Delhi, 1948. In the first year after independence from the British Raj, this ancient city is reeling. Hundreds of thousands of families who fled bloody religious strife are on the move — Indian Muslims to Muslim-dominated Pakistan, Hindus and Sikhs to Hindu-dominated India. Countless emigres — many of them arriving here in the capital — are suddenly homeless, without work or ways to support their families. In Darayaganj, a working-class area that straddles Old and New Delhi, a Hindu family

ONLY a handful of chefs in all the history of gastronomy might be credited with inventing a cuisine, or even a dish. One of them is alive and well in Delhi. He is Kundan Lal Gujral, the founder of Moti Mahal – one of India’s most famous restaurants and a forerunner of tandoori cuisine. Without knowing about it, chances are that you have enjoyed the results of his culinary expertise. Today thousands of restaurants in India, Pakistan, Britain, and North