Floyd's India (Hardcover)

With characteristic candour Floyd admits that before accepting the commission he knew nothing about India, and told "them" so. No problem, "they" reply: rather like Hearst providing the war, they will supply the information; all he has to do is "pop on a plane and get cooking". So the two and a half months that the Floyd caravanserai spent traipsing about the subcontinent, from the deserts of Rajasthan in the north to the tropical lushness of Kerala at the southern tip, were full of the excitement of discovery, recorded here in the very lively "Letter from India" (complete with advice on hotels and imprecations against errant airlines) that opens Floyd's India.

The recipes that Floyd picked up on his travels are arranged thematically: spice masalas, the foundation of Indian cooking, rice, thali (the Indian equivalent of tapas, it seems), meat, fish, tandoori and so forth. Some are familiar--Rogan Josh and Lamb Dhansak, for example--others less so. All are good. Everything about this book is vivid, from the food to Floyd's inimitable and ebullient if occasionally world-weary manner. --Robin Davidson

Review
To enter the bestseller lists, cookery books usually need either an accompanying prime-time TV series or the authorship of a household name. This book has both. In Keith Floyd it has a writer for whom the soubriquet bon viveur might have been coined, but anyone who finds his personality too intrusive can rest assured that, in print at least, his wit and good nature are to the fore. Floyd was invited by Channel 5 to tour India observing local cuisines and cooking outdoors in front of television cameras and impromptu spectators. The first part of the book introduces the tour's itinerary, the different regions of India, background information and some personal experiences of the author. Then he moves on to the recipes themselves, which are straightforward and easy to follow, and do not require a huge number of ingredients. Many of the dishes included have familiar names: marsala, tandoori, curry, vindaloo, rogan josh, and so on, but there is also a section on sweets and drinks. The photographs with which this book is generously sprinkled are the work of Kim Sayer, who is credited as both location and stills photographer. These are beautifully atmospheric pictures of street markets, farms, landscapes and buildings, and also full-page pictures of finished dishes. They add considerably to the appeal of this book, so much so that it is tempting to believe that in some parallel universe there is a version of this book called Kim Sayer's India with a chef getting a minor credit on the title page. The excellent design also contributes to the approachability and attractiveness of the pages. Indeed, everything has been done to remove the barrier between reading and picking up a handful of spices and starting to cook. (Kirkus UK)

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