The Bangala Table - Flavors and Recipes from Chettinad is a real feast for the senses. This beautiful volume, consisting of a must-have collection of 150 vegetarian and non-vegetarian recipes and sumptuous photographs, is a necessary addition to the discerning home chef's library and a pleasure to behold. Try your hand at the subtle traditions of South Indian Chettinad cuisine and nostalgic 'butler' cuisine, learn, experiment with the help of this visually stunning book. The Bangala Table is based on recipes from The Bangala, a boutique luxury hotel in the heart of Chettinad, South India, and a favorite culinary destination for chefs and gourmands from across the world. You'll find classic treats such as Chettinad Mutton Fry, Chettinad Chicken Pepper Masala and Quail 65; Crab Rasam to Anglo-Indian Mutton Cutlets; a Chettiar version of the vegetarian Tamil staple Vatha Kozhambu to Brussels Sprouts Masala Poriyal; Pineapple Curry to Prawn Biryani; as well as the Chettiar vegetarian specialty Mandis to more familiar Pachadis; and the list goes on. The Bangala Table is a painstakingly compiled volume that celebrates the rich culture, history, and the incomparable flavors of Chettinad cuisine. Having spent several of my formative years in South India, I do have a fair understanding of Chettinad cuisine but nothing prepared me for the feast of the senses that awaited us. Every meal was like discovering another layer of this amazing cuisine and culture… As a fellow Indian, I feel very proud to be associated with The Bangala and this book, which captures the spirit of this ancient land and its ethnic gastronomy perfectly. A big thank you to The Bangala team for doing what they are doing and sharing it so generously with the world at large. -- Alfred Prasad Michelin-Starred Director of Cuisine and Executive Chef, Tamarind Collection, London The Bangala Table, An Iconic Tome Rating - 5 stars The Bangala Table is a book you will buy because you love your food, a book you will strive to acquire because you like books, a book you will feel pleasure when seeing it rest on your bookshelf because you now own a small, but significant slice of the chronicles of Indian culinary history. -- Sid Khullar Editor in Chief, ChefAtLarge.in As a cook it was a joy for me to be able to watch and learn the secrets of some of the distinctive masalas: black pepper chicken, tamarind crab curry, king prawns flavored with spring onions…and so much more from the local chefs and cooks. When I try to reproduce these memorable dishes at home the flavors remind me of my delicious interlude at The Bangala - so I long to return to taste the authentic flavors of Chettinad. -- Darina Allen Balllymaloe Cookery School, Ireland The Bangala Table, An Iconic Tome Rating - 5 stars The Bangala Table is a book you will buy because you love your food, a book you will strive to acquire because you like books, a book you will feel pleasure when seeing it rest on your bookshelf because you now own a small, but significant slice of the chronicles of Indian culinary history. -- SID KHULLAR Editor in Chief, ChefAtLarge.in As a cook it was a joy for me to be able to watch and learn the secrets of some of the distinctive masalas: black pepper chicken, tamarind crab curry, king prawns flavored with spring onions…and so much more from the local chefs and cooks. When I try to reproduce these memorable dishes at home the flavors remind me of my delicious interlude at The Bangala - so I long to return to taste the authentic flavors of Chettinad. -- DARINA ALLEN Balllymaloe Cookery School, Ireland Sumeet Nair Sumeet Nair, an Economics graduate from Stanford University, has worked in the fashion industry for 20 years. Living on a small farm with his wife and two children, growing organic produce and providing a home to rescued animals, he is an ardent supporter and proponent of artisanal food methods and the preservation of diverse culinary traditions. He has recorded and adapted each of the 150 recipes in this book to fit the needs of the modern-day home cook. A passionate experimental home cook who sources ingredients obsessively and cooks everything from scratch, from traditional hand-ground masalas to rolling out his own fresh pasta, he is a self-taught gourmand. Meenakshi Meyyappan Meenakshi Meyyappan was born in Bangalore but moved with her family when very young to Colombo in colonial Ceylon. With the outbreak of World War II, she returned to India and continued her education in Bangalore and in Yercaud, going on to graduate from Queen Mary s College, Madras. The daughter of a hospitable family, whose table was renowned for its superb Chettinad fare, Meenakshi married into the MSMM family, which was equally renowned for its food. She then lived between Madras, Karaikudi and Malaysia. When The MSMM family opened The Bangala as Chettinad s first heritage hotel , it gave her the natural opportunity to hone and showcase her flair for hosp