Madhur Jaffrey, the 70-year-old thespian with a knack for cooking delectable dishes, has been chosen for Britain’s highest civilian award: the Commander of the British Empire (CBE).Though the British Consulate in New York intimated her of the news on Thursday, it is still under wraps officially. This would be the first time that an Indian-American has won the prestigious award. Jaffrey confirmed the news to The Indian Express on phone from California, where she is on tour to promote her latest book From Curries to Kebabs. ‘‘It is very emotional to be honoured by the Queen,’’ said Jaffrey. Jaffrey, a household name in the UK, appears regularly in the soap Eastenders and is credited with being one of the gourmand chefs to introduce Indian cooking to the British palate. Jaffrey says the title comes to her for her ‘‘acting and developing Indian food’’. In the past, she has described herself as ‘‘a trained actress and an accidental cook’’. She said all her films were memorable, starting from Shakespearewallah to Nisha Ganatra’s Chutney Popcorn. Jaffrey has acted in several movies including The Guru, Heat and Dust, Sagar, The Perfect Murder and Cotton Mary. Though not as widely known in the US as in the UK, Jaffrey’s cookbooks have been bestsellers here. She was invited to CBS’ Morning Show last week to delve into some of her favourite recipes from her new book. She has also won a James Beard Award for ‘Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian.’ She has also written for The New Yorker, The New York Times and Gourmet.She refused to confirm whether she has been signed for the role of bitchy columnist Kitty in the musical Bombay Dreams set to open in Broadway in spring 2004. She, however, did say that her memoir is to be published next year. Read it to find out what’s in there, she says.
