How the Banana Goes to Heaven: And Other Secrets of Health from the Indian Kitchen - Ratna Rajaiah

An unabashed, delightful ode to the healing power of traditional Indian food. Unlock the extraordinary, science-backed health secrets hidden inside the most everyday ingredients of your kitchen.

Did you know that eating just a couple of bananas a day can naturally lower your blood pressure? That nineteenth-century sailors relied heavily on the humble potato to fight off scurvy? That Ayurveda considers well-cooked rice to be the ultimate healing food? Or that modern research is finally proving what our ancestors knew all along—that turmeric holds powerful anti-carcinogenic properties?

In How the Banana Goes to Heaven, author Ratna Rajaiah takes readers on a fragrant journey down memory lane, stepping back into the warm, aroma-filled kitchens of our mothers and grandmothers. Pausing at the spice box and the pantry, she reintroduces us to old culinary companions—from coconuts, chillies, mangoes, and jackfruit to ragi, channa dal, golden ghee, pure jaggery, mustard seeds, and fresh curry leaves.

This beautifully written book revives almost-forgotten culinary joys, like the comforting sight of steaming kanji or the sharp, clean scent of freshly sliced ginger. Along the way, Rajaiah shares: