“Chhaunk on Food, Economics and Society” by Abhijit Bannerjee
Chhaunk, oil infused with different spices, lies at the heart of Indian cooking. It is just a few teaspoons, but it finishes a dish and gives it its particular piquancy. The pieces in this delightful book can be seen as a literary chhaunk – a sprinkling of ideas and arguments around the social sciences, which imparts its own distinct flavour.
Part memoir, part cookbook, Chhaunk playfully uses food to talk about economics, society and India, and makes unexpected connections, say, between savings and shami kebab or between women’s liberation and the Bengali vegetable dish of ghanto. It is published by Juggernaut Books.
Abhijit Banerjee, economist and Nobel laureate, loves to cook and feed people, and misses India all the time. This delicious collection of essays – light in style and big on ideas – is his attempt to string the many parts of his eclectic existence together.
Fourteen-year-old Sarah Rose was very fortunate to have met the Nobel Laureate and illustrator at Bahrisons, Khan Market in December 2024. It was an unexpected but a pleasurable event. Abhijit Bannerjee did say that he usually does not give his consent to be photographed with others but he was willing to make a concession for a teenager who is interested in reading and cooking. Thank you, Sir!
The author was gracious enough to autograph it for Sarah too.
23 May 2025
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