REZA MAHAMMAD, owner of the famed Star Of India in Kensington, TV celebrity and much loved personality, talks about his father’s early struggles when he arrived as a stowaway in 1937. He and a handful of friends attempted to establish Indian cuisine in England and eventually succeeded in changing the eating habits of a nation.

In the latest of our series on food for religious festivals, Mridula Baljekar, cook, television presenter and multi-award winning author, introduces us to the Hindu festivals of Diwali, Onam and Holi.

In Part 1, Mridula talks us through the meaning and celebration of each festival, the various foods that are eaten and what they represent.

In Part 2, she shows us a selection of festival dishes in more detail and demonstrates one or two simple recipes.

Look out for her book Vegetarian Cooking of India  as well as  Great Indian Feasts for an entirely new twist on traditional festive food.

 

With his usual infectious energy and enthusiasm, Reza Mahammad tells us how a trip to Durban in South Africa inspired one of the dishes in his beautiful new book, Reza's Indian Spice: Eastern Recipes for Western Cooks.  And then he shows us how it's done! 

Here is the video and accompanying recipe

 

 

 

Reza's Indian Spice is published by Quadrille Publishing

Want more?  Watch Reza's Roots

 

 

Welcome to the revival of our blog, From the Back of the Shelf, with the first Cookbook Quote. We'd love you to send us suggestions from any forgotten or undiscovered gems gathering dust on the back of your shelves to add to what we hope will become an entertaining collection.

To kick off here is a period piece from The Complete Book of Curries by Harvey Day, published by Nicholas Kaye Ltd, 1966.  It may have originally appeared in The First Book of Curries published earlier in 1955.  It is part of the introduction to a chapter called 'Rice Dishes' and argues that rice has played a part in forming the English character... 

zee, 19th March, 2013