While Hyderabadi cuisine with its distinctive Mughlai flavour is famous around the world, food from the other parts of Andhra, one of India’s largest and culturally most diverse states, remains relatively unknown. In this addition to the Penguin series on Indian food and customs, the author brings together for the first time the different tastes of Andhra cooking from the humble idli-sambar to spicy seafood delicacies. Along with the recipes she recounts the traditions and rituals associated with food, such as the right order in which to serve the dishes, a typical menu for an occasion such as Ugadi, and the sweets indigent on certain auspicious days. From the dishes traditionally prescribed for pregnant women, to the festivities surrounding birth and marriage, Bilkees I. Latif describes with knowledge and flair the cuisine and customs of her state.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bilkees I Latif
Bilkees I. Latif, daughter of the late Nawab ali Yavar Jung, belongs to a family that has long been known in Hyderabad for the excellence of its table and cuisine. Her French mother, Alys Iffrig’s family owned hotels in Paris and Mulhouse in France and from a very young age, Bilkees became interested in the art of gourmet cooking. She did a year’s study of Hyderabadi cuisine as well as a year of Western cuisine and successfully passed the Good Housekeeping exams. She later specialized in fine art, miniature painting and design in the US. Bilkees Latif is deeply involved in the work of several committees and organizations that do active social service. She is the Founder President of the society for Human and Environmental Development and a trustee of the Indian Council of Child Welfare, among others. She has also served as the Chairperson fo the Andhra Pradesh Central Social Welfare Board. In the course of her work she has traveled extensively in Andhra and the rest of the country. Mrs. Latif is also the recipient of several prestigious awards including the National Unity Award in 1991. Bilkees I. Latif lives inHyderabad with her husband Air Chief Marshal I.H. Latif.
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