Born into a joint family in Bengaluru, chef Shazia Khan grew up with the tacit understanding that cooking could never be a chore in her household. On the contrary, for Khan and 30 members of her family, it was a celebration of food; a way of serving love. “All the women — right from my grandmother to aunts — would congregate in the kitchen and prepare meals on a grand scale in large earthen pots. They would chat and bond over food,” says Khan, first runner-up in the second season of MasterChef India, (2012). The delectable Murg Haleem, Gosht ka Sherwa (mutton soup) and Shammi Kebabs that the women perfected over the years, have found their way into the 39-year-old’s debut cookbook, What’s On The Menu.

Shazia Khan