Food is a major topic in Calcutta, and almost everywhere. I'd like to take some of the delicious dals, charismatic curries, and stimulating sweets with me as I leave this place so I've decided to ask for your help in my hunting and gathering ... for food recipes. I am trying to collect some nice recipes to take along with me to try to prepare for myself and for friends in Japan. I am especially looking for easy-to-make Indian types of dishes that can be served for tiffin time or dinners. I also want sweets and savories that kids like too - who better to ask than kids themselves, right!

Now don't think I haven't tried to accumulate recipes. Let me tell you, it isn't an easy task to get people to write them down here. You see, I often eat someone else's cooking and when I ask how to prepare it (because it was so good) I usually don't get much more detail than, "Oh, it's easy ... add a bit of this and a little of that ..." But when I go home and make it, the taste just isn't right. Then they tell me, "Oh, you must have forgotten this or must have forgotten that ..." Arrrgh, you didn't tell me THAT!

I am the kind of person who really needs to look at a recipe the first few times, and I need a little more detail than that. SOOOOOOO - If you or someone you know is a good cook, perhaps you can help me?? Please write out some of your favorite recipes (especially typical Bengali ones) using the format below. Feel free to include pictures and diagrams if you like that sort of thing. PLEASE be as specific as you possibly can and try to include a brief description about the occasion this is eaten, when your family likes to eat it, what's interesting about this particular style of cooking it, or where it originally came from.

Recipe for:__What item_______
Provided by: Who you get it from
Ingredients and Amounts: _____
Method: ___________________
Story behind this recipe:_______

Who knows if I get enough of them, maybe I can make a little Mustard Seeds cookbook for us all! You can send these by email too: [email protected]

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Front cover
Mango Bite: An interview with Marguerite Shaddy by Hia Mookherjee
Young Bean Garden by Saantonu and Manasi Chatterjee
Hunting and Gathering by Maura Hurley
Mexico, I'm Here by Jillian Marcie Molina
"Bag It" by Devashis Mukherjee
Tiger Talk by Saptak Mohanta
Mustard Seeds Poetry
Hoop-Shoot Hooplah ! by Alyssa Molina
A Mela to Remember by Anomita Mookherjee
Off to Japan ... by Maura Hurley
Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head by Doc. Basu
A Big Thank You
Book Review - TRASH !! ... by Chottu
The Litterbug Quiz
mustard seeds Hobby Stop by Chottu
mustard seeds library by Debasis Mukherjee