Originally from Bexhill, Sussex, Nigel Hankin came to India as a Captain in the British Army in 1945 and lived there until his death in 2007. Nigel wrote “I like to think I have read fairly widely and I have constantly badgered friends, casual acquaintances and even total strangers: Why? Why? Immensely helpful explanations have always followed, although sometimes – such is the diversity of India – one would be at variance with another: especially so with regard to food. No two cookery books or housewives seem able to agree on the details of prepared dishes. Also, as everywhere, precept and practice can be worlds apart.”