Cooking With My Indian Mother-in-Law

When Simon Daley tasted his Roshan’s chicken curry for the first time, he was smitten. It was a curry like he’d never tasted before and he knew he had to have the recipe, even if that meant marrying Roshan’s daughter to get it!

This collaborative book comes from Roshan painstakingly teaching Simon all her recipes, and the friendship that blossomed. Roshan recalled all the techniques, quantities and ingredients from memory while Simon noted everything down, including Roshan’s reminiscences of each dish. This is the book’s real strength. It is not simply a collection of recipes for Indian dishes: it’s a story of a family’s culinary culture covering continents and generations. Simon describes how Roshan came to know each recipe – who taught her, when she learned it along with the details of how the dish is traditionally eaten. In this respect the book illustrates the need for a continuation of this passing-down of accumulated wisdom. It also allows the book to prove that it actually is what so many others only claim to be. Authentic.

This sizable text covers a wide range of Indian cuisine in a thorough, but always warm and encouraging, style.  The ‘Basics’ chapter covers such fundamentals as ‘The principles of a masala’ and ‘A note about cooking with chillies’ before Simon and Roshan methodically cover ‘Vegetables’, ‘Meat’, ‘Rice’, ‘Beans and lentils’ and ‘Breads’.

This would be a great tool for any kitchen, and would be particularly suitable for newcomers to Indian cooking who are unsure where to start. The great strength of this book though, is the history and culture behind the recipes which would benefit us all to read.

Simon Daley with Roshan Hirani
Hardback.
ISBN: 9781862057999
Anova Books
£20