Many have compared bringing a book from inception to publication to the birthing process, and I for one cannot agree more. True, I may not know much about “birthin’ babies,” but I sure do know a thing or two about the conceiving, nurturing, evolution, and the ultimate publication of a cookbook—but nobody warned me this one would be a horse. And yes, after all the huffing and puffing, when it was finished, I fell in love with this gargantuan “baby,” full of well-balanced and saucy glow.
My partner, Terry Erickson, sowed the idea for a curry book, “a big one,” he said, “nothing like any before.” Easy for him to say! So off I went and called my friend and literary agent extraordinaire, tenacious Jane Dystel, who said, “Raghavan, I think you are ready for a big book.” I blurted out “How about 1,001 Curries?” without even thinking, and she said, “I love it.” The next few months, and with Jane’s help, I slaved over a proposal (this is where I bid adieu to my ego). Once satisfied, off she went, saying, “Workman Publishing is the ideal match for you.” She garnered the interest of a wise editor at Workman, Suzanne Rafer, who—along with Peter Workman’s support—immediately said, “Yes” (or at least I’d like to think so). Jane called and said, “You better get to work, kid, ‘cause they want, well, maybe not 1,001 curries, but between 600 and 800.” Shaking with excitement, complete with morning nausea, I felt the curry seed planted in me, germinating and hungering for saucy recipes from the Indian subcontinent.
