Biography of Tarla Dalal, Cooking Classes, Books
Born in Pune, India. She was engaged to a man in the U.S.
This was 50 years ago. He used to write to her saying he wanted to eat this and
that; all complicated things she had never heard of. He was at the Michigan
University, studying Chemical Engineering. She was 20 years old and could cook only
DBRS (Dal Bhat Roti Sabzi). As every other Indian woman just to please her husband
even Tarala Dala had learnt to cook the food of his choice.
Mrs. Dalal moved to Bombay after her marriage. In 1966, she started cookery classes
from her residence. And that was how India’s best-known author got started. She
went on to take cooking classes, and then she had written her first book, The Pleasures
of Vegetarian Cooking. Published in 1974, and went on to become a classic in cookery
books, selling a record 1,50,000 copies.
Garnering Sucess Tarla Dalal
Her classes became a phenomenal success with a long waiting list of students wanting
to join them. At one time, it was said, 'If you want to get your daughter married,
send her to Mrs. Dalal's classes'. That was because students attained guaranteed
cookery expertise after attending her classes. Mrs. Dalal has 'stremlined the eating
habits in India' - to quote The Khallej times, Dubai. She has done cookery shows
in large part of India and many major cities of the world such as Tokyo, Jakarta,
Hong Kong, Singapore, Brussels, Antwerp, Lisbon, Zurich, Zairobi, London, Toronto,
New York, Durban etc.
Awards Received
2007 - Padmashree Award This is the biggest award an Indian can dream of getting.
Mrs. Dalal was awarded the Padmashree for her contribution in the field of cooking.
She is the first Indian to be awarded in this category on 26th January 2007 by President
Abdul Kalam at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
2005 - Women of the Year
Indian Merchant Chambers presented award to Smt. Tarla Dalal for Women of the year,
an Indian Woman with a family who has, through her entrepreneurial skill and tremendous
efforts, moved beyond woman's traditional role of cooking and brought it to millions
of people across the globe.
Courtesy: Incredible People
