How I Travel: Food Writer Priya Krishna Knows Which Security Bins Are a Trap
Longtime food writer Priya Krishna’s latest offering is a very different kind of cookbook. Aimed at kids ages 8 to 11, Priya’s Kitchen Adventures: A Cookbook for Kids is a collection of recipes organized by some of the countries Krishna was able to visit in her own childhood thanks to her mother’s career in the travel industry. “Every country starts with a little narrative from my younger self about my experiences of the countries, and I mined my old diaries to get a lot of that content,” she says.
The result is a comic book-like caper across places like Morocco (for zaalouk with halloumi), Japan (miso ramen), and France (tarte aux pommes), filled with illustrations, step-by-step photos, and even “embarrassing” family photos. “The point of the book was not just to tell that story and share the piece of how I got interested in food, but was to expand the definition of what a kid-friendly recipe is,” Krishna says, “and revive a genre that for so long been very white and very homogenous, and make it feel more inclusive and representative of what this country actually looks like.”
Ahead, Krishna spoke to Condé Nast Traveler about resisting the desire to over-plan vacations, where she shops in New Delhi, and finding the Indian influence in Trinidadian cuisine.
The things her mother taught her about airplane etiquette:
She was most particular about going through security and being very efficient—using as few bins as possible, and never using the circular bins. “The circular bins are a trap! You put all your loose shit and you're more likely to leave something behind.” She also always said, “Never put a small item loose in the bin; put it in a bag within the bin.” Your phone, for example: Put it in your backpack, zip it up, and then put it in. Always fold your jacket and put it in a bin. Those belts are really gross. Chunky heels will always ring the security belt.
God, there's limitless things that my mother has taught me about travel! Bring a pair of socks on the flight because oftentimes the cold air is blowing where your feet are. And I won't put my seat back further than a little bit. I think it's super inconsiderate. This is my hot take! I hate when I'm trying to work on my laptop and someone lays their seat back all the way. I won't do that to another passenger.
A favorite destination from her new book:
One chapter that I'm proud of is the Egypt chapter. The recipes were all developed by Ham El-Waylly, who's an Egyptian-Bolivian recipe developer, and he hit it out the park with his hummus and his ful medames. In that chapter opener, I talk about going to the Cairo Museum, noticing that all of these Egyptian antiquities weren't in Cairo, and being told by the tour guide like, “Oh, those are all in the British Museum.” I'm really proud that I wasn't afraid to bring those things up and have those conversations about imperialism. I think that we often whitewash history for kids' sake and I just didn't want to do that. One of the copy editors for the book sent me a note: “I never thought I'd see mentions of colonization in a kids’ cookbook.”
Her method for creating an itinerary:
This is from decades of over-planning—I choose one activity per day and then center the day around that activity, and plan very little else, because otherwise you feel like you're on a schedule and your vacation suddenly becomes not a vacation anymore. It's one thing a day—a big lunch reservation, a big dinner reservation, a museum, a play—and then you can be chill or more leisurely. Everything else gets to fill around that and be spontaneous.
How she figures out where to eat when traveling:
As a food writer, you feel like every trip is work in a way: If I'm going to be eating at restaurants, I might as well eat at the best restaurants. The first line of defense for me is locals. The people who are physically there are the best people to give recommendations, and the people who visit there a lot. I'm going to Italy this summer and my friend Allie goes with her family every year—she sketched out an itinerary and shared all of her Google maps. If you have a friend that you trust, you don't need five bajillion people's recommendations. I do a lot of Google Maps sharing, and write a little note like, “This is my friend Kayla's recommendation,” “This is Cece's recommendation.” I'm a strong believer that there is such a thing as too much research, too much information.
It’s a combination of picking your “must gos,” like the places that come up a lot on lists from people that you trust, and then the places of convenience that are just good to know. I always try to map out good coffee shops, good bakeries, quick lunch spots, bars that I can go to if I want to have another drink after dinner. Those are nice things to have to make you feel like you're a local.
The destination she could go to a million times and not tire of it:
New Delhi. My family lives there; I grew up going there. I feel a real sense of peace when I land in Delhi, when I smell the Delhi air. It just feels like home, even though I didn't grow up in India at all—my mom did. Every single time I go to Delhi I see something different. I feel that way about the whole country in general, but especially Delhi.
The things she has to do every time she’s in Delhi:
I have to go get sweets at Evergreen Sweet House, which is in Green Park and near where my family lives. I have to go to Cafe Lota, which is in the Crafts Museum and serves regional Indian food and is so, so delicious. I have to go to this one poster shop in Hauz KhasVillage. All of these posters behind me [points] are from this one guy in Hauz Khas Village who sells vintage Bollywood posters, vintage ads for Parle G biscuits and Air India. His poster shop is amazing. That man is sitting on a gold mine. Every year that I go, I'm like, “You need to double your prices! These are amazing.” Then there's this really cool clothing store called Anokhi where I go and buy my entire summer wardrobe. They make different prints every season, and then they do a dress and a pair of pants and a jumpsuit in that print. I just love their fabric. I will usually go there on my last day and buy all of my gifts for people and for myself.
A country where the food surprised her:
Trinidad and Tobago, by far. I had no idea what to expect from the food scene, and I wasn't aware at the time of how the food in Trinidad and many of these Caribbean nations is really the result of indentured servants or indentured labor coming to these places and shaping the food culture. In Trinidad and Tobago, for example, a lot of people came from India, so the food culture is very much shaped by Indian cuisine. It was a beautiful moment the first time I had doubles, which was like chana wrapped in two pieces of fried bread called burra. It tasted familiar but different, and you realize the connectedness and how much history can be told in the food that you're eating. And I mean, we ate brilliantly. We got to have a home-cooked meal of stewed fish and chana and oh my God, the rice there was so good. The mangoes and the coconuts were so good. For my family, it was a dream. The food is so punchy and bold and bright. If I see a Trinidadian restaurant now, I'm going.
Where she’s hoping to travel next:
I've always wanted to go to Turkey. It feels so wild that I've never been there. I love Turkish food. My husband is an architect and he's dying to see the architecture. It's one of those countries that feels like a real intersection of cultures and traditions. And Turkish shoes are amazing! I want to buy all of the shoes and pottery and eat all of the gözleme.
Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler
