Rsingh: new

2024-11-26T17:17:52Z

new

New page

{{Short description|Indian chef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
{{primary sources|date=January 2016}}

{{Infobox bio
| image = File:Mrs_Balbir_Singh.jpg
| caption = Mrs Balbir Singh, official portrait photograph
| birth_name = Balwant Kaur
| birth_date = {{Birth year|1912}}
| birth_place = [[Punjab]]
| death_date = {{Death year and age|1994|1912}}
| alma_mater = [[Panjab University]]
| website =
}}
'''Balwant Kaur,''' better known by her married name '''Mrs Balbir Singh''' (1912 – 1994), was an Indian chef, cookery teacher and cookbook author. Her formal cooking and homemaking classes began in [[New Delhi]] in 1955, and her award-winning ''Mrs Balbir Singh’s Indian Cookery'' book, was first published in [[London]] in 1961 to much acclaim.

Singh was a pioneer in teaching and writing about the art of cookery in India. Chef [[Simon Majumdar]], a judge on the [[Food Network]], has called her the [[Julia Child]] of India.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Iyer |first=Aditya |date=2018-08-06 |title=The forgotten story of India's Julia Child who went from being a homemaker to food writer to TV chef |url=https://scroll.in/magazine/886352/the-forgotten-story-of-indias-julia-child-who-went-from-being-a-homemaker-to-food-writer-to-tv-star |access-date=2024-05-27 |website=Scroll.in |language=en}}</ref>

==Professional life==
Balwant Kaur was born in the [[Punjab]] to a family of landowners, where she learned to cook from her mother starting at age eight. While attending [[Panjab University]], she met Balbir Singh, whom she later married. She graduated In 1936. Following Partition, the now-married Singhs moved to London, where Dr. Balbir Singh had a research fellowship. She attended a domestic science course on [[Regent Street]], where she realized her love of teaching. She graduated in 1955.<ref name=":0" />

When Singh returned to India later that year, she started cookery and homemaking classes at her home and at [[Lady Irwin College]] in New Delhi.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Doctor |first=Vikram |date=2023-07-16 |title=Exploring the food world: How cooking classes helped home chefs grow |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/exploring-the-food-world-how-cooking-classes-helped-home-chefs-grow/articleshow/101795217.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2024-05-27 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref> Her classes became so popular, that in many circles they were a prerequisite for those considering marriage.<ref name=":0" /> She taught cookery for over four decades and became an expert on the history, culture and science of regional and local [[Indian cuisine]]. Her signature style of detailed recipes and precise methods were applied to dishes for all occasions including family meals, dinner parties and celebratory feasts.

In 1961, she penned what went on to become her enduring legacy to India's culinary heritage, ''Mrs Balbir Singh’s Indian Cookery''. Covering North Indian dishes in simple language, it was the first such English-language cookbook written by an Indian woman. By 1994, the book had sold 400,000 copies worldwide,<ref name=":0" /> and went through several revisions, recipe additions and reprints over the years.{{cn|date=February 2021}}

In 1967, [[Doordarshan]] asked Singh to host cooking shows on the network.<ref name=":0" />

In 1994, Singh published ''Continental Cookery for Indian Homes'',<ref name=":0" /> which contained 300 recipes and served as a kitchen companion to her book on Indian cuisine. According to the book's Acknowledgements section, Singh was also inspired to complete it for her only grandchild Pallavi, a then new bride, "so that this would be her first wedding gift".

==Notable recipes==
Although many of her recipes were award-winning, a particular recipe of Singh's was [[Chicken Tikka Masala|chicken tikka masala]]. Ethnic food historians and authors Peter and Colleen Grove discuss various origin claims of chicken tikka masala in Appendix Six of their ''Flavours of History'', in which one of their conclusions suggests that "The shape of things to come may have been a recipe for Shahi Chicken Masala in Mrs Balbir Singh’s 'Indian Cookery' published in 1961."<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.menumagazine.co.uk/book/tikkamasala.html |title=Is It or Isn't It? (The Chicken Tikka Masala Story)|website=menumagazine.co.uk}}</ref>

==Awards and honours==
In 1959, Singh was awarded the Indian Council of Agricultural Research's Award in recognition of her work highlighting the benefits of home preservation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mrsbalbirsingh.com/pages/story|title=The Mrs Balbir Singh Story|website=Mrs Balbir Singh Limited|language=en|access-date=2019-05-20}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
In 2017, Singh's granddaughter, Pallavi Sitlani, launched a spice company under her grandmother's name.<ref name=":0" />

== Works ==

* ''Mrs. Balbir Singh's Indian Cookery'' (1961), and subsequent revisions and reprints
* ''Continental Cookery for Indian Homes'' (1994)

== References ==

<references />

== Further reading ==

* Taylor Sen, Colleen (1 January 2004) "Food Culture in India (Food Culture Around the World)", Greenwood Publishing Group
* [[Lizzie Collingham|Collingham, Lizzie]] (6 February 2006) "Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors", Oxford University Press
* Walker, Harlan (1991) "Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 1991", Prospect Books
* Dhillon, Sukhraj S. (17 September 2010) "Health, Happiness, and Longevity: Eastern and Western Approach"
* Davidson, Alan (1 August 2014) "The Oxford Companion to Food", Oxford University Press
* Forbes Publications, (1976) "Home Economics, Volume 22"
* Housecraft (1974) "Housecraft, Volumes 47-48"
* [[Lizzie Collingham|Collingham, Lizzie]] (2005) "Curry: a biography", Chatto & Windus
* Verlag, Gunter Narr (2006), "Journal for the Study of British Cultures, Volume 13"
* "Himmat, Volume 5"
* Sri Avinashilingam Home Science College for Women (1980) "The Indian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics, Volume 17"
* ''The Flavors of History, (From corn to chilli to curry)'' by Peter & Colleen Grove

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Mrs. Balbir}}

[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian writers]]
[[Category:Chefs of Indian cuisine]]
[[Category:Indian chefs]]
[[Category:Indian cookbook writers]]
[[Category:Indian women chefs]]
[[Category:Indian women food writers]]
[[Category:People from Punjab Province (British India)]]
[[Category:Women writers from Delhi]]
[[Category:Writers from New Delhi]]

Mrs Balbir Singh - Revision history

Rsingh: new