Perfect Blend: Irish-Indian-American Fusion Cooking

"How do you meld two peoples’ tastes? Harder still, how do you meld two cultures with different ways and methods of cooking? By experimenting, having fun and being creative! Growing up in England, spending my youth in New Jersey for several years, as well as coming from an Indian household… to marrying my Irish-American husband who also has Canadian and German roots. Mark and I quickly realized we had a challenge on our hands! What do we cook on a daily basis? What was fulfilling for both of us? What would satisfy both of our eclectic tastes of food?

Midwest cooking for Mark meant: turkey tacos, venison stews and potatoes…throw in a little poutin or gravy and he is golden. Indian cooking for me meant: spicy, as much veggies as possible, served with rice, roti or pasta. All in all, lots of carbs which meant it was time for a rehab of our diet, and fast!

We made a conscious effort to blend our two seemingly different cultures (as well as our classic American faves) while making it easy and quick to cook. We started documenting recipes that we both loved and ended up with a cookbook that we think caters to a variety of unique tastes. Some recipes are fast, some…are not. Some are healthy, while some….are not. However, if you love cooking and spend a little time on it, you can enjoy delicious meals that will keep you happy in your real daily lives. Cooking together really helps the time go by fast!

All the recipes can be doubled, tripled, halved, or quartered to suit your needs. We hope you enjoy our labor of love, and find some unique recipes to try. And some of those vegetarian recipes can easily be altered to include meat and vice versa. Experimenting with different cultures and cuisines is an amazing way to come up with your own unique recipes, so feel free to mix in your own cultures’ flavors or your favorite spices. We hope you customize and add some of our most loved dishes to your stash of favorite family recipes!"