Lizzie Collingham, a Cambridge-trained historian, is a free-lance scholar and writer. She is the author of Imperial Bodies: The Physical Experience of the Raj.

"Part world map, part menu, this book is entirely delicious."--Time Magazine "Cooks should relish Curry."--USA Today "A lively study of Indian cooking from the Mogul Empire of the 1600s to Utsav in 21st-century Manhattan, one of the 'new breed' of Indian restaurants. It's a long but tasty journey, made easily digestible by Collingham."--Alison McCullough, New York Times Book Review "Fascinating.... Collingham skillfully weaves her way through the complex cultural transactions that yielded a specialized Anglo-Indian cuisine based, in large part, on mutual misunderstanding.... One of her goals, in tracing the evolution of curry and the global spread of Indian cuisine, is to pull the rug out from under the idea that India, or any other nation, ever had a cuisine that was not constantly in the process of assimilation and revision. The very dishes, flavors and food practices that we think of as timelessly, quintessentially Indian turn out to be, as often as not, foreign imports or newfangled inventions. That includes chili peppers and tea."--William Grimes, The New York Times "Her research and personal ruminations take the reader on an intriguing, colorful journey, dispelling any notion that curry as we know it is fixed, immutable or, for that matter, completely Indian.... She convincingly demonstrates that the foods of a country or region are inextricably linked to the historical, cultural and economic forces that shaped it and the people who ruled it."--Judith Weinraub, Washington Post Book World "Collingham tells the story of how the culinary habits of conquerors and conquered got jumbled up in India with great flair, drawing on historical records and locallore to color her tale."--Time Magazine, Asia "This delightful book is liberally sprinkled with colorful historical facts and anecdotes, adding spice to the fascinating story of one of India's signature gifts to the world."--Seattle Times "Collingham is a diligent researcher with an eye to a compelling or amusing detail or quotation. Her book is therefore packed with information, and perhaps best read in small portions, so each can be savored.... Her recipes are alluring. They come at the end of the chapters, and the history therein makes them all the more enticing. They are adapted to Western kitchens, so this is a book that serious cooks will enjoy, as will anyone interested in the many regions with their varied climates, histories and cultures that make up modern India."--Claire Hopley, Washington Times "Scholarly, accessable and above all utterly original, Curry is one of the hottest and most mouth-watering books of non-fiction about India to appear for many years. Lizzie Collingham has shown herself to be a major new talent in the field."--William Dalrymple, author of White Mughals "An interesting story that's 5 parts history, 1 part culinary, and wholly entertaining to read.... Collingham couples excellent story telling with exhaustive research. The result is a historical perspective on Indian fare that is as mouth watering as it is informative."--DCist.com "Like a fragrant biryani studded with bits of sweet and savory relishes, every page of this history of Indian cuisine offers some revelation about the origins of Indian food and its spread to the West."--Booklist "Collingham's mixed approach is a delight: it's not every cookbook that incorporates anexhaustive (indeed, footnoted) culinary history, and few works of regional history lovingly explain how to make a delicious Lamb Korma. Collingham's account is generous, embracing complexity to create a richer exploration of the 'exotic casserole' that conquered the world."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Curry should be handed round with the poppadoms. A mouth-watering book, exhaustively researched, rich in anecdote and sprinkled with recipes both sumptuous (three pages on how to prepare chicken biriyani) and less so (twelfth-century instructions for roasting black ra

Richly spiced with colorful anecdotes and curious historical facts, and attractively designed with 34 illustrations, five maps, and numerous recipes, this is a delectable history of Indian cuisine.