04 Jul 2009 - from the Canongate stand at the Unconvention

I've liked Hardeep Singh Kohli when I've seen him on the TV and had been looking out for this memoir about travelling round India cooking British food. This is a sweet and engaging ramble through his earlier years, stories of his family, and the endearing attempt to source and cook British-style ingredients in India. He visits different people, relatives or contacts, and tries to learn something about himself and his identity. Fully aware of the irony of going (back) to India to find himself, and the fact that he looks more like a Sikh in the UK than he does in India, the book is funny, self-deprecating and filled with a love of his extended family and his countries of origin. Very good stuff. ( )