Book excerpt: Flavours of Avadh: Journey from the Royal Banquet to the Corner Kitchen is the story of food and cooking from the palaces to the pavement of the Avadh region in Uttar Pradesh. The book charts out a unique socio-cultural route down the decades, sketching out the exclusive regional food history of Lucknow and its neighbourhood, richly coloured with family anecdotes, local festivities, regional culture and dining traditions. More than sixty recipes on offer from the elite homes and kitchens where this unique and traditional cuisine thrived, taking shape between the mid-14th and the early 18th centuries. Vibrant photographs add to the lustre of the book.