Born in India and based in the United States, Monica Bhide embraces the best of both worlds– in her kitchen. Her latest book Modern Spice (Simon & Schuster, 2009 with a foreword by Mark Bittman), was released last month and has been getting great reviews. She has also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, National Geographic Traveler, Bon Appetit, and many more.

Her essay, Cooking up dreams in the kitchen, in the Christian Science Monitor caught my attention. I asked her about it.

First, I have to congratulate you on a marvelous essay. Your mother sounds very much like mine when she’s in the kitchen. What made you write the piece?

Thanks so much for your kind words. I have been wanting to write this for a long time. Therapy, perhaps? I am joking! I guess what made me want to write it was an urge, a wanting to share a feeling of what it is like for an adult child to seek approval. So many people wrote to me after reading the piece, I am happy to know that I am not alone in seeking this parental approval.

When you write essays, do you typically sit down and write them in one go, or do you think of an idea and then work on that?

I think I do it both ways. Some days I use a writing prompt, sometimes I just sit and write what is on my mind. I often get called upon to write essays as well. That is harder.

How easy or difficult is it to sell an essay like this? Did it sell on the first try?

Essays are hard to sell in any market and right now, more so than ever, difficult to place because magazines and newspapers are limited on space. This essay sold on my second try.

How long did it take you from the writing to the publication?

I believe two months.

Is it better to write the essay first and then market it, or find a market and write a targeted piece for it?

Well, that is a bit of a chicken and egg situation and I have done it both ways. Here is the deal – if you find a market you like and then write the essay for a particular publication, just remember there are no guarantees. Be prepared to change it and massage it for sale to another market if the first publication declines it. I have had a few students who don’t change the focus or slant and just try to sell the piece elsewhere and it does not work.

You speak about how your mother shaped your cooking. How does she shape your writing?

My mother always makes me think hard about any decision and its impact – both good and bad and I try to do that with my writing.. I try to find a balance.

Do you think your mother will read this essay? How do you think she might react?

I have not sent it to her yet! But I get the feeling that she would like it and shed a tear or two. She is very loving and worries about me a lot.

Unfair question, but I’ll ask anyway: if you had to choose between writing and cooking, which would it be?

Totally unfair! I couldn’t choose, I don’t think. I guess if I stopped cooking, I could go out and eat.. but if I stopped writing, I could not go on living.

Visit Monica’s website at www.monicabhide.com