Indian Takeaway [Paperback]

Hardeep Kohli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 2009

As a boy, Hardeep Singh Kohli knew where home was: Glasgow. But everyone else always assumed he was Indian. Because surely he couldn't be British, with his brown skin and turban? Thirty years later, Hardeep sets out on a journey to discover where he is really from. His story is as hilarious as it is moving.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'How deep is Hardeep's love of food? As deep as Loch Ness and as unfathomable as India. Indian Takeaway is a very funny and beguiling journey.' Paul Whitehouse

About the Author

Hardeep Singh Kohli was born in Glasgow in 1969. BAFTA-winning broadcaster, he was writer of the Channel 4 hit Meet the Magoons, a presenter of Radio 4's Saturday Live, Midweek and The Food Programme as well as contributor to numerous radio programmes such as Radio 4's Front Row and Radio 3's Nightwaves, and a movie reviewer on BBC Radio 5 Live. His weekly column, 'Hardeep is your love?', appears in Scotland on Sunday. Hardeep is often found clad in turban and kilt as panelist and presenter of Newsnight Review, and has appeared on Question Time. He is currently presenting on the BBC hit programme The One Show. He was also a runner-up on Celebrity Masterchef. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd (July 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847671438
• ISBN-13: 978-1847671431
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,734,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for me, January 7, 2012

By 

Jeffrey D. Kenyon (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Indian Takeaway (Paperback)

Abandoned after first few chapters. For me, he simply wasn't succeeding on any level. Not as memoir, not as travelogue, not as food journey. And I found the book's "hook" of going to India to cook British food for Indians to be completely pointless...confirmed after the first time he cooked for a restaurant staff at a five-star resort. It might have been a great story, but the telling was so dull and lackluster--as if even he couldn't see the point--that it made me give up on him as someone I wanted to follow on a journey.

I think others may feel as I do...as I write this, used copies are down around $0.26, so people aren't hanging on to this book after they read it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and superbly written. A must read., February 26, 2011

By 

Finding Heroes - See all my reviews

This review is from: Indian Takeaway (Paperback)

I'm a foodie with a fascination with Indian food, going so far as two Indian cooking classes, and regular attempts to make my own roti and dal. I've also got a soft spot for the author, Hardeep Singh Kohli, so my review is likely to be slightly biased.

I first encountered Kohli via the UK Celebrity MasterChef TV series. A quietly-spoken, colourful man with a wicked self-deprecating humour, which comes across so well in this book.

A Glaswegian Indian Sikh who feels he doesn't quite belong, goes searching for his identity in India, cooking (with various degrees of success) quintessential British food for those he meets.

"But suddenly I am meek, compromising, and irresolute. I can't cook a plate of stovies in a five-star hotel for an internationally trained chef and his team. It would be mental. How could I possibly convey to them the myriad reasons for what is effectively a plate of carbohydrate-heavy brown sludge that tastes of comfort? I can't do it." p. 51

Similar to Julie & Julia365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.