The recipes in this book are a collection of both – aspirational restaurant recipes and easy to make ones, both of which capture the flavour of that country and its people. The book is divided into international regions and countries based loosely on her travels and the cookery show she hosted for Star TV. There is gastronomical history of each cuisine and boxes on special features. Mexican cuisine was born out of the Spanish invasions on an ancient Aztec Indian culture. Today Tex-Mex dishes are spread like wildfire and are the ultimate in tasty and quick party snacks. English cuisine has very little to boast abut except the traditional; dishes like Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding. “Where would England be on the culinary map if it wasn’t for the great British breakfast, tea time treats, Fish and Chips and Christmas?” “Mediterranean (Spanish, Italian, Lebanese) seems to be the buzzword the world over and pasta, now a global dish. Food of this region taste good and are healthy too. Oriental is now fast becoming less Chinese and more pan-Asian. So, there are two sections, Thai and Japanese. Thai food is today very hot on the global agenda. Signature Dishes is the most wacky section in the book. We have Sanjeev Kapoor, Indian TV Chef, Shamaik Davar, famous dancer and choreographer etc. There are also some prize-winning creations from one of the best young chefs in the country. One ex-hunk model tunes curries using no oil whatsoever. These are dishes not really following any form or function, done by people with passion.
About the Author:
Gourmet specialist Karen Anand is a woman of many attributes. She is a Food Consultant, Writer and a Businesswoman, all rolled into one. Karen was born in Bombay but grew up in London and was educated in England and Paris. A B.A.(Hons) in International Relations and French from Sussex University within which she spent one year at Ecole des Sciences Politiques in Paris and three months in Russia. She anchored the popular Food programme, The Good Food Guide, for Star Plus in 1998, which was repeated in 1999. She anchored the Food & Wine segment of the weekend show Trend Mill on CNBC in 2003. She is currently shooting a show for Star One, “Karen Anand’s Cook Na Kaho”, which is aired every Sunday at noon in India and has a global footprint. Her tryst with gourmet food is a story by itself. She trained briefly in Alain Sanderens’ three star Michelin restaurant, ‘Lucas Carton’ in Paris. From then on there was no looking back. In 1991 she ran a restaurant at The Piano Bar specialising in Salads known as ‘The Salad Bar’, the first of it’s kind in Bombay. She started the city’s first European style cheese shop and delicatessen, ‘The Grand Cheese Bazaar’, and her own brand label, Karen Anand, producing whole fruit Preserves and Marmalades, Salad Dressings and specialty Sauces, which are today supplied to major luxury Hotels and retail outlets. For ten years, she also ran one of Bombay’s most successful catering companies specialising in International cuisine, which had an enviable corporate and private clientele throughout the country. She co-authored the best seller, Penguins “Food Lovers Guide to India and Nepal”, a selective restaurant guide and wrote the introduction to the Periplus book, `The Food of India’, followed by `Lean Cuisine Curries’, published by Harper Collins in 1998 and a CD ROM, `Creative Cooking for the City Couple’ for Times Multimedia in 2001. She launched Karen Anand’s International Cooking in 2003 which has been a bestseller. Her new Book, Cook Na Kaho- Simple Cooking for Smart Men, which accompanies the TV series on Star One, will be launched in Jan 2005. As a Food Consultant, her clients include Old World Hospitality (India Habitat Centre), Domino’s Pizza, Delhi; Khyber Restaurant, Bombay; Radisson, Jet Airways, Hindustan Levers, Marico, The Hyatt and The Park hotels.
