Dastarkhwan-e-Awadh (1997)

The Lucknow end of northern cooking, where the point is patience rather than heat. Sangeeta Bhatnagar and R.K. Saxena, then head of Lucknow's Institute of Hotel Management, collected the recipes of Awadh's stately kitchens, with the anecdotes kept by descendants of the nawabs, talukdars and their cooks, and the slow-fire spice blending the region is known for. This is the courtly side of the region rather than everyday home food, so save it for a weekend. First published by HarperCollins in 1997, it has since gone through further editions.