BOOKS: Making It Easy

Karen Anand says her new culinary memoir is a response to the fast, hectic pace of our lives

- Shikha Kumar

MASALA MEMSAHIB: Recipes and Stories from My Culinary Adventures in India by Karen Anand PAN MACMILLAN ₹1,999; 240 pages

HOW OFTEN DO WE DWELL on the origins of the food on our plate? For instance, chingri malai kari, which literally translates to 'prawns in a creamy curry, gives one an impression that the prawns are cooked in a creamy, milk derived concoction. In Karen Anand's Masala Memsahib, the dish features in her section on West Bengal, yes, but here she writes that word 'malai' refers to Malay (Malaysia) from where the recipe supposedly drew its inspiration. She also writes about how Mulligatawny, the famous peppery soup from Tamil Nadu, traces its origins to the colonial era, from a time when Englishmen were beginning to warm up to Indian spices in their food. Mulligatawny, we learn, was also served at one of the banquets at Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.