Acknowledgements

Why travel? Why leave the familiar comforts of your home and kitchen to wander the world? For us, the answer has always been obvious. we travel to discover ourselves, the world around us, and of course the whole wide world of food that awaits the curious palate. This book continues where Book 1 left off as we carry on celebrating the wonder that is Indian food.

A labour of love is never complete without deep bows of appreciation and hugs of gratitude to everyone that made it possible. So here goes:

First and foremost, thank you to the three people without whom the TV show and hence, the books would never have happened. Thank you, Milan Moudgill, Abhinandan ‘Niku’ Sekhri, and Monica Narula.

A big thank you to our parents, wives, and children for stepping up and never letting us feel a gap in our lives, a hole in our bellies or emptiness in our souls. No matter where the journey takes us we know we always have you to come home to.

To NDTV Good Times, our thanks to the ‘Food Team’, without whom the show would not happen. Some have come, some have gone and some remain but our partnership gets stronger with each year. Thank you for continuing to believe. A big thank you to Apollo is a must here for 7 years of faith and support.

The Small Screen team: Abhinandan ‘(Niku)’ Sekhri, Mallika Menon, Subodh, Shanu, Saqib—thanks for travelling the highways and sharing the love. A big thank you to the editing team—Bishu, Rizwan, Sameer and Deshraj, Jitendar, Vishal V, your toil is long and often unrecognized but never by us. We know how good you make us look 

Ajay Arya, Divakar Chopra, Karan, Vaidyanathan, and other members of the crew who manage to get the craziest shots and capture the hardest sounds while still having a great time. The evening reviews are always a blast. Thank you all for going every mile with us and then some more.

Gurveen Chadha, our editor supreme, gets a deep bow for her unremitting efforts to get the book done on time, her endless patience with hectic schedules and enviable professionalism in every interaction. Thanks in advance to the rest of the Random House team who, we are sure, will pull all plugs to make sure Highway on my Plate II is an even bigger runaway success.

Above all, we would like to thank friendship. You can face the world when someone has your back through thick and thin, through good times and bad, through seasons of plenty and lean times. A friend is a treasure that will help you go through life with a smile on your lips. A good friend will be your unflinching support, your punching bag, your supporter, your admirer, your critic, your grounding, your partner in crime, your alibi for murder...okay, you get the picture. Above all, when you hit your shin on a restaurant table and fall to the ground in pain, a friend will loom over you and laugh till he has tears in his eyes. Thank you, friend, for sharing this great love of India and all that she has to offer.