Chef Amit Puri,40, has been meaning to write a cookbook for 20 years. After graduating from culinary school in 2000, he collaborated with a colleague, curated the recipes and was ready with a skeletal draft. "But it never materialised," he remembers. In retrospect, he is grateful. The intervening years have led to a wealth of experiences, including exposure to new cuisines and improved writing skills.

His debut cookbook, Redefining Comfort Food with Amit Puri, published by WritePlace, is a tribute to the journey. With over 100 recipes, it's a relatively thick book, where a sumptuous koyla paneer makhani rubs shoulders with flavourful Iranian chelo kebab. The dishes are his take on culinary classics discovered when he was a restaurant consultant and menu developer. "My work has taken me around the world, so I have tried to incorporate recipes from different cultures and cuisines that have inspired me," he says. The Indian recipes outnumber the European ones. A purist may not easily take to a misal pav fattoush, or a piquant pepper rasam with Chinese-style lamb momos, but for Puri it's all about great combinations. The agenda, he says, is simple: introduce flavours that will excite the Indian palate.