Heartland Masala: A Sampling of Indian Culinary History
Details
Come join us as a mother and son duo talk about the historical and cultural context of traditional and diasporic Indian recipes. They will base their talk on their new book, Heartland Masala: An Indian Cookbook from an American Kitchen.
Cooking instructor Jyoti Mukharji chose 99 of her favorite recipes to build the core of Heartland Masala. Her recipes hail from throughout India, with a special emphasis on the cuisines of Punjab and Bengal. To complement his mother's recipes and recollections, culinary historian Auyon Mukharji offers a generous helping of culturally focused vignettes.
Auyon writes: "The Hindustani word masala, which translates to 'spice mixture, feels an appropriate metaphor for not only the multifaceted and diasporic quality of my mother’s cooking, but also for the twists and turns of history that landed a daughter of Punjab here in the American heartland.”
"The history of Indian cooking is the history of India," he continues. "The cuisine itself is in constant flux, both within and beyond India’s national borders. Any attempt to pin it down is merely a record of a moment and place.”
Biographies
Jyoti Mukharji is a chef, teacher, and retired physician. She immigrated to the US from India in the late 1970s, and began teaching weekly Indian cooking classes out of her home in Prairie Village, Kansas, in 2010. Jyoti has since welcomed several thousand students into her kitchen.
Auyon Mukharji is a musician, writer, and culinary historian who spends most of his time thinking about food. He studied biology at Williams College and was awarded a Watson Fellowship in 2007 to study self-expression in folk music. Since 2009, Auyon has toured with, and cooked for, the indie-folk band Darlingside. He otherwise finds time to work in and around kitchens (and farms) in both his hometown of Kansas City and his adopted state-of-residence of Massachusetts.
***
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
7 PM Central Time via Zoom
If you have any questions or wish for a link,
please e-mail: [Culinary.Historians@gmail.com](mailto:Culinary.Historians@gmail.com)