OP: Indian Cookery

Arco Publishers Limited, London, 1953. Hardcover. Near Fine in Very Good Jacket.

Edward Palmer (b. 1861), an Anglo-Indian sent from his home in Hyderabad to England in pursuit of a medical degree, found himself, instead of studying, “watching bakers at work, staring into shops where sausages and onions were being cooked, and often wishing that [he] could fry fish and chips in the fish shops.” 

Adopting his grandmother’s surname, Veerasawmy, he leveraged his interest in and knowledge of Indian cuisine into a food product company. In 1915, Palmer published Indian Cookery to make familiar dishes accessible to westerners—and to subtly promote his own spice wares. 

This 1958 printing, at 230 pages, is not at all sparse with recipes, offering a variety of options in each category (dahls, kormas, kebabs, pillaus and birianis, and sambals, to name a few). Occasional contextual notes reinforce the notion that this is a knowledgeable author with an understanding of the regional and technical nuances of Indian cookery. 

In 1926, Palmer went on to open what is now the oldest operating Indian restaurant in London, Veeraswamy (note the spelling change—the result of a menu printer’s error in 1934), which now holds a Michelin star. An impressive legacy.

Our copy is in Near Fine condition with a Very Good jacket, minimally shelfworn, and it was acquired from the personal collection of store founder Nach Waxman.