Curry changed & evolved according to the tastes of the various invaders of India. The Mughals brought with them the rice dishes of Persia; the Portuguese introduced the chilli peppers recently discovered by Christopher Columbus in the New World; & the Mrs Beetons & Eliza Actons of the British Raj added jam, carrots & apples to their curry recipes. The Raj also ensured that curry came the other way, from India to Britain
- & today the British consume no less than 18 tonnes a year of their favourite chicken tikka masala, a dish which purists claim is not Indian at all, but meat in gravy whipped up with a few spices (and sometimes a can of tomato soup!).
Almost every Indian dish is a fusion of different food traditions. This book, which tells the story of such dishes, & the people who invented, discovered, cooked & ate them, is vivid, entertaining
- & delicious