Seven Indian eateries found a place on influential online food encyclopaedia Taste Atlas’s elite list of 150 legendary restaurants of the twenty-first century: Paragon in Kozhikode, Tunday Kababi in Lucknow, Peter Cat in Kolkata, Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba in Murthal, Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR) in Bengaluru, Karim’s in New Delhi, and Ram Ashraya in Mumbai. In this book, five writers trace the humble origins of these immensely popular eateries and describe their many savoured offerings, including Paragon’s delicately spiced biryani, Tunday Kababi’s succulent galawat ke kabab, Peter Cat’s elaborate chelo kabab, Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba’s wholesome makkhan-topped parathas, MTR’s invigorating filter coffee, Karim’s rare firdausi qorma, and Ram Ashraya’s indulgent pineapple sheera. Each essay unravels decades of culinary evolution and the influence India’s ever-changing culture, politics, and geography have on the ‘business’ of feeding people.

Interweaving memories, interviews, and more than thirty mouth-watering food recommendations, this is an entertaining chronicle of how these iconic restaurants and their fabled creations came to be.