Masterchef kept things simple

Apart from her lip-smacking recipes,Tarla Dalal was known for her lively personality.

On Wednesday morning,the culinary world of India woke up to the news that best-selling cookbook author Tarla Dalal passed away at her Napean Sea Road residence at 7 am. Dalal,known for her easy Indian recipes,suffered a cardiac arrest. She was 77.

Dalals easy and innovative curry recipes as well as her fondness for vegetarian fare made her popular with millions of Indian housewives who swore by her books. With over 170 titles to her credit,her books have been translated into many languages including Gujarati,Marathi,Bengali,Dutch and Russian. In the 90s,Dalal found a wide following through television with cookery shows such as Tarla Dalal Show and Cook it up with Tarla Dalal. In 2007,she became the first person to be conferred the Padma Shri for her contribution to the field of food.

A proof of Dalals popularity is Namah,a Pune-based restaurant,which has designed a special menu adhering to her recipes. Dalal designed the main course menu for us and people keep coming back for her Mirch Ka Salan and Lemon cheesecake, said Pooja Shukla,general manager at Ambience Excellency that manages Namah. Dalal visited the eatery at least once in two months to update the restaurants menu with new recipes.

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Dalal was born in Pune in 1936. She moved to Mumbai in 1957 after she married Nalin Dalal,who passed away nine years ago. Dalal,who had sold more than 4 million copies of her books,started her career with cookery classes at her residence.

All of us used to read her recipe books and follow her television programmes. At that time there was hardly anyone doing what she was,and in sharing her expertise with the masses she served as an inspiration for many future cooks and chefs, Chef Manjit Gill,corporate chef at ITC Hotels and former president of the Indian Culinary Forum,said.

Dalal also inspired many young chefs. She has been a great inspiration to the younger generation and has helped improvise Indian cuisine through her writings and shows while introducing the cuisine to the international audience, said Zorawar Kalra,founder and managing director of Massive Restaurants.

Apart from her lip-smacking recipes,Dalal was known for her lively personality. Sanjeev Kapoor,TV host and celebrity chef,said,She was very positive and chirpy. After my career took off and I started writing books too,people often compared us. But Im glad I met her because when we first got introduced she hugged me with a smile.