served as the “Sisters of Charity of Nazareth,” arriving in India to work with the...
A tiffin lunch
An English word of Indian origin, tiffin refers to a portable light meal, be it a lunch, snack, or tea-time treat. In India, the word is synonymous with a specially designed lunch box—a tall,...