Blends memoir and history to explore the role of Punjabi food in fostering community and identity among South Asian refugees and immigrants.

Safar: Finding Home, History, and Culture through Punjabi Food in the American West is the journey of South Asian refugees, immigrants and their children-in particular, Sikhs, Jats and Muslims-who moved to the southwestern states of America over centuries as farmers, truck drivers, restaurant owners and dhaba/diner stall cooks. An expedition in search of the asli or real Punjabi food, Madhushree Ghosh explores how their food traveled from British India pre-partition (1947) to now, covering the different waves of Punjabi immigration to the southwest through the years as a result of war, fear, deprivation or for a better future.

Interwoven in Safar is Ghosh's own immigrant journey as a graduate student to America in 1993, her quest to find home through the food her Bengali refugee parents made which then translated to a physical journey she embarked on to visit the different Punjabi communities in California, Arizona and New Mexico. The book is divided into parts, focusing on four Punjabi women, each a part of a different wave of South Asian immigrants to the American West, and the food and recipes they brought with them that connect them to their pasts. Safar shares stories of displacement, discrimination, community, and hope. Ghosh explores the universal question of immigrant journeys and the true meaning of home, of comfort food, and what constitutes a 'true Punjabi' meal. Featuring essential Punjabi recipes, this is a poignant reflection on what it means to find home and identity through food and culture as an immigrant to United States.