In this book, I bring to you some family recipes made and perfected over three decades by my mother and aunt. This is a collection of snacks, preserves (loosely used to include pickles and accompaniments) and sweets.

My mother, Mrs. Renu Rajesh and aunt Mrs. Kshama Chandra were the first generation of women in their family to have graduated from high school. They learned and evolved these recipes over time when there was not much information or classes available in Patna, the city where they spent some years of their youth together.

Over the years, they traveled around the country and lived in different towns, picking and curating recipes from friends and neighbors, tweaking and innovating them over time.

Festivals and auspicious occasions being the theme of the book, I have included some exclusive recipes that my mother and aunt ritually made at home during such times. All across the country, festivals and auspicious events (like marriages, childbirth, house-warming, etc.) in families are times to indulge in exquisite dishes with our families and friends as part of sharing nature's abundant blessings.

We are presenting an assortment for the Indian version of a High Tea Table.