~ finding the right voice ~
"Actress-writer Jaffrey gives us a memoir of her childhood in Delhi in an age and a society that has since disappeared. Madhur (meaning sweet as honey) grew up in a large family compound where her grandfather often presided over dinners with forty or more members of his extended family. Picnicking in the Himalayan foothills on meatballs stuffed with raisins and mint and tucked into freshly baked pooris; sampling the lunch boxes of Muslim friends; sneaking tastes of exotic street fare--such memories flavor Jaffrey's story. Independent, sensitive, and curious, as a young girl she loved uncovering her family's many-layered history, and she was deeply affected by their personal trials and by the devastating consequences of Partition. This is both an account of an unusual childhood and a testament to the power of food to evoke memory. Plus a secret ingredient: more than thirty family recipes"--From publisher description.