One of my initial assumptions was that it was possible to determine the most common food item, ingredient or cooking method among all Indians. However, I found that khichdi is a popular ingredient in many Indian food styles. It is prepared in various ways by different groups. Khichri Dawud Khani (of Rampuri cuisine) uses meat and eggs and spinach while Khichri-i Gujarati uses garlic, onion and cinnamon and other spices but there is no meat. Khichdi originates from the Sanskrit word khicca, a dish made of lentils and rice. KT Achaya claims that this dish is known as krusaranna from the texts of the past. It's a dish that is made using yogurt, rice, and sesame seeds. Jahangir was a fan of spicy khichdi that he added raisins and pistachios. He gave it the title "lazeezan" (which refers to "delicious").

Pluralism and hybridity are central to Indian food, which makes it mirror VS Naipaul's description country as "a million mutinies'.

Another assumption was that our bodies could process all types of food and diets. However, I found that there's a clear connection between what we consume and what our forefathers consumed. I tested my own diet and discovered that eating the dishes that my parents would have consumed and following the pattern of what they ate reduced my cholesterol. Scientists have discovered that the food our bodies can absorb is tied to our genetic makeup. This seems to be quite consistent and hasn't changed for Indians since the Bronze age.

What made you decide to write a "food biography" of India?

It wasn't my intention to write a biographie of food of India. It was an experiment. I wanted to look into issues related to food, without being constrained by the boundaries of a specific field. My mind was free to roam in any direction it wanted to. Then I surveyed research conducted in other disciplines. I began thinking of Indian Food as a mosaic, in which regions, groups and religion played an important contribution.

What questions came up repeatedly when you wrote your various sections?

My approach was to start with a question such as "Does food have a spiritual meaning? Do Hindus and Muslims treat food the same way?'. I was able to uncover the theories behind doshas and humours within Ayurveda. I researched historical, anthropological and even political works to discover solutions or clarifications. I found that the concept of the concept of equilibrium in a dish as well as the equilibrium it creates in the person who eats it was brought up time and again.

A food-related book should include a section about poison. It's a fascinating addition.

Food can be a source of life , but it can also be deadly. I love reading crime novels in which Indian food murder, Indian food and poison have had an extended and productive association, especially in books by Agatha Christie, who was an expert on poisons as well as plants. When I was researching the reasons why this was so, someone told me about the novel by John Lancaster, The Debt to Pleasure (1996). The novel has a amazing, yet dangerously undependable Narrator. He's an epicure, who thinks about the seasonal menus, Normandy cuisine, and analyzes the difference between artist and murderer. He is also adept at the art and science of selecting the right mushrooms for certain not mentioned activities.

What food books do you turn to for guidance?

I love food memoirs, and I love re-reading some of my favorites, such as (Pellegrino), Artusi and Bill Buford. My most used cookbooks for recipe inspiration are the Moti Mahal Cook Book (2009 written by Monish Gujral) and recipes from Doreen Hassan, Balbir Singh, Rukmini Srinivas, and Meenakshi Ammal for Indian food. For Italian I go to Marcella Hazan, for Persian food, Najmieh Batmanglij, and for international cuisine, Delia Smith.

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