Mistress of spices regales audience

Advertisement

Amritsar, March 10

The Prabha Khaitan Foundation and Ehsaas – Women of Amritsar (a chapter of Ehsaas — Women of India) today hosted a session of ‘The Write Circle’, with author, restaurateur and TV personality Karen Anand.

In a conversation with Ruhi Wali Syal (Ehsaas Women of Jalandhar), Anand, who has redefined her love and passion for home-cooking into a path-breaking career, delighted the audience with a charming rendezvous on her exciting journey in the delectable world of gourmet cuisine. She shared stories from her food tours around the world, recipes and more that are documented in her latest book, ‘Masala Memsahib: Recipes and Stories from My Culinary Adventures in India’.

It is a fact that Amritsaris love a good food story, so Anand had a platter full for the audience who gobbled up on every anecdote excitedly. Anand began with a taste of the culinary stories behind classic and lesser-known dishes from Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra and West Bengal, which she also mentions in her book.

Born in Mumbai, Anand grew up in London and studied Political Science before her return to India in 1984. With a taste for European cuisine and unable to find a good European restaurant in Mumbai in the early 80s, she founded her first salad bar in Pune and later dabbled in cooking and culinary field before turning it into a full-time profession. She is considered as one of the pioneers in the culinary industry of India.