"IT WASN'T UNCOMMON IN MY CHILDHOOD FOR ROTI TO BE OFF THE MENU BECAUSE THE ROLLING PIN WAS BROKEN AGAIN."

It is Ernest van der Kwast's overbearing yet loving Indian mother who is at the centre of this bighearted, hilarious family saga. Veena van der Kwast is a woman with an iron will, hilarious directness and a talent for haggling. When armed with her trusty rolling pin, every man she meets is eventually beaten to submission – especially her husband and three sons.

Including other equally delightful and amusing characters, this book is an intimate glimpse into van der Kwast's childhood. Whether it is his straitlaced Dutch father, his Bollywood star Uncle Sharma or his talented heptathlete Aunt Jasleen, they all come together to lovingly entertain you in this engaging and charming book.

Intriguing, surprising and moving in equal measure, Mama Tandoori is inspired by an unusual family that will make you chuckle from beginning to end.

Ernest van der Kwast is a Dutch author born in Mumbai, India, in 1981. He made his debut