Monsoon Diary: Reveries And Recipes From South India

by Shoba Narayan

MONSOON DIARY weaves a fascinating food narrative that combines authentic vegetarian recipes from South India with tales from Shoba Narayan's life, stories of her delightfully eccentric family, and reflections on Indian culture.

Shoba recounts her childhood in South India, a portrait of small-town life richly populated by characters like the flower woman who brings jasmine for the gods, the milkman who names his cows after his wives, and the iron-man who picks up red-hot coals with his bare hands. Food is so important to her family that when Shoba wins a scholarship to study in America, they only agree to let her go if she prepares a successful banquet. She returns home to an arranged marriage - to her surprise, the family have chosen well - and later there are visits from her many relatives, old and new, to her home in New York City.

In MONSOON DIARY, Shoba Narayan's culinary talent is matched by stories as varied as Indian spices - at times pungent, mellow, piquant and sweet. Her characters, like Shoba herself, have a thing or two to say about cooking and about life.

Genres: Food, Memoir, Nonfiction, India, Biography Memoir, Cookbooks, Cooking

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Gorab · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delightful read. A memoir focusing on simple vegetarian food.

The recipes shared are very basic ones - staple breakfast items for most of the Indians - like Poha, Upma, Idli, Coffee, Curd Rice, Bhindi, Pav Bhaji… and there is a recipe for Ghee!

Felt like it was written for US non-Indian folks as audience. For almost all the recipes ingredients section had this - "available at Indian store" - for stuff like besan, poha, sooji, chaat masala!

What I loved:
- Nostalgia emanated in initial chapters which touched my heart.

- The famous prasad of each temple - Tirupati Laddus, Guruvayur payasam, Muruga temple's panchamritam, sweet pongal.

- Those train journeys, focusing on what regional specialties to indulge at which station - hot milk at Erode, Nagpur oranges, Allahabad's guavas, Agra's pethas (misspelled as pedas in book :P), Shimla apples, Delhi's kulhad curd, Kerala's banana appams, Lonavala Chikkis, Andhra biriyanis, Bombay's vada paavs.

- The US chronicles - fund raising dinner (hilarious!), picnic on a sailboat.

- That chapter with DeLonga is what I loved the most.

Overall:
Something which might not work for everyone due to simple recipes with simple life chunks.
I loved it for the same reasons! Especially the middle parts of this memoir.

P.S.: I was blessed to find a special copy to read from :)

[Ahtims · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a scrumptious feast. I gobbled up the book from cover to cover. It deals with the South Indian food culture of 70's and 80's. I could connect with most of the facts mentioned in the book as the author describes her South Indian Tamil Brahmin heritage well. The book starts with early childhood memories when she was in the care of her maternal grandparents in Coimbatore, then it moves on to her parents' place in Madras, with a few forays into her father's ancenstral house in Kerala. Later on she goes on as a scholarship art student to the US, gets married and the book ends where she settles as a young bride in the U.S. All these recollections are intensified by recipes and food memories. This is a book well worth being read by Indian foodies, especially South Indians. I am not sure whether others will be able to relate to the book as much as we do.
One grouse with this book is that most traditional South Indian recipes are Americanized, maybe this is to keep up with the diverse nature of the readers.
I am definitely planning to reread this in future.

[N.N. Heaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this book. It took four different times for me to get through it. I don't think it was the writing per se but the subject matter. I wasn't the right reader for this one.

My Rating: 3 stars

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really personal look at growing up in India and what it means to be an outsider living and studying in the United Sates, this book gives its readers a comic but movingly accurate version of things we can all relate to and choices we all have to make. Narayan gives us mouth-watering glimpses of Indian food (and how to make it) as she tells her tale, imprinted so deeply with the spices, smells, textures, and tastes of Indian cooking. With each recipe, Narayan provides a myth that relates to and/or explains the dishes. She also explains how each spice, each topping, each method of cooking has a special use- some of them are to be used when pregnant, some are good for colds, each have their own occasion, and some are even used not only in cooking, but as face cream (and a cure for all ills)- all according to her very ambitious and often overpowering mother. In her memoir, Shoba wishes to study abroad, to the objection of her large family. They make a deal with her that, if she is able to prepare a complete satisfactory Indian meal for the entire family, her wish will be granted. She cooks the meal and off she goes. Within the story she weaves about herself, Narayan contemplates the good and the bad of both the Indian society she has lived in and the American one she moves to. This is a truly entertaining and worthwhile book to read.

[Chelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweetly hilarious account of cross-cultural cuisine and tradition as narrated by an upper-middle class Indian woman. While I enjoyed the cultural high lights, I couldn't help but notice the absolute lack of criticism regarding certain customs, right down to her author's refusal to even acknowledge the limitations of them. A quick, entertaining read-- it's really more 3.5.

[Arpana · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book of 2024! Loved this delightful memoir that explores South Indian culture and the experiences of moving to the states. Each section is tied to a mouthwatering recipe. I can’t wait to try them out!

[Sudha Srivalsan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started browsing the book like any other recipe books. But found myself carried over by the simple style and narrative details. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Set in a South Indian family, I could relate to every bit of information Shoba had mentioned. Interesting read - Nostalgic:)

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basically a love story between author and her privileged upbringing.

Recipes at the end of each chapter.

[The · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first part of this book about the author growing up in India, her quirky extended family and her time at Mount Holeyoke college. The recipes are fun to read and easy to follow. But the book kind of declined in quality once she begins narrating about her married life. I am not questioning her life choices but I could sense she was privileged to be able to decline a graduate degree, return to India and marry a US based finance professional from a high-ranking Indian family. I wish she had spotlighted that privilege a bit more. Also I felt her description of her parents and nallama’s visit to the US was written with a tone of exasperation. However she displayed deep veneration for her mother and father in law. This felt to be flying in the face of the “feisty feminist” values Shoba claimed to be steeped in. Maybe it’s just because she’s a product of her time, but as an author who’s regular columns I really enjoyed, it felt sad to read this part.

A light read however.

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

2020 bk 19. This book is a series of flashbacks to important times and places in the author's early life. The time period spans the 1970's - 1980's, the years of her childhood through grad school. Interspersed are some of her favorite foods that play an important role in the flashbacks. If you want a travel guide to India, this is not it. If you want a span of 60-80 years of life time, this is not it. What it is, is a delightful look back at the innocence of youth, the memories of home (no matter the continent), a taste of India's culture, and a good basic collection of vegetarian recipes that sustained the author as a child and young adult. A joy to read.

[Sindhuja Ravichandran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Savored every page of this book. A memoir paying an ode to spices and everyday dishes whipped up in a South Indian's kitchen.

[RKanimalkingdom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review Found Here

[Arti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a narrative memoir of Shoba Narayan’s nostalgic reminiscence of her childhood to adulthood. She writes the recipes of foods described in her book relating them to various stages of her life. She starts with the first meal of a six month old infant, her early childhood at her maternal grandparents’ house in a small town where her grandmother made vatrals and vadams with the help of her maid, Maariamma; the pets at her home and the effect of diet on the nature of an animal. She explains very diligently about the series of helps that came to their house in Madras every morning from the milkman, Ayyah, iron man, garbageman and the flower woman.

She describes her school friends, the lunch hour at school, lunch boxes shared/exchanged; her trip with her parents and brother to Adyar Woodlands; the train journeys for which they would carry food from home; her mother’s culinary classes; her vacations in Kerala; her cousins and her college days in Madras. She describes how desperate she was to study in America and how her uncle tells her that if she could impress the family with a vegetarian feast, she could go to America.

She talks about her college days in America, classes and her weekly comfort food at Mount Holyoke, “yogurt rice”. Though she goes to study psychology, she takes up sculpture later. She talks about her arranged marriage, excitement of everybody in her house when the boy’s family comes, her husband’s liking for Indian food, visits from her parents and in-laws to her home in New York City.

