Tarla Dalal was India’s first house chef, and with her work, she not only garnered immense love from across the nation but also received the honourable Padma Shri Award in 2007. The iconic Indian chef was born on June 3, 1936, and changed the culinary outlook in India. From being known as an Indian food writer, chef, and cookbook author to being the host of popular cooking shows, Tarla’s name echoed in almost every Indian household.
Although Tarla Dalal is an exceptionally renowned personality, popular filmmaker, Piyush Gupta has taken the initiative to introduce her magic to the new generation. The director has made a film on the life of India’s most celebrated chef, and the title of the film is Tarla. The character of Tarla Dalal is played by extremely talented actress, Huma Qureshi. The film is all set to be released on the OTT platform, Zee5, on July 7, 2023.
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The iconic chef, Tarla Dalal was born and brought up in Pune, Maharashtra. Not many details about her family background or educational qualification are available in the public domain. However, as per a report, Tarla completed BA in Economics.
Right from an early age, she had an inclination towards cooking. As per multiple reports, when she was 12, Tarla started helping her mother in the kitchen and was quite passionate about food and cooking.
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After completing her studies, it was in 1960 when Tarla Dalal got married to a US-based engineer, Nalin Dalal, who had a degree in MS in Chemical Engineering. The couple welcomed three children, Sanjay Dalal, Deepak Dalal and Renu Dalal. The famous chef moved to the US, and the doting wife started pampering the Indian family in a foreign land with her cooking skills.
Despite being in the US, she always remained connected to Indian cuisine and did many experiments. When Tarla was cooking new dishes for her husband and her in-laws on a daily basis, she didn’t know that she was becoming a professional cook, even without realising it. During that time, Tarla’s husband, Nalin played a huge role as he always used to encourage and support her whenever she used to try new things.
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Tarla Dalal started catching the attention of her relatives and friends, as her dishes started making a lot of noise in her family. Hence, many people advised her to start cookery classes for youngsters or newly-married couples, Tarla liked the idea and took the next step in her journey as a chef.
Soon she turned into an author, and it was in 1974 that she published her first cookbook, The Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking. In the coming years, she penned a series of books and started making a lot of noise in the media world. In her illustrious career, Tarla went on to write over 100 books, selling more than 10 million copies and establishing herself as a prolific author in this genre.
Tarla Dalal’s influence in the cooking industry extended beyond books, and it was proven when she started the largest Indian food website by her name. Not only this, she even published a bi-monthly magazine titled, Cooking & More, which was also a huge success among her followers.
After winning hearts with her cooking books and all the content on her website, Tarla Dalal made an even bigger impact with her cooking shows, The Tarla Dalal Show and Cook It Up With Tarla Dalal. Her recipes found their way into approximately 25 magazines and reached an estimated 120 million Indian households.
Tarla Dalal’s contributions to the culinary arts were acknowledged through various accolades in her career, including the prestigious Padma Shri award, which she received from the Government of India in 2007. This honour made her the sole Indian cooking personality to receive such prestigious recognition. Not only this, Tarla was also recognised as the Women of the Year by the Indian Merchants' Chamber in 2005.
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Once in an interview with a news portal, Tarla Dala’s son, Sanjay Dalal opened up about his mother and her life. When the doting son was asked to name the person, who supported her the most in her journey, Sanjay took the name of his father, Nalin Dalal. The doting son explained how his father was his mother’s biggest motivation. He said:
"My father was her biggest motivation. He loved multi-cuisine food, and motivated his wife to try her hand at different cuisines. Since she loved cooking too, Mom jumped into the task brimming with energy. Mom used to recollect that it took papa almost nine years to confer the ‘Master of All Cuisines’ title to her – rather a long graduation that was."
Tarla Dalal is no longer with us. She passed away on November 6, 2013, due to a heart attack. For the unversed, she used to reside with her family on Nepean Sea Road in South Mumbai. Even before her death, Tarla’s husband, Nalin Dalal had passed away in 2005.
The story of Tarla Dalal’s life speaks volumes about how we shouldn’t leave our dreams because we never know when they can turn up really big. What are your thoughts on Tarla’s amazing journey? Let us know.
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