This cookery book of 250 authentic Goan recipes comes along with an elaborate five weeks plan for vegetarian breakfast and lunch; a time table that Usha has followed for the last 23 years herself. Usha is a retired Marathi teacher who taught at Immaculate Conception High Schhol, Paroda for 27 years. After retirement, she got the idea to pen down recipes for her family which then led to her publishing the same in the form of a book to reach out to a wider readership. The book has been published by Sanjana Publications from Sanguem and is available at bookstores across the state.
“These are the recipes I learnt from my mother Indira Bhat, grandmother Annapurna Bhat and mother-in-law Shantabai Bale. I learnt cooking non vegetarian dishes from my mother-in-law as my husband Waman loves eating non vegetarian dishes. When I took to the kitchen, around 23 years back, I compiled a timetable for breakfast to ease the thinking process. Now, my two daughters are married and living in Bangalore and Margao and they keep calling me up, asking about the quantity of ingredients or the procedure of cooking certain. Now, with the recipes in print, things will be a lot easier,” says Usha.
The book features timetables for breakfast (5 weeks), vegetarian (5 weeks), fish recipes (2 weeks) and selective non-vegetarian (1 week). This is quite helpful while preparing breakfast and lunch for working families. Right from tomato salad, phulke, sambar, idli to one of the must have khatkhate, coming from a teacher, all the recipes are easy to follow and have exact quantities and simple ingredients. “These are everyday ingredients that we always have in our kitchen. While writing the khatkhate recipe, I had my staff members from the school in mind because they loved my dish and now they too can cook it.”
The book was promoted online on social media and has received great response. Over 250 books were booked in advance. Many English users, eager to try out these recipes, have approached Usha to bring out an English edition. “Many people have already asked for an English edition of the book and my manuscript is ready,” concludes Usha.