BLOG TOUR: Anni Dreams of Biryani by Namita Moolani Mehra & Chaaya Prabhat
ABOUT THE BOOK
Anni’s on a mission to YUM!
The café across the street from Anni’s home in Little India makes the best biryani in the world. Fluffy and fragrant, spicy and succulent—Anni could eat it every day. In fact, Anni loves that biryani so much that she’s determined to uncover the secret to the recipe. She has so many questions for Uncle, the grumpy chef and owner of the café. But he isn’t providing any easy clues. So, with some careful planning, Anni sets out on a mission to find out the secret ingredients to this most special dish. Will Anni get the answers she’s looking for…before it’s too late?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR
Namita Moolani Mehra is a children’s book author, cookbook author, and a food and parenting writer. She wrote the children’s cookbooks The Magic Spicebox and Superfoods for Superheroes. Anni Dreams of Biryani is her first picture book. Namita also runs a social-impact business called Indian Spicebox that helps fund hot meals for underprivileged children in India. Namita was born in a remote village in Nigeria, grew up in the UK and India, studied in Chicago, and worked in New York for over a decade. She currently lives in Singapore with her husband and two children. Learn more at www.namitamehra.com, and follow her on Twitter @namstwit.
Instagram: @indianspicebox
You can find Anni’s Chicken Biryani recipe here: https://indian-spicebox.com/biryani/
Chaaya Prabhat is an illustrator based in Chennai, India. She holds an MA in graphic design from Savannah College of Art and Design. She has illustrated several picture books, including Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers, written by Rajani LaRocca. In addition to her books, Chaaya has created illustrations for numerous clients, such as Google, Facebook, Snapchat, the Obama Foundation, the Times of India, and more. Learn more at www.chaayaprabhat.com, and follow her on Instagram @chaaya23.
Instagram: @indianspicebox
You can find Anni’s Chicken Biryani recipe here: https://indian-spicebox.com/biryani/
Chaaya Prabhat is an illustrator based in Chennai, India. She holds an MA in graphic design from Savannah College of Art and Design. She has illustrated several picture books, including Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers, written by Rajani LaRocca. In addition to her books, Chaaya has created illustrations for numerous clients, such as Google, Facebook, Snapchat, the Obama Foundation, the Times of India, and more. Learn more at www.chaayaprabhat.com, and follow her on Instagram @chaaya23.
REVIEW
Anni loves biryani, especially the version created by 'Uncle' in the restaurant across the street. After deciding she wants to learn to make it herself, Anni comes up with a plan to acquire Uncle's recipe. Each time her family goes to the restaurant for their weekly biryani, Anni asks specific questions designed to get her the recipe. Eventually, Uncle shoos her away and tells her to cook it herself. And it turns out well, but it isn't as good as Uncle's version. When Uncle brushes off her efforts to find out what the 'secret' ingredient is, Anni feels so bad she quits and refuses to eat biryani any more. But the dish haunts her dreams and finally she decides to try again. There was so much I loved about this story. I enjoyed not only the themes of persistence and dreams, but also the touches related to family and culture as well. The dish sounds and looks delicious. The author includes additional information about biryani and its origins at the end of the story which is great for those like myself who know little about the dish. She also includes a link to a recipe. I absolutely adored the stunning illustrations. Prabhat's beautiful digitally created illustrations are so full of life and color that they just carried me along. A lovely book full of inspiration and joy.
SAMPLE ILLUSTRATIONS
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