Right from the chicken curry served in a food truck in a bustling New York city street, to the jhalmuri served at Eat. St in King's Cross in London, Indian food today has become more mainstream and less exotic than it used to be. Everyone seems to like a taste of something Indian, a deep-fried samosa or a scoop of biryani, but they're often a little intimidated by what they believe it entails - long hours of slaving in front of the stove and a gazillion spices to pepper everything with. And yes, volumes of text have been devoted to busting those myths. Every second Indian cookbook begins with the word curry, or Tandoori and goes on to show you a world beyond those on the Indian culinary map. So why are we taking it upon ourselves to write yet another Indian cookbook, and how will it benefit you? We didn't really have a plan to begin with, no months of planning or strategizing leading up to this project. Rather, the book found us. Let us explain: we've lived outside India for years and on many an occasion, in small towns with no Indian grocer in sight for miles. Consequently, we've had to run our kitchens on a limited supply of out-and-out Indian ingredients. But that didn't deter us - we simply reached out into the deep pockets of our local Supermarket, and made the best of what we had access to. And armed with what we learnt in the shadows of our mothers and owing in some part to our own innate instincts, we continue to feed our families the simple, homely meals that we grew up on. That is what this book is all about, and it's virtually an extension of us and our kitchens.
