This book traces the journey of India's culinary treasures

What is the difference between biryani and pulao Who invented butter chicken Is mutton dhansak or the chicken version superior These are some of the mysteries that author and food journalist Sona Bahadur explores in her debut book An Invitation to Feast A Deep Dive into Indiarsquos Culinary Treasures Aleph Book Company R899In the book Bahadur mdash who has spent decades writing about food and once helmed the nowshuttered BBC Good Food India mdash dives deep into 11 beloved Indian dishes from biryani butter chicken and dosai to Mumbairsquos vada pav and dhansak Goan fish curry undhiyu shami kabab chole smoked pork and rasgullaFatherson duo Jaffer Mansuri and Mazharrsquos biryani at Jaffer Bhairsquos Delhi DarbarReading it is like journeying across India with her mdash from tasting Rampuri yakhni pulao at a royal familyrsquos table to sharing Sunday dhansak with Mumbai Parsis to discovering axonelaced smoked pork in the Northeast For Bahadur itrsquos never just about whatrsquos on the plate mdash itrsquos about the histories memories and cultural identities that shape itldquoMy favourite part of the research process was finding the story in each dish I chose Each is a universe in itselfrdquo she says In one of the Mumbai chapters Bahadur traces the origins of the vada pav to 1966 when Ashok Vaidya began selling it from a cart outside Dadar station now run by his son Narendra at the very same spot She journeys across the city from iconic vendors in Kalyan to experiments abroad in London showing how the humble snack continues to evolve mdash be it Khar Socialrsquos vada pav bao or Khidki Vadarsquos readytouse spice paste for home cooksThe man credited with creating Mumbairsquos very first vada pav he carries forward the legacy of his father AshokldquoVada pav is undeniably politicalrdquo says Bahadur ldquoIt was created to champion Maharashtrian entrepreneurship and is steeped in lsquoMarathi asmitarsquo and the rise of the Shiv Senardquo But what drew her in wasnrsquot just its symbolism mdash it was the stories of the people behind the carts ldquoMeeting the vendors helped me humanise a street food we often romanticise from a distancerdquoDespite being the son of the man who invented vada pav Narendra Vaidya still operates without a permit constantly evading the authorities outside Dadar station Bahadur points to a larger irony mdash while the vada pav is celebrated as a Mumbai icon its vendors often receive little support frequently lacking even basic licences after generations in the businessNarendra Vaidya at his Dadar stall PicAshish RajeldquoThe problemrdquo she says ldquois that we donrsquot see street food as heritage In India heritage means monuments not meals Though we cherish our street eats we rarely treat them as cultural artefacts worth protectingrdquo One vendor told her ldquoIf India prides itself on entrepreneurship why are the original innovators criminalisedrdquo To Bahadur these hawkers are more than cooks mdash they are Mumbairsquos memory keepers ldquoTheyrsquove witnessed it all mdash market crashes gang wars sensational trials Their stories arenrsquot just about food theyrsquore living city archivesrdquoSocialrsquos Vada Pav BaoBahadurrsquos connection to vada pav is both personal and political As a young reporter in 1999 it was the cheap satisfying snack that fuelled her long days in Mumbai Today she sees that same world under threat mdash red tape COVID19 shocks and disinterest from younger generations have pushed many vendors to shut their shopsToday red tape and the financial shock from the COVID19 pandemic have led to many vada pav vendors closing their shops Some donrsquot have successors willing to keep the business going ldquoStreet carts are integral to Mumbairsquos cultural fabric They will likely not disappear but existential challenges abound in the lives of our vendors If these issues are not addressed soon we may lose the tastes and sights we love so dearly A writerrsquos job is to provoke questions and stimulate debate If I have succeeded in focusing attention on the fragile ecosystem around our street food through my book even in a small way itrsquos a startrdquoBattle of biryanisDuring her research Sona Bahadur sampled biryani from across the country and we asked her to share her top three favourites The Bombay Biryani finds a mention in her book as a comfort food but does it figure in her alltime faves ldquoMy top three picks would be Hyderabadi zafrani biryani Awadhi yakhni pulao and Thalassery biryanirdquo she says frankly ldquoHaving said that I love Bombay biryani for its juicy masala and there are days when only a plate of Jaffer Bhairsquos chicken biryani will sate my cravingsrdquoSona BahadurSpeaking of Thalassery biryani Bahadur recounts one of her favourite anecdotes from her tasting travels for the book ldquoWhile researching the Thalassery biryani I happened to visit Faiza and Chovakaran Moosa an elderly couple based in Calicut on the eve of their 40th wedding anniversary I was wondering why the mutton pieces are separated from the rice before the biryani is served Chovakaran came up with the most ingenious explanation he said their biryani is a lot like marriage mdash you tie the knot live together and eventually separate That he evoked this analogy on the eve of his anniversary made the situation even more comic I can never forget the look of contempt Faiza gave him It was such an adorable moment Thinking of it always makes me smilerdquoWe ask Bahadur how she feels about biryanirsquos continuing evolution with fusions like the schezwan biryani and butter chicken biryani getting popular ldquoThough not opposed to experiments Irsquom often appalled by the abominations that show up in the name of fusion I prefer classic preparations of dishes that are wellmade But I also like being surprised For instance I tried a biryani martini in Bandra recently and enjoyed it for its sheer audacity Reimagining dishes effectively entails tweaking ingredients and techniques without compromising the essence of the original dish In the end itrsquos not about a classic vs fusion thing itrsquos about food that tastes good vs food that doesnrsquotrdquo1966Year when the vada pav is said to have been invented