Whetstone Magazine

Founded in 2017, Whetstone Magazine is an independently published print and digital publication about global food origins, culture, and culinary anthropology.

Rasa

WELCOME TO RASA VOL. 1

CONTRIBUTORS

An Essential Taste of Rasam • At once a humble dish that can be conjured out of pantry basics and a sophisticated creation that showcases the rasa—or quintessence—of its star ingredients, rasam effortlessly straddles the everyday and the exalted.

How Did Anchovies Become Beloved to the Gurkhas? • The popularity of the saltwater fish in landlocked Nepal tells an important story about the innovation of the Gurkha kitchen—and the untold human cost of British imperialism.

Pride, Place and Pitha • For Bangladeshis the world over, the rice-based dishes called pitha offer a tangible and tactile connection to their culinary heritage.

In Life And Death, A Fervour For Fish • The Bengali custom of Matsyamukhi—or the symbolic return to fish-eating after bereavement—is one among a complex web of cultural and religious customs in the Indian subcontinent that help communities navigate the landscape of loss.

A Hankering For Tal • Most prized for its luscious ripe fruit called tal—intensely sweet with a bitter edge—the palmyra tree is beloved for its many culinary uses across the subcontinent.

The Unassuming Heft of Murmura • Known as laiya, muri, pori and by other regional names, puffed rice is a beloved ingredient across India. Belying its lightweight appearance, murmura holds its own in every context—from the sacred to the street

Welcome to Whetstone Radio Collective • Whetstone Radio Collective is the world’s largest on-demand audio network dedicated to food. WRC offers a distinctive series of original podcasts focused on global foodways, bringing diverse narrative-based audio stories shared through the lens of food anthropology.

Whetstone Magazine • Whetstone Magazine: Original commissioned content that centers the perspectives of global majority populations and diasporas. Come for stunning photography and illustration, stay for deeply reported stories about why various cultures farm and cook the way they do.

Kaanji, Chirota and Other Memories • The Bene Israel Jews of India are a small community with a distinct cultural and culinary identity. Through her poems, Zilka Joseph introduces us to the flavours of her heritage.

A Chirota for My Thoughts

Never Forget the Chironje

Green Kaanji and Destiny

Pantoum for Chik-cha Halwa

In Search of Sargassum • India has a rich biodiversity of seaweed, which is just beginning to find its way onto plates. Could it be a food of the future?

Mourning Milk Powder • In Sri Lanka, milk powder is not just a commodity—it brings people together for the social ritual of teatime. The country’s current economic crisis has made this everyday ingredient inaccessible.

Momos Beyond Borders • For the small Tibetan Muslim community in the Kashmir Valley, traditional meat-stuffed dumplings have paved the way for an enduring bond with the local population.

Meher Varma’s Bad Table Manners • Here’s a behind-the-scenes glimpse ​at this Whetstone Radio Collective podcast that takes an intimate look at food in South Asia.