Books

Our latest book, Bookworms & Jellybellies, by Hachette India, is now available in both paperback and eBook formats. On Amazon, Flipkart and book stores.

About the book:

Eat your way through Pooh Bear’s adventures one Honey-crunch Snack Bite at a time, nibble on delicious Scoop ‘n Drop Currant Scones while discovering lost treasures and secret passages with the Famous Five, or suck on tangy Tamarind Pops as you run through the bylanes of Malgudi with Swami.

If you love to read and eat, Bookworms and Jellybellies is just the book for you. It is a joyride through some of the eternally favourite children’s books, with over 50 inspired recipes that can be easily whipped up in your own kitchens. It is packed with quirky introductions, simple recipe instructions, fun trivia and beautiful colour photographs that bring the featured dishes to life.

In this fresh, imaginative take on books and cooks, Ruchira Ramanujam and Ranjini Rao, authors of Around the World with the Tadka Girls, give you recipes with their own dash of drama, adventure and plot twists – just like the books that inspire them.

Here are some media mentions for Bookworms & Jellybellies.

Reviews for Bookworms & Jellybellies:

Of Bookworms & Jellybellies
by Shoma Bhagwat of Thinking Aloud.

Bookworms & Jellybellies – Book Review
by Archana Gunjikar Potdar of The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen.

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Our second book, Around The World With The Tadka Girls, from Westland-Tranquebar Press, is now available at your nearest bookstore, or online, at – Flipkart, Amazon, Sapna and eBay.

About the book:

From the bylanes of Shanghai to the farmers markets of Santa Monica, Ranjini Rao & Ruchira Ramanujam have been there, done that and picked up a motley of aromas, tastes and inspirations for their culinary experiments over the years. Around the World with The Tadka Girls is a diary of the authors culinary travels and experiments together, recorded and fine-tuned after several trials and errors. It brings to you fresh, imaginative recipes, inspired by innumerable culinary quests and experiments in different cuisines, all blended with the inimitable Indian Tadka style of the authors own kitchens.

Ranging from breakfast options that borrow flavours from Mexican kitchens and American B&B spreads, to soups and salads that smack of Polish and tropical tastes, the book conveys a world of flavours and unexpected quirky tastes. The Tadka authors own signature dishes will transport you to train journeys of yore and visits to summer fairs, while their cakes and bakes are inspired by classic French and Mediterranean recipes. Every recipe is accompanied by real-life stories, be they visits to a school potluck, or a drive down a wine trail in a Midwestern American town. The authors share these intimate moments, as well as the fruits of their labours, for you to savour and serve to your families, much as they have been doing for years.

We are big believers in the idea that cookbooks should merely be used as guides when stirring something up. Our own instincts will tell us if something’s more, less or just..off. Which is why we wanted our book to have a less preachy, more practical approach, and a fun, peppy scrapbook-esque feel to it. A book that you can go to time and again for little tips, hints, time-saving techniques; one that needn’t just sit pretty and gather dust on your shelves.

Here are a few glimpses of Around The World With The Tadka Girls in the Media.

Preliminary Reviews for Around The World With The Tadka Girls

“Around The World With The Tadka Girls is awesome! The book is unique in its presentation, loved the little stories that accompany each recipe with beautiful illustrations, overall, it makes it an amazing read. I particularly loved the section on Dips, the Green Pea Dip is great!”

— Alka Murudeshwar, member of Bangalore Foodies group.

“Just did a quick glance of Around the World with the Tadka Girls and it looks brilliant! Loving the little stories accompanying every recipe. Wonderful illustrations and pictures too!”

— KP Balakumar, founder, Home Bakers’ Guild

“Will highly recommend this book. There is a wide section of glossy and bright food books in the stores available today. What makes this one different is the unique style, simple yet elegant recipes and of course the small tips that makes our kitchen trials so much more easier. Lovely book. A must have in every foodies book rack :)”

— Sukanya Banerjee, Owner, Vanilla Bean

More reviews here –

Red Berry Crumbles … Around the World with the Tadka Girls {a book review} by Deeba of Passionate about Baking

Around The World With The Tadka Girls : A Review, Some Apple And Fennel Fritters & A Giveaway! by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen

Book Review: Around the World with the Tadka Girls by Natasha Ali, Chef At Large

Tadka Pasta – Book Review by Ruth, Bangalore Restaurants

Book Review | Around the world with the Tadka Girls by Neha of Everyday Musing

Around the world with the Tadka Girls – A review and the Irish Soda Bread by Priya of Bon Appetit

Around the World with the Tadka Girls by Deepa, Madras Gourmand

Cooking with the Tadka Girls- Pasta in lemon pepper sauce! by Aarti of Flavours and Aromas

Around the World with the Tadka Girls by Kalyan Panja

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Our first eBook – Mango Masala: 60 Indian Recipes From Your Local Supermarket is now available at all the major online retailers!. You can order it  at Amazon, eBooks2go, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo and Overdrive.

So why did we write yet another Indian cookbook, and how will it benefit you? We didn’t really have a plan to begin with, no months of planning or strategizing leading up to this project. Rather, the book found us.

Let us explain: we’ve lived outside India for years and on many an occasion, in small towns with no Indian grocer in sight for miles. Consequently, we’ve had to run our kitchens on a limited supply of out-and-out Indian ingredients. But that didn’t deter us – we simply reached out into the deep pockets of our local Supermarket, and made the best of what we had access to. That is what this book is all about, and it’s virtually an extension of us and our kitchens.

Our one big goal is to help you cook well-balanced, nutritious Indian-style meals to share with your family just the way we do. Many of our recipes are vegan or vegetarian, while some are even gluten-free or dairy-free, and can be adapted to suit your preferences. And we won’t send you on a trip to the dusty bylanes of India to source the spices or condiments used in them. Instead, we’ll show you how to cook Indian food right out of your fittingly stocked Western pantry, and what a cinch it really is, right from breakfast to snacks, and full-fledged lunches to dinner spreads.

We hope you pick up a copy, dig right in, try out some of our recipes and enjoy them as much as we did, putting them together for you.

Reviews of our work:

“This is one of the most exciting cookbooks I’ve read in ages! The authors offer delicious new takes on everyone’s favorite comfort foods – both Indian and American. Egg salad sandwich with caramelized onions, a-wow-cado grilled cheese sandwiches, roasted cauliflower with mango-pistachio dip, multigrain pilaf with pizzazz – the titles say it all. Just reading these recipes (and looking at the mouth-watering photographs) makes me want to run to the kitchen and start cooking. I especially liked the recipes for breakfast dishes (such as sunrise medley with potatoes and mushrooms and Indian masala omelette), since this is an area neglected in many Indian cookbooks. I hope the authors write more books like this!”

— Colleen Sen, renowned culinary historian.

“I love to explore new-to-me foods and this wonderful, colorful cookbook offers me a gateway to flavorful Indian treats that are easy to create and a joy to eat. I haven’t tried all of the recipes yet, but so far, I think my favorite is the avocado and grilled cheese sandwich made on my panini maker. Runner-up could be Sunrise Medley with Potatoes and Onions.

Whether you have your favorite Indian recipes already or, like me, you’re new to re-
creating your favorite Indian restaurant meals at home, you will find what you want in this cookbook. Plus, as you read the authors’ personal stories before the recipes, you feel like you have a friend or two helping in the kitchen, too!”

— Sandra Beckwith, popular book publicist.