Tarla Dalal (3 June 1936 – 6 November 2013) was an Indian

food writer Food writing is a genre of writing that focuses on food and includes works by food critics, food journalists, chefs and food historians. Definition Food writers regard food as a substance and a cultural phenomenon. John T. Edge, an American food ...

, chef,

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

author and host of

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a studio set, or at the host's personal home. Ty ...

s. Her first cook book, ''The Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking'', was published in 1974. Since then, she wrote over 100 books and sold more than 10million copies. She also ran the largest Indian food web site, and published a bi-monthly magazine, ''Cooking & More''. Her cooking shows included ''The Tarla Dalal Show'' and ''Cook It Up With Tarla Dalal''. Her recipes were published in about 25 magazines and tried in an estimated 120million Indian homes. Though she wrote about many cuisines and healthy cooking, she specialized in

Indian cuisine Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, he ...

, particularly

Gujarati cuisine Gujarati cuisine is the cuisine of the Indian state of Gujarat. The typical '' Gujarati thali'' consists of '' rotli'', '' dal'' or ''curry'', rice, and ''shaak'' (a dish made up of several different combinations of vegetables and spices, which m ...

. She was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

in 2007, which made her the only Indian from the field of cooking to have been conferred the title. She was also awarded ''Women of the Year'' by

Indian Merchants' Chamber Indian Merchants' Chamber, established on 7 September 1907 in Mumbai, is an organization of India, representing interests of Indian trade, commerce, and industry. It was organized originally during the days of the British Raj to promote trade, co ...

in 2005. She died on 6 November 2013 following a heart attack.Mid-Day
Celebrity Chef Tarla Dalal passes away
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Early life

She was born and brought up in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

, Maharashtra, India. In 1960, she married Nalin Dalal and relocated to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

(now

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

).Food Dalal : Tarla Dalal
Harmony Magazine, December 2005

Career

Dalal started conducting cooking classes from her home in 1966, which led to the publication of her first cook book, ''The Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking'' in 1974. The book has sold over 1.5 million copies. Over time, her popularity grew and she became a household name, with housewives and chefs swearing by her recipes. Tarla Dalal is credited with introducing and popularizing foreign cuisines to the masses. She created vegetarian versions of a lot of non-vegetarian recipes from foreign lands. She revolutionized the cooking industry in India and is the most sold cookbook author in India. Her books have been translated into numerous languages including Dutch, Russian, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Bengali. She also published cooking magazines. In 2007, she started her 'Total Health Series' cookbook series. Her range of ready-to-cook mixes, Tarla Dalal Mixes, was acquired by International Bestfoods Ltd. in 2000. During the 2005 JAINA Convention in

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USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, she conducted cooking demonstrations together with Dr. Manoj Jain. Dalal died at her residence on 6 November 2013 following a heart attack.

Personal life

Tarla Dalal had three children Sanjay, Deepak and Renu with her husband, Nalin, who died in 2005. She lived in an apartment on Napean Sea Road in

South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Anglo-Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahim and Sion neighbour ...

Works

*
The Complete Gujarati Cook Book
'. Sanjay & Co, 1999. . * ''Know your Flours''. Sanjay & Co. . * ''Italian Cookbook''. Sanjay & Co, 2000. . *''Healthy Breakfast''. Sanjay & Co, 2003. . * ''Sandwiches''. Sanjay & Co, 2004. . * ''Curries & Kadhis''. Sanjay & Co, 2005. . * ''Chips & Dips''. Tarla Dalal, 2006. . * ''Baked Dishes''. Tarla Dalal, 2006. . * ''Punjabi Khana''. Sanjay & Co, 2007. . * ''Delicious Diabetic Recipes: Low Calorie Cooking: Total Health Series''. Sanjay & Co, 2002. . * ''Jain Food: Compassionate and Healthy eating'', with Manoj Jain and Laxmi Jain, MJain.net, 2005.

References

External links