Acknowledgements

Jon Croft for getting me to agree to yet another recipe book. After Spice at Home I wasn’t sure I had another cookbook left in me!

A million thanks to Meg Avent for supporting with the research and kicking off the book when I was getting cold feet.

To Emily North and Kim Musgrove who made this book their own with their enthusiasm and support in researching.

To Gillian Haslam and Amy Stephenson for painstakingly scouring through the recipes, challenging, suggesting amendments by editing and testing... The book is much better for it.

Jodi Hinds, you are possibly the easiest photographer I have worked with so far, on what was a challenging book to photograph! Thank you.

James Mossman – every recipe needs to be cooked at least once by someone who hasn’t cooked it before, so thank you for cooking every dish once and for all your suggestions.

Rakesh Ravindran Nair for his incredible support with photography and sharing his childhood stories and recipes of Onam, thank you.

Ramachandran Raju of The Cinnamon Kitchen for his contribution to the Pongal chapter.

Sankar Chandrasekaran, Surendra Nathawat, Narendra Yadav and Santosh Shah at The Cinnamon Club for all their assistance with the photography and for our lunches, thank you all.

To a long-time friend Parizad Mody Katyal for her enthusiasm, support and terrific insight into Navroze. I can’t thank you enough for the several telephone calls and Skype chats we had and your enthusiasm whilst sharing the story of the festival. I hope you love the book as much as I do.

To my sister Vineeta, who I requested to research Eid al-Adha for me, only because she said she had taken up learning Urdu, and of course as she lives a five minute walk away from the Nizamuddin mosque where devotees from all religions throng to celebrate the life and lessons from the Sufi mystic Hazrat Nizamuddin.

Firdaus Takolia, who has been a terrific assistant from the very beginning and at every stage of writing this book. Firdaus has also been kind enough to contribute her family’s recipe for Khajoor Biscuit and share her childhood stories of Eid. I’m not wrong in feeling that Indian Festival Feasts is as much her book as it’s mine.

To Maya, Eshaan and Archana who to me make every day a celebration and every meal a feast.