The Prestige Festival Cookbook, India Book House, India 1988

Synopsis

The Indian calendar is full of festivals. All the year round, the people's love of pageantry, celebration, good food and camaraderie is expressed through seasonal and harvest festivals, the birthdays of various gods and prophets and celebrations to commemorate the victory of good over evil.

The book contains traditional but simple recipes for the feasts prepared for the various festivals celebrated in India- Diwali, Eid, Christmas, women's festivals and many more. There are menus for regional feasts and beautiful illustrations throughout' making this a real collector's book.

My Memories of this Book

I co-authored this book and Exotic Curries of the Orient with my mother when I had moved to London and she was living in Bombay. Those were the days of snail-mail and I remember putting batches of recipes in the post in London, hoping that they would reach Bombay in time for the deadline. The Festival book actually describes most Indian festivals and gives simple, traditional recipes of the feasts that are prepared. You can imagine how popular it is in India, especially with young people living away from home!