Chef Manish Mehrotra lists his favourite books on food

Chef Manish Mehrotra, corporate chef at fine dining restaurant Indian Accent, shares his top books for the hungry.

Ottolenghi: The Cook Book by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

This book will shake the conditioning about salads in one's head. From being served as a starter, it has crossed boundaries and landed itself comfortably on the main course with not just being brilliant on the palate, but being a complete diet in itself.

The Flavour Thesaurus by Niki Segnit

Not only does it work on your flavour vocabulary, but also on how to use ingredients in different combinations. This book is great for beginners as it is perfect for strengthening your basics to learning new dimensions of cooking.

Taste Of India by Madhur Jaffrey

As you go through the book, it almost feels like a journey through traditional food of our nation. You could salivate to every page in there. It's amazing.

Bhog Temple Food Of India by Arun Budhiraja

This unique book gives one a reality check as to how little we have thought of the most consumed food in India. With the food within temples as its main focus, it gives the fare muchdeserved importance.

Malouf: New Middle Eastern Food by Greg Malouf & Lucy Malouf

This book is a reflection of where it all started from and where it all landed. It provides a significant outlook to modern Middle Eastern cuisine having a strong connection with Indian taste, flavours as well as the common ingredients used.