I never thought that I will write a cookery book. While studying for my graduation in Scottish Church College I had thought of becoming a lecturer or scholar after completing masters, but fate took a different turn and I got married in a conservative joint family and my dreams took a backseat. I wasn't a good cook before my marriage. I knew how to make sweets, which I learned from my mother. I owe all my culinary skills to my mother-in-law who would do all the household cooking. We often had guests visiting us at my in-law s, and the responsibility of the kitchen fell on my mother-in-law, with me as her assistant.

Few years later when I shifted Delhi with my husband and son, I was surprised to find that our friends from different communities there liked Bengali cuisine, especially vegetarian dishes and Bengali sweets. They would often request me to write down the recipes for them to try at home, since there wasn't many Bengali restaurants.

During my visits to my son and daughter-in-law in Singapore, I found that Bengali cuisine is popular here too, especially Bengali vegetarian dishes which is cooked without onion and garlic. I would often get requests from the friends of my son and daughter-in-law. I didn't even realize when my habit had transformed into a passion. However, writing the recipes down never occurred to me. It was only when my family encouraged me to write a book that I thought of it. Without them, this would not have been possible. They inspired me to pen down.

I decided to write Thamma's Recipes so that people all over can know and enjoy Bengali cooking. It is also a sublime way of keeping my legacy so that even when I am no longer here, my family can remember me through this book.

**Contents and Sample Pages**