A product of Britain's long political and commercial involvement in India, Anglo-Indian cuisine has since become firmly embedded in British culinary life: curries, kedgeree and chutneys have taken their place on the nation's tables. These two fascinating texts on Anglo-Indian cookery were written for the instruction of the wives of returning expatriates. Sandford Arnot's collection of recipes, which he translated from Persian and Hindustani, was first published in 1831. Arnot (fl.1840) was, at the time, working at the London Oriental Institution, a college established in 1805 to teach Indian languages to civil servants. Henrietta Hervey (1850-1932) first published Anglo-Indian Cookery at Home in 1895, which distils her knowledge of the subject gained through twenty-three years spent living in India as the wife of a colonial officer. It is full of practical advice - from methods of preparation to the utensils required - as well as an array of colourful recipes.
