Pankajam Sarathy is my mother in law.  At this point she’s been a part of my life longer than my mother. I’ve been married for 30 years and my mother died when I was 28.

Both women have played an enormous role in my life.  Each of their stories are unique as all life stories are.  Yet in so many ways, various threads of circumstance, social customs and history have made their lives similar.  Many Indian women born when they both were in 1930s pre-independence India had the same themes running through their lives.

Both came from well educated households of modest means.  Both were married in their teens.  Both of their husbands, though very different people, were the dominant forces in their lives.  Each migrated to the US and found their individuality in different ways.  For my mother getting a job and working as a professional gave her an identity outside the home.

My mother was not a trail blazing feminist.  Quiet, modest with a gentle, calm poise she was someone you never wanted to disappoint because hurting her hurt more than anything else.  Yet her job and ability to draw a regular paycheck saved our family and showed the world that she was more than someone’s wife or mother.

For my mother in law, the freedom was food and cooking.  Food is what I associate most with her.  Cooking it, serving it, sharing, teaching and experimenting.

So this section is about honoring Pankajam, my mother and all the women of their generation.  My sharing their recipes, it will be a small way of preserving their wisdom, history and voice.

In addition to her recipes I hope to collect recipes from friends and family around the world.