KM Mathew’s latest book is a compilation of recipes from around the world and reflection on the culinary enterprise

At the time Mathew began writing, there was also BF Varughese, who was equally famous for her cookbooks on Syrian Christian recipes. But it was the practicality of Mathew’s book Kerala Cookery, which has seen several reprints, that made her a familiar name. She took the flavours of the spice coast and layered it with influences of Mapilla cuisine and learnings from a Parsi chef during her days in Mumbai. It gave her readers many classic recipes, including mutton bafath and Goan prawn curry. Her love for Tamil, Telugu and Kannadiga food also shows up in a meen kolembu and mango rasam.

Mrs KM Mathew’s Finest Recipes is the latest compilation by her family, two decades after her death. Mathew’s interest in food took her to restaurants around the world, meeting chefs and making copious notes as she went along. The book reflects that culinary enterprise. She ventures into her own version of murgh mughlai, inspired by her visits to Delhi’s Moti Mahal and Karim’s, there’s a chilli fish recipe, after her trip to Hong Kong, which fuses Indian and Chinese flavours, and a Thai pudding with jaggery syrup.

With a smorgasbord of soups and gravies, dry preparations and desserts, jams and snacks, Mrs KM Mathew’s Finest Recipes has you covered, with lip-smacking photos that do justice to the food. If one has ever tasted a dish by her, it’s hard to forget. Isn’t that proof of an excellent chef? That it lingers in your mind long after it has left your tastebuds? That it turns an oral tradition — of handing down recipes — into a treasurable guide? At the launch of Mathew’s husband’s autobiography, The Eighth Ring (2015), jurist Fali S Nariman remembered Mathew’s tender coconut souffle, which has been a family favourite for years. And in that lies her merit.