Whenever writer poojashah1130 traveled with her family–whether visiting the glaciers of Iceland, or sunbathing on the beaches of Bermuda–her parents always made a hearty Indian meal a priority in their itinerary. “I begged my parents to trade bowls of biryani laden with vegetables for Spanish paella, or opt for jackfruit tacos and pico de gallo instead of crispy pakoras,” she said. “There was Indian food back at home—why did we need to eat it while traveling?”⁠ ⁠ She later realized that for her parents, eating Indian food was comforting in an unfamiliar place–and she began to adapt a similar nature. “The longer I stayed in a destination, the more I craved an Indian meal… As an adult, I had the sensibility to not only appreciate the ways that Indian food was prepared in foreign places, but to observe the evolution and adaptations of the cuisine.” For example, the ras malai (an East Indian delicacy made with milk, sugar, nuts, saffron and cardamom) that she grew up eating tasted consider...