I really enjoyed the book and could not put it down. I also tried various recipes, upma being my favourite.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the type of book I would normally pick up to read. However, I noticed a friend liked it and thought I'd try something different. I'm glad I did. I identify with the author in that many of my own memories are tied to food. The book made me want to try to make some of my grandma's recipes that we rely on her to make for holidays. That being said, I don't have great inspiration to try the recipes in the book but that's OK. The book wasn't so much about the recipes as how the food can bridge cultures and serves to illuminate aspects of Indian culture.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0***
Shoba writes a charming memoir of growing up in a multi-generational family life in Southern India and her closeness to nature that imbued her with an appreciation for the fruits and foods of her native land. In transplanting herself to America, via her food prowess Shoba carries the enthusiasm she saw in her parents approach to life and learning and you cannot but help to applaud her willingness to embrace a new culture. The beautifully described food preparation passages made my mouth water.

[Chris Pra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose this one can be read as the story of a person with immense potential who got bogged down by the traditions ruling her life. Readable in the voyeuristic sense of glimpsing into someone's life.

[Poonam Shidlyali · Rating 1 out of 5]

pretty disappointed, pain old language used, its only abt growing up. recipes are really not at all authentic@!@

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lovely memoir/cookbook is a wonderful read-aloud book, full of the sensations, sounds and flavours of Narayan's memories of growing up in southern India. Each chapter ends with a recipe inspired by the memory.

Before reading the book, we had completely forgotten about flattened rice until reading Shoba Narayan's recipe for poha. As I read about the dish, there were sudden cries of, "Chura!! I love chura!!"

It turns out that poha is simply yet another name for flattened rice (aka pressed rice, pressed rice flakes, beaten rice, chura,...). Why am I surprised that there would be more than one name for this in a country where over 100 languages are spoken?

Narayan's recipe for poha (flattened rice), calling for lime juice, curry leaves and coconut, is quite different from the one that T had many times when he was living in northern India. He suspects that the one he ate is a Bengali recipe. Poha (or chura, as we call it) makes the best breakfast (or snack) for a brisk autumn morning - or indeed any morning. Or afternoon. Or evening....

Bookmarked recipes: ghee, Ginger Tamarind Pickle, panagam, okra curry, poha

    Ammu told us stories every night. Sometimes they were from ancient Indian epics, about virtuous kings and dutiful queens; sometimes they were animal tales for the Pancha Tantra; these always ended with a riddle. If we were really good, Ammu would tell us ghost stories.
    Vaikom House was filled with ghosts. As a child, I was always tripping over them. I remember a sultry summer afternoon when I retreated into the cool folds of the great tamarind tree in one corner of the property. the afternoon breeze, the gentle swaying of the tree, all lulled me into somnolence. (p91)

    Gujarat in October. It is the Nav Ratri (nine nights festival, when entire cities come alive at night with music and dancing. [...] Come sunset and I set off, dressed like a peacock, to dance all night. We go around in giant circles, clapping hands, bending and swaying, urning our faces to the giant moon low in the sky. In the morning I come home and eat a bowl of piping hot poha.
    Poha is famous in Gujarat, where it is eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and as a snack. (p159)

    On the day we were to leave [Vaikom House], my grandmother woke up early and began to make puttu, kadala, and inji curry. Puttu is a mixture of rice flour and grated coconut, which is steamed in a brass container [...] while kadala is made of spicy black lentils. They complement each other perfectly.
[...] [The kadala] was as spicy as the puttu was bland.
Last to come was inji curry (tamarind and ginger pickle), a favorite condiment in our family. Thick, rich, and tangy, we ate it with everything: with rice, chapatis, white bread, and on toast. It was the color of chocolate and just as addictive. (p93-94)

Here are our takes on

flattened rice: Chura: flattened rice with peas and peanuts, inspired by Shoba Narayan’s recipe for poha in Monsoon Diary: A Memoir with Recipes

Puliyinji (tamarind-ginger chutney)

