Monica Bhide is an engineer turned writer based out of
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
She has written three cookbooks, ''The Spice is Right'', ''Everything Indian Cookbook'', and ''Modern Spice''. Her first fiction novel, ''The Devil In Us'', released in 2014. She released a book of food essays, ''A Life of Spice'', in 2015.
Early life and personal
Monica Saigal Bhide is originally from
Delhi, India
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its right bank, Del ...
but has lived in
Bahrain
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
and now the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. She graduated from the Indian School in Bahrain and moved on to
Bangalore, India
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
where she completed her engineering degree. She moved to the United States in 1992 and completed her two Master's degrees at
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
and
Lynchburg College
The University of Lynchburg, formerly Lynchburg College, is a private university associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It has approximately 2,800 undergraduate and graduate ...
. She worked in corporate America for 10 years before taking up writing full time.
Awards and recognition
Monica is also very distinguished and has received multiple awards:
The ''Chicago Tribune'' named Bhide one of the seven food writers to watch in 2012. In July 2012,
Mashable.com picked her as one of the top ten food writers on Twitter. Her work has garnered numerous accolades, including her food essays being included in Best Food Writing anthologies (2005, 2009, 2010, 2014). She has published three cookbooks, the latest being: ''Modern Spice'': Inspired Indian recipes for the contemporary Kitchen (Simon & Schuster, 2009). She conducted an interview on her book Modern Spice which can be found here
Stephen Thompson - Monica Bhide Interview
She has been published in national and international publications including The New York Times;Food & Wine; Cooking Light; Bon Appetit; Saveur; Parents; AARP- The
magazine; Eating Well; KIWI; Four Seasons; Spirituality & Health;
Prevention; Health; SELF; several “Best Food Writing” anthologies; and is a
frequent contributor to NPR's “Kitchen Window.”
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Monica is a frequent presence on NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
, serves as a speaker and teacher for organizations such as Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
, the Association of Food Journalists (AFJ), London Food Blogger's Connect and the Smithsonian. Monica Bhide also is a contributing editor to AARP Magazine.
Her first fiction short story debuted in Singapore Noir (Akashic Books, 2014) and she has since released her first collection of fiction short stories, titled ''The Devil in Us'': Stories of Love, Life, and Redemption (CreateSpace, 2014). She released a book of her food essays, A Life of Spice, in 2015.
Bibliography
Books
*''The Soul Catcher: A novel'' (2021) Published by Bodes Well Publishing
*''I See You: Observations from the ICU, A Caregiver’s Journey'' (2018) Published by Bodes Well Publishing
*''Karma and the Art of Butter Chicken'' (2016) Published by Bodes Well Publishing
*''The Devil in us : Stories of love, life, and redemption'' (2014) Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
*''Modern Spice'': Inspired Indian Flavors for the Contemporary Kitchen (2009) Published by Simon & Schuster
*''The Everything Indian Cookbook'': 300 Tantalizing Recipes - From Sizzling Tandoori Chicken to Fiery Lamb Vindaloo (2004) Published by Adams Media.
*''The Spice is Right'': Easy Indian Cooking for Today (2001) Published by Callawind Publications.
*''A Life of Spice (2015)'' sold by Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
* In Conversation with Exceptional Women. (ebook)
*
Articles
Food and Wine:
A Passage to Mumbai
Bon Appetit:
Save Your Recipes, Before It's Too Late
Saveur:
Queen of Spices
New York Times:
As Cash Flows In,
India Goes Out to Eat
References
External links
Official Web site
*
Books by Monica on AmazonModern Spice Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhide, Monica
American food writers
Living people
Writers from Washington, D.C.
American women writers of Indian descent
American women non-fiction writers
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American women