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Fabulous Feasts, Fables and Family: A Culinary Memoir
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 29, 2024
It was utterly delicious. Full 5 stars.
Will read again after a couple of years.
Once I get some time, will try a few recipes too.
Will read again after a couple of years.
Once I get some time, will try a few recipes too.
September 5, 2024
In Fabulous Feasts, Fables and Family: A Culinary Memoir, Tabinda Jalil-Burney crafts a culinary memoir that transcends the boundaries of a simple cookbook. The pages are steeped in nostalgia, whisking readers back to her childhood summers spent at her grandparents' home in Aligarh—a world where food was not just sustenance, but a cherished ritual that stitched together the fabric of family life.
This book is a celebration of food as a love language, with each recipe carrying the weight of familial bonds and stories passed down through generations. Jalil-Burney vividly captures a time when cooking was more art than science, with no recipe books in sight—only the instinctual "andaaza" that defined the culinary traditions of her formidable Amma and the women of her extended family. From shami kebabs to qormas, and the distinctive chuquandar gosht, the flavors evoke a vanished world that lingers in the tastebuds and memories alike.
Beyond the recipes, the memoir serves as a tender homage to the Aligarh of the sixties and seventies, where the courtyard under tamarind and guava trees became the heart of family gatherings. It is here that the women exchanged stories, knitted, crocheted, and wove the day together while the children reveled in carefree games. Traditions, religious rituals, and the artistry of fabric-making all blend into the narrative, offering readers a peek into a time when life moved at a slower, more intentional pace.
What truly sets this memoir apart, however, is its seamless interweaving of food with storytelling. The simple query, “What would you like to eat when you arrive?” becomes a recurring refrain, underscoring the warmth, hospitality, and anticipation that defined familial bonds. The act of cooking becomes a metaphor for nurturing—where love, more than ingredients, flavors the dish.
This book is a celebration of food as a love language, with each recipe carrying the weight of familial bonds and stories passed down through generations. Jalil-Burney vividly captures a time when cooking was more art than science, with no recipe books in sight—only the instinctual "andaaza" that defined the culinary traditions of her formidable Amma and the women of her extended family. From shami kebabs to qormas, and the distinctive chuquandar gosht, the flavors evoke a vanished world that lingers in the tastebuds and memories alike.
Beyond the recipes, the memoir serves as a tender homage to the Aligarh of the sixties and seventies, where the courtyard under tamarind and guava trees became the heart of family gatherings. It is here that the women exchanged stories, knitted, crocheted, and wove the day together while the children reveled in carefree games. Traditions, religious rituals, and the artistry of fabric-making all blend into the narrative, offering readers a peek into a time when life moved at a slower, more intentional pace.
What truly sets this memoir apart, however, is its seamless interweaving of food with storytelling. The simple query, “What would you like to eat when you arrive?” becomes a recurring refrain, underscoring the warmth, hospitality, and anticipation that defined familial bonds. The act of cooking becomes a metaphor for nurturing—where love, more than ingredients, flavors the dish.
February 15, 2024
Hi, dear Tabinda,
While I am sitting here on my writing desk and thinking hard about which recipe from your book I am going to follow first in my kitchen, you must be cooking a fabulous sumptuous meal in your kitchen already.
I picked up this book on a lazy afternoon and I am happy that I had a good lunch that day, otherwise I would definitely have a difficult time as I was craving those foods described in the book by then. The descriptions of food and culinary adventures at your Aligarh home is the most beautiful thing I have read in a memoir in recent times. The writing is too compelling to put the book down and I finished the book practically in just one sitting.
The way you wrote about the seasons, holidays, festivals and the people around your household in the 60's and 70's had transported me to that era. And, I longed to be there in person.
You have taken meticulous care in telling the backstory of each recipe and the person involved. Tabinda, I don't know if you are considering writing a full length novel based on your Aligarh home, but if you are already on such a project, remember me. I am eagerly waiting for your words. You have a gift, a gift of words and I think you shouldn't deprive the world of the writing from your pen and experience.
Thank you for this heartfelt memoir of food and culture. I loved the book.
Your ardent fan,
Rupsa.
Disclaimer: this book will make you drool profusely.
Thank you @penguinindia for this book.
While I am sitting here on my writing desk and thinking hard about which recipe from your book I am going to follow first in my kitchen, you must be cooking a fabulous sumptuous meal in your kitchen already.
I picked up this book on a lazy afternoon and I am happy that I had a good lunch that day, otherwise I would definitely have a difficult time as I was craving those foods described in the book by then. The descriptions of food and culinary adventures at your Aligarh home is the most beautiful thing I have read in a memoir in recent times. The writing is too compelling to put the book down and I finished the book practically in just one sitting.
The way you wrote about the seasons, holidays, festivals and the people around your household in the 60's and 70's had transported me to that era. And, I longed to be there in person.
You have taken meticulous care in telling the backstory of each recipe and the person involved. Tabinda, I don't know if you are considering writing a full length novel based on your Aligarh home, but if you are already on such a project, remember me. I am eagerly waiting for your words. You have a gift, a gift of words and I think you shouldn't deprive the world of the writing from your pen and experience.
Thank you for this heartfelt memoir of food and culture. I loved the book.
Your ardent fan,
Rupsa.
Disclaimer: this book will make you drool profusely.
Thank you @penguinindia for this book.
December 23, 2023
An absolutely stunning food memoir, written with so much warmth and care and love. So perfectly described and retold that it’s made me feel nostalgic for a time when I wasn’t even alive! All of a sudden, I have the strongest urge to learn how to cook and also to get into Urdu poetry. My mouth was watering throughout this whole book, not only because of how delicious all these recipes are, but also because of how masterfully they were described, written in the way that only someone with a deep appreciation and respect for food can write. A lot of these foods that I eat regularly have an entirely new meaning to me now, and these descriptions have given me a new level of appreciation for food that I often take for granted. I love the idea of celebrating the women who came before us, and who shape so much of what we do in our daily lives - and what amazing characters these women were. Warm and caring and creative and intelligent and talented - exactly the kind of women who deserve to be memorialised in this way. May they forever live on through these recipes (and the endless recreations of them through generations), as well as through all these beautiful memories. Incredible book!!
January 9, 2024
Food, I've been led believe is a love language. Every pre-visit conversation with grandparents, aunts, or parents without preamble led to the mandatory question, "What would you like to eat when you arrive?"
I've heard this often that food nourishes the body and the love it's prepared with, the soul. An elaborate meal cooked with indifference will taste insipid when compared to plain daal-rice, sprinkled with care and tempered with love. And so, I came to believe the fastest way to a person's heart is through the stomach.
Now, this comes as no surprise why I chose this book in the face of several other choices. How could I let go of the promise of delicious dishes and family stories and shayaris.
Now, if you are someone who reads food blogs and cookbooks and appreciates those peppered with anecdotes and a little background on the dishes and memories, this is it! If you're looking for a memoir, I'd say steer clear.
The couplets and anecdotes of summers, fairs, and days spent under the winter sun brought back some nostalgia of days at the grandparents'. Getting to a bit more on religious traditions and art of fabric making was quite interesting, too.
It's a nice addition to your shelf if you're looking for a recipe book to whip up some gourmet dishes when at a loss of deciding your table spread.
Thank you, @penguinindia and @@rinjinimitra, for sending this my way
I've heard this often that food nourishes the body and the love it's prepared with, the soul. An elaborate meal cooked with indifference will taste insipid when compared to plain daal-rice, sprinkled with care and tempered with love. And so, I came to believe the fastest way to a person's heart is through the stomach.
Now, this comes as no surprise why I chose this book in the face of several other choices. How could I let go of the promise of delicious dishes and family stories and shayaris.
Now, if you are someone who reads food blogs and cookbooks and appreciates those peppered with anecdotes and a little background on the dishes and memories, this is it! If you're looking for a memoir, I'd say steer clear.
The couplets and anecdotes of summers, fairs, and days spent under the winter sun brought back some nostalgia of days at the grandparents'. Getting to a bit more on religious traditions and art of fabric making was quite interesting, too.
It's a nice addition to your shelf if you're looking for a recipe book to whip up some gourmet dishes when at a loss of deciding your table spread.
Thank you, @penguinindia and @@rinjinimitra, for sending this my way
September 9, 2025
In most cooking books with stories, one would skip the story and go to the recipe. Fabulous Feasts is different in that way.
It is not just a glimpse into the household recipes of Aligarh but also an insight into life and what inspires those recipes.
it's like visiting friends and relatives, conversations and their recipes. A very delicious read.
It is not just a glimpse into the household recipes of Aligarh but also an insight into life and what inspires those recipes.
it's like visiting friends and relatives, conversations and their recipes. A very delicious read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews