Mr. Singhs - Mr singhs fabulous fiery cookbook: anglo-asian fusion recipes with bite

Firstly, on behalf of my family and I, thank you so much for choosing to buy our book and for sharing our love of coming together through food.

We are Mr. Singhs and there are 7 of us: Hardev (Poppa Singh, AKA Pops), Kamal (mum) and us, the children. My brother Rav (with the tattoos), his wife Sonia (with the big smile), their gorgeous son Neev, Sukhi (the handsome young gun), my wife Amar (with the pretty eyes) and finally me, Kuldip Singh Sahota (tall, dark and handsome joking!). I will be your guide throughout this book and will introduce you to everyone.

A few years ago, we started making Mr. Singhs Hot Punjabi Chilli Sauce in our garden shed and over time we have been fortunate enough for the business to grow so that our sauce is now available in supermarkets nationwide, we export our products internationally, and have appeared all over the press and been featured on TV. The last few years have been a blur of activity and it still feels like our journey has only just begun.

Both of my parents have four brothers and a sister each. Yes, each! And each of their siblings had two to three children each. This means that my brothers and I were fortunate enough to grow up with over 24 riotous first cousins, three sets of grandparents and 18 uncles and aunts.

When you start totting up the numbers, you can imagine how much work went into the family popping over for lunch in our familys small East London terrace. Food has always played a large part in shaping our family. Recipes are passed down through the generations and we have always come together to celebrate and share good times over food (and a drink or two!).

This abundance of love, personality, energy and creativity gave us the opportunity to grow up enjoying the amazing food of our heritage, as well as spicy twists on traditional British food multiple bags of fish and chips were given a Punjabi twist because Grandma found the chips bland, and Popa Singhs Kenyan Kebabs were slathered in tomato ketchup and enjoyed between two slices of stodgy bread by us children.

Rav and I muching our way through Mums homemade lunch on a long family roadtrip through Kenya.

No helmet?! Pops throws caution to the wind astride a scooter in India.

Today, us kids (as we describe ourselves) have grown up and are either married or in relationships and are starting to have children of our own. As our family grows, so does our love of enjoying food together. At any opportunity we will come together to eat, drink and be merry.

Contained in this book, you will find a selection of recipes we were raised with and feel privileged to share. You will find seven distinct personalities in our family and its food, which is reflected in the range of dishes for you to enjoy.

Some of them are simple with European origins (what my generation has grown up with), others may have Kenyan influences (where my parents and grandparents were born) and finally there are more traditional Punjabi (North West India) dishes as this is where our ancestors are from.

Ultimately, my family and I would love for you to bring together your friends, family and loved ones to enjoy the food which gives us so much joy.

If you are ever in East London, please do call by and come over for a cup of , you will always be welcome. Thank you once again for choosing this book and I really hope it gives you as much joy to read as it has given us to write.

With kindest regards,

Kuldip Singh Sahota

Some very dapper gents enjoying a beer at a family gathering in the 1970s. Second from left is Mums brother, third from left and first from right are both Pops brothers.

Chilli peppers have been a part of the human diet for more than 6,000 years, originating in and around what is modern-day Mexico.

History tells us that a Diego Alvarez Chanca, a physician aboard Christopher Columbus second voyage to the West Indies in 1493, brought the first chilli peppers to Spain and first wrote about their medicinal effects in 1494. From here, the spread of chilli peppers to Asia was most likely via its introduction to Portuguese traders who promoted its commerce in the Asian spice trade routes, which were then dominated by Portuguese and Arab traders. From here, the spread into Africa, Europe, India and the Far East would have been quite rapid, with each region growing their own varieties.

Today, some of the finest (and hottest) chillies in the world are grown in Britain by farmers with a passion for the fiery fruit! Peoples thirst for more and more heat has increased as they get used to a certain level of chilli and then want more.

The heat of chilli is measured using a method known as the Scoville Scale.

Created by a scientist named Wilbur Scoville, who sported a rather fetching moustache, it is the worlds unofficial chilli heat rating system. Opposite is a chart describing different chillies and their heat levels: