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Of all the things in the world, the one thing that always has a maternal association for us is food. It doesn’t matter what your region or origin is or what your religion is, it doesn’t even matter if you have eaten food prepared by the best chefs in the world at fancy restaurants—the best food in the world is always prepared by our mothers and grandmothers, at home, with love. Isn’t that precisely what you should be celebrating this Mother’s Day?
The simple reason why food prepared by maternal figures in our homes taste the best is because they have two things that many don’t: the traditional culinary wisdom passed down by previous generations and bucket loads of experience. If you have wondered how your grandmother can cook by instinct or how your mother can pick up new recipes so quickly, it is because they have dedicated time and effort to get the basics right. For such amazing women in our lives, gifting something special on Mother’s Day should involve the same wisdom and love they put into preparing our food.
Of course, the best Mother’s Day gifts for a mother who loves to cook can definitely be beautiful crockery or a kitchen appliance that might make her job easier. But think about it. Doesn’t our moms love the emotion and story behind food just as much as the things they cook with? So, this Mother’s Day, don’t just stick to traditional culinary gifts.
If your mother loves a good story and great recipes, then gift her a book on Mother’s Day that she can relate to. Here are some cookbooks that are either written about mothers and grandmothers or by mothers. Not only do these cookbooks have brilliant recipes, but also great anecdotes and stories that every mother will fall in love with.
Video credit: YouTube/Pasta Grannies
Ammu: Indian Home Cooking To Nourish Your Soul, by Asma Khan
If you’ve seen Netflix’s Chef’s Table, then you’d know that Asma Khan is only one of two Indian chefs featured on the show. Khan has famously revealed that she barely knew how to cook before she moved to London, and it was her mother who guided her through the process. Dedicated to her mother, Ammu: Indian Home Cooking To Nourish Your Soul is Khan’s expression of homely Indian recipes from her family’s kitchens and is a brilliant collection of memories too.
Cooking With Italian Grandmothers: Recipes And Stories From Tuscany To Sicily, by Jessica Theroux
Grandmothers have formidable culinary skills and knowledge, and this applies all over the world. American chef Jessica Theroux spent a year travelling through Italy to prove just this point. Cooking With Italian Grandmothers: Recipes And Stories From Tuscany To Sicily records culinary stories and recipes from 15 Italian nonnas or grandmothers. The book weaves beautiful stories about these women while also recording their heritage, favourite dishes and personal wisdom.
A Sindhi Mother’s Cookbook, by Duru Sachdev
Like many communities in India, the Sindhis have overcome migration and hardship all the way from modern Pakistan to parts of Western and Northern India. A reflection of the community’s culinary gems, A Sindhi Mother’s Cookbook collects recipes as well as techniques that women of the community have adopted while adapting to both new environs and modern lifestyles. Duru Sachdev manages to bring the Sindhi family and their food to life through this cookbook.
In Bibi’s Kitchen, by Hawa Hassan and Julia Turshen
Did you know that grandmothers in Africa are called Bibi? In Bibi’s Kitchen captures the stories and culinary gems of these incredible Bibis from eight African nations: South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros, Tanzzania, Kenya, Somalia and Eritrea. Somali chef Hawa Hassan and food writer Julia Turshen manage to bring the spices, flavours and food these women cook to life through this amazing cookbook which is as much a work of anthropology.
Bong Mom’s Cookbook, by Sandeepa Datta Mukherjee
From recipes she learnt from her mother in North Kolkata to her own kitchen experiments to bring up her two kids, Sandeepa Datta Mukherjee weaves stories that capture the essence of Bengali food through generations. A blogger and foodie herself, Mukherjee’s cookbook shares anecdotes as well as recipes that can be followed blindly to recreate Bengali classics.
The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook: Home Cooking From Asian American Kitchens, by Patricia Tanumihardja
The Asian diaspora in the USA has recently united to reflect their cultural pride, and The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook is a true expression of that sentiment. Patricia Tanumihardja spent time with Asian grandmothers of Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Indian descent to collect 130 recipes that are traditional as well as tantalizing. Many of these recipes have been documented for the first time too!
Carla Hall’s Soul Food, by Carla Hall
American TV chef Carla Hall presents this book as an ode to soul food, but rooted in her diverse background. Hall is from Nashville, Tennessee, a part of the US that has seen people from Africa, the Caribbean and South America settling in for centuries. Naturally, her cookbook reflects the influences of all these cuisines as well as plant-based cuisines from the region.
