The Secret Yogic Recipes of Mysore, India
By V. Sandhya
Elephant Publishing
You’re 3,000 miles from home trying to find yourself. A stranger invites you to a family home in this strange land and somehow you feel like one of them. Together, we were a family at Sandhya’s house.
Sandhya has been cooking for western yogis in Mysore since 1998, but her connections to yoga, cooking, and Ayurveda go way back. After developing health problems at the age of 15, Sandhya began studying yoga with local teacher Pattabhi Jois. Her grandfather was a prominent Ayurvedic doctor. As a child, her mother tried to keep her out of the kitchen, but Sandhya’s heart was always in cooking. This book is a culmination of all this history, with recipes that are family heirlooms.
When I was in Mysore in 2006, I was invited to Sandhya’s home one day for lunch. Her house was full of all the yogis I had run into at the local shalas. I ate at Sandhya’s three times a week. The incredible food that came out of her kitchen is laid out in this book, including curries, her family’s secret sambar recipe, and a chapatti how-to.
You don’t have to travel around the world for this Indian family experience. With authentic recipes and inspiring photography, this book is a beacon for soul searchers and lovers of Southern Indian cooking: Mysorestylecooking.com
Reviewed by: Daniel Overberger, yoga teacher, musician and author of Leaving Stress Behind: Leavingstressbehind.com
Daniel Overberger is a Los Angeles-based Yoga teacher, the author of Leaving Stress Behind, and founder of alt-kirtan group Dharma Gypsys. leavingstressbehind.com