First published in 2001 The Chicken Cookbook by Sharda Pargal, published by Penguin and full of Indian chicken recipes, had eluded me until now. I was browsing through AbeBooks recently when I saw a copy for sale at a knockdown price. So I snapped it up. The cover matches exactly that of “Curry Curry Curry” by Ranjit Rai of “Tandoor: The Great Indian Barbecue” fame, which makes me wonder if there are further books in the series.
The other pre-loved book bought from Abebooks was “Cooking like Mummyji”, by Vicky Bhogal (2003), home style food from a British Sikh home with some weird concoctions straight out of tins, think tinned sardines and tuna. A picture of how those in the Sikh community ate using supermarket ingredients with an Indian twist. This book compliments others in my collection that focus on Indian home style cooking here in the U.K. “The Urban Rajah” (a great little book) and “Cooking with my Indian Mother in Law” both spring to mind.