Madhur Jaffrey has been queen of my kitchen for so long now her books are falling apart. Yet I’m so loyal to her, I am oddly resistant to other Indian food writers invading my crammed cookbook shelves.
Yet a new name has taken her place alongside the great Madhur, and she is threatening her supremacy.
Indian Kitchen is the first book by Newcastle-based Maunika Gowardhan. It is endorsed by Yottam Ottolenghi, no less, whose cover credit is effusive, and its release has Twitter, where Maunika’s huge following includes Ottolenghi and Jamie Oliver, in raptures.
Maunika, who is Mumbai-born, shares many generations of family recipes in the book, which is split into sections based on mood – Hungry, Lazy, Indulgent, and Celebratory.
It’s a fantastic book which deserves its place on the same shelf as the great Madhur, and that is the highest praise this cook can offer anyone.
Recipes taken from Indian Kitchen by Maunika Gowardhan published by Hodder & Stoughton £25
Meet Maunika
Maunika will be talking about her book at Forum Books in Corbridge on Thursday May 21 at 7pm.
Tickets £5 including wine and tasters.
Forum Books, Market Place, Corbridge, NE45 5AW tel 01434 632 931