[Sandra de Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year I read The Milk Lady of Bangalore and it turned out to be one of my favorite books of 2018. Naturally, I wanted to read more of Narayan’s writings, and I started with her first book, this memoir with recipes. In it, she describes her growing up in India (she is Tamil), including all her favorite foods, going away to the US for college, and cooking here. She planned to be a journalist, but studied art along the way, returning to India after completing her work for her master’s degree, which was revoked after a ridiculous (imo) experience regarding her exhibit at Memphis State University. Back home, she was ready to give in to arranged marriage, but she makes it clear it wasn’t the process I imagined it to be. Her parents never wanted her to be unhappy in marriage, nor did they force this on her. The arrangement took and she married the man and now has children and what sounds like a happy marriage. The recipes add to the story in the way photographs sometimes do. There are several I have copied to try, and I’ve already found grocery stores where I will shop.

[Zhara Bowen Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never mind where you were when you experienced the 'big events' of your life, instead, can you remember what were you eating?

Shoba Nayaran remembers, and delivers those landmark flavors in print. From the comforting memories of her childhood, to the abuse suffered under her first graduate program, to her wedding and subsequent adjustment to married life, Shoba Narayn writes about each significant life event with an even hand, a light sense of humor, and perfectly chosen recipes to accompany every part of her story.

This isn't your traditional cookbook, nor is it a plodding, self-aggrandizing autobiography. It is instead a book that moves along at a fast pace, giving us glimpses of intensely personal moments, but then quickly, breezily moving along to the next topic, the next recipe, the next memory. The reader is never bogged down in this parsimonious trip down memory lane. Instead, we receive exactly what is promised: a memoir with food. (and succulent food at that!)

An excellent read, a fast read, a delicious read.

[Seema · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Monsoon Diary immensely. We all have our stories of food- of how we made a particular dish- who ate it - and what was our emotional journey on it. It is like coming of age stories, and I enjoyed reading about her story as a south Indian woman - her closeness to her family - her journey to the USA and trying to prove herself. I loved her story on upma- how she worked hard on making so many different dishes for a fundraiser, and when she failed, she quickly cooked upma- that was hot, delicious, and appealed to all diets. Shoba is a great storyteller- she is funny, and in her stories, she touches that part of Indianess in you. I could relate to her experiences. I am sure her daughters will proudly cook some of her recipes as I have successfully done so.

[Rob Landerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I was a big fan of Milk Lady of Bangalore, so I just bought this in paperback. I love Shoba's writing. It is engrossing and fun. I enjoy getting to learn about parts of another culture I know nothing about and to get recipes in context that I can enjoy and appreciate even more. It's an easy read, and each story is beautiful in its own way. I've already cooked a few of the recipes, and this is the Indian food I've longed for, not the British stuff passed off as Indian food in restaurants.

[Eswara · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved, liked shoba's writing. skipped the recipe at the each of the chapter, because i am not ready to be a cook. sambar receipe needs lentil, sorry i thought we use dal. the exact dichotomy, i spread throughout the book.

and the author was very adept in being both indian and american, siping wine and rasam with same gulp. the diary goes from vaikom to bombay to florido to newyork, as the author wandered through her life and carried the recipes.

beware before you pick up this book, it might give you a mixed feeling and a cuisine as well.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book drew me in. Part memoir, part cookbook, a fascinating read. Narayan shares stories of her childhood in India, about moving to the US for college (and the struggle it took her to get there), her journey in the US. Just a fantastic read and made me miss India dearly, and understand a bit more about her journey. Great read.

[Jayeeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable memoir. The interspersed recipes were fun, and I may try a few out.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely but short memoir of growing up in India. Great recipes and stories included.

[Shiv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read. I like how the recipes came after they were explained in her life. I'm looking forward to making the recipes in this, most of which I'm unfamiliar with, even though I am Indian.

[Jan Norton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to read of life in another coulture and the adjustments to the American culture.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely descriptions of a woman's grown-up in a very different culture. Loved the recipes and food slant!

[Jen Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not stop reading this book. Every scene and story was so vivid in my mind’s eye. A great memoir.