Introduction

To my parents. My father who left a great legacy of Indian food in this country, and my mother who has inspired me with her cooking.

I was born in England to Indian parents and was sent off to boarding school in India because my parents wanted me to stay in touch with their roots. So, here I am, several decades later, a product of this educational system, speaking English with a public school accent and Hindi with an English accent.

I love food. I love Indian curries, sophisticated French preparations, Thai salads, American burgers, British Sunday roasts and Persian rice dishes. Most of all, though, I love to meld them together. I live in the west, but I couldn’t last a day without spices, so my solution is to tinker with classic western recipes to give them a taste of my beloved India. Indian food can be addictive. Eating a good curry releases endorphins, it’s good for the soul as well as the body.