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'Bollywood Kitchen': A Celebration Of Indian-American Cuisine¹

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

What happens when immigrants bring their cuisines² to America? Sri Rao, the son of immigrants, says that both people and food adapt. He's written a cookbook of his mother's recipes. And because he is a screenwriter and producer, he paired them with the Indian movies with which he grew up. It is called "Bollywood Kitchen," and it struck a chord with NPR's Adhiti Bandlamudi.

ADHITI BANDLAMUDI, BYLINE³: I don't immediately associate Indian food with Bollywood films, mostly because the actors are usually too busy with dance numbers and melodrama⁴ to worry about what's for dinner. But as a second-generation Indian-American who also grew up on Indian food and Bollywood, I connected with Sri Rao's cookbook and his message.

BANDLAMUDI: As the skinny brown kid growing up in an all-white community, I had barely ever been to India. And yet, the food and the films transported me there every night.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI")

UDIT NARAYAN AND ALKA YAGNIK: (Singing in Hindi).

BANDLAMUDI: Rao's cookbook, "Bollywood Kitchen," pairs iconic Bollywood films like this one, "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai," with dishes he grew up on in small-town Pennsylvania.

SRI RAO: We didn't have access to Indian grocery stores when I was younger. And so my mom made do with the ingredients that she could find at the local supermarket.

BANDLAMUDI: Take one recipe, keema, which he calls a textbook example of American assimilation. It calls for lamb, but his mom used hamburger meat instead, along with Hamburger Helper. The book includes American recipes, too, like sweet potato fries with cumin and coriander and mango cheesecake. Rao says some food critics have questioned whether his recipes are authentically⁶ Indian.

RAO: I've really kind of taken offense⁷ at that because I feel like, no, this is authentic⁵ Indian food. This is the Indian food that I grew up with.

BANDLAMUDI: Rao says he wrote the book for two audiences, people who don't know a lot about Indian food and for people like me, an Indian-American petrified⁸ to make Indian food myself because it seems so complicated.

RAO: I had to go through that two-year process of, you know, cooking with my mom. And she would pour spices into the palm of her hand. And before she poured the spice into the pot, I would pour it into a measuring spoon so I could measure things out. And I've put that all into a book for us, you know - for - so that we can do it ourselves.

BANDLAMUDI: I'd never cooked Indian food before. But I decided⁹ to give it a try with rajma, one of my favorite dishes. In the cookbook, Rao pairs this with one of my favorite Bollywood films, "Devdas." Both the dish and the film are showstoppers, full of spice and flavor, and remind me of home. Rajma is kind of like chili¹⁰. I diced¹¹ red onions, chopped garlic and ginger¹² into a paste. Then saute it all together with cumin, black mustard seeds and red chili powder.

(SOUNDBITE OF OIL SIZZLING)

BANDLAMUDI: Finally, I add red kidney beans to make a stew¹³. When I was a kid, my mom made this in the winter. I'm a little nervous of my version, but I give it a taste.

BANDLAMUDI: Oh, my God. I did it. That wasn't that hard. Why did I think that was so hard?

BANDLAMUDI: But even if I messed up, Rao says it's no big deal.

RAO: If you throw in a little bit extra of something or you forget something else, it really isn't going to matter. And our moms cook that way, too. I mean, that's the thing about Indian food is that it's very forgiving.

BANDLAMUDI: Since reading this book, I'm less intimidated¹⁴. I make Indian food all the time now. That'll make mom happy.

Adhiti Bandlamudi, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PIYA TU AB TO AAJA")

ASHA BHOSLE: (Singing in Hindi).

SIMON: The great Asha Bhosle. This is NPR News.

1 cuisine   

n.烹调，烹饪法

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• This restaurant is renowned for its cuisine.这家餐馆以其精美的饭菜而闻名。

2 cuisines   

n.烹饪( cuisine的名词复数 )；菜肴；（通常指昂贵的饭店中的）饭菜；烹饪艺术

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the different features of these cuisines? 能不能告诉我这些不同的烹调流派各自有哪些特点？ 来自地道口语脱口SHOW 高中超越版
• Ice sculptures are used as decorations in some cuisines, especially in Asia. 冰雕在某些菜肴中被当作装饰品，尤其在亚洲。 来自互联网

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 melodrama   

n.音乐剧；情节剧

参考例句：

• We really don't need all this ridiculous melodrama!别跟我们来这套荒唐的情节剧表演！
• White Haired Woman was a melodrama,but in certain spots it was deliberately funny.《白毛女》是一出悲剧性的歌剧，但也有不少插科打诨。

5 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

6 authentically   

ad.sincerely真诚地

参考例句：

• Gina: And we should give him something 2 authentically Taiwanese. 吉娜：而且我们应该送他有纯正台湾味的东西。
• A loser is one who fails to correspond authentically. 失败者则指那些未能做到诚实可靠的人。

7 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

8 petrified   

adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
• The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

11 diced   

v.将…切成小方块，切成丁( dice的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The meat should be finely diced for this dish. 做这种菜肴肉必须细细切成小方块。 来自辞典例句
• Arther diced himself into debt. 亚瑟因掷骰子而负了债。 来自辞典例句

12 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

13 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。

14 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》