Author(s): Madhur Jaffrey

New Hardbacks

Madhur Jaffrey was born in a sprawling house by the Yamuna River in Delhi. The family priest declared she should be called 'Indrana' ('Queen of the Heavens') but her father ignored him completely and proclaimed her name should be Madhur ('sweet as honey'). Her description of growing up a in a very large, wealthy family (half a train was booked to transport the family from Delhi to the mountains for the summer) conjures up the spirit of a long lost age. Whether climbing the mango trees in her grandparents' orchard, armed with a mixture of salt, pepper, red chillies and roasted cumin, or enjoying picnics in the foothills of the Himalayas, reached by foot, rickshaw, palanquin or horse, where meatballs stuffed with sultanas and mint leaves, cauliflowers flavoured with ginger and coriander, and spiced poorls with hot green mango pickle were devoured, food forms a major leltmotiv of this beautifully written memoir. With recipes drawn from memories of dinners, lunches, breakfasts, weddings and picnics, moving effortlessly from the lamb meatballs of Moghul emperors to the tamarind chutneys of the streets, this book will appeal to keen armchair cooks, as well as fans of Madhur the world over.