dinner rolls
These bread rolls, pão, come from the Portuguese influence on Indian cuisine. They are very similar to Western bread rolls, but have a subtle Indian twist.
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tomato soup
Warm up a winter evening with a bowl of freshly made tamatar ka shorba, a spicy and flavoursome tomato soup from the Mughal cuisine.
black pepper
Black pepper is probably the world's most used spice. It's use in Indian cooking is over 4,000 years old.
cardamom coffee
Sweet, brutally strong, milky and a spicy undertone, kaapi is not like anything you can get from Starbucks or the like.
roast chicken
This whole roast chicken, murgh musallam, is very popular in the north and north-eastern parts of India. Another great example of Mughal cuisine, it is mildly spiced, with a thick and rich sauce based on yoghurt and tomato.
the old cookbooks
It isn't just her notes to which I owe a debt. She also had what are now old cookbooks that she heavily annotated.
Lizzie Collingham
This is the book that, for me, best describes the history and influences that shaped the cuisine in this cookbook. Lizzie Collingham takes us on a journey through the past explaining a lot of the why of this cuisine.
Pushpesh Pant
Pushpesh Pant has taken a very scholarly approach to write probably the most definitive book on Indian cuisine.
Anjum Anand
Anjum Anand's approach to modern Indian cuisine has influenced many of the recipes in this book. If the recipe looks healthy, modern and light, it is often her influence.
Sanjeev Kapoor
Sanjeev Kapoor is the host of the longest running, most popular food show on the planet. His influence gave me understanding of the traditional approach to cooking some of the dishes, rather than the sometimes idiosyncratic approach of my grandmother.
coconut chutney
Getti chutni is a simple versatile chutney to go with most South Indian foods. It is most commonly served with idli, vada or dosa.
egg chaat
Take some boiled eggs, onion, tomato and a few spices and you have egg chaat, or anda chaat, another great street food from Delhi.