The Sunday Haul (on 28-05-2017)

Overnight the weather changed in Hyderabad last week from being oppressively hot to pleasantly cool. A heavy downpour on Saturday night brought in pleasant weather on Sunday with clouds shutting out the sun. For the first time this summer I felt it not necessary to wear a cap while browsing at Abids. The pleasant Sunday morning was topped with a good haul for me that consisted of just one book but it was a mouth-watering title.

Camellia Panjabi is a familiar name in the culinary world. Though I have a fair idea about some of the good and well known culinary classics I had no idea that Camellia Panjabi authored a cookbook. The Sunday before I had spotted ’50 Great Curries of India’ by Camellia Panjabi at one of the sellers who occupies the pavement in the Hollywood shoes lane at Abids. It was a large, hard cover volume by Rupa publishers with a beautiful cover and even more beautiful pictures of mouth-watering dishes inside. I was sorely tempted to buy it right away but the price written in pencil in one of the inside pages deterred me. I put it back without even bargaining with the seller thinking I’d buy it the next Sunday.

Last Sunday however I decided to buy it after I found it after a brief but frantic search for it. I turned out to the first buyer so the seller was eager to make his first sale. I took advantage of the sentiment of the sellers about not turning away the first sale and asked for a pretty low price. I knew it was a bit unfair to take such an advantage. However, in the end I got it for a price that we both were happy with.

’50 Great Curries of India’ is aimed mainly at the British who are fascinated with Indian curries. It was worth a lot more than what I paid for the book because it had a wonderful introduction by Camellia Panjabi along with recipes for fifty mouth-watering dishes. While flipping through the pages I was stumped by a dish that was from my state. It was a chicken dish the recipe for which was given to the author by the wife of a former Chief Minister of the State when it was a combined State. Incidentally, the Institute where I am posted now happens to be named after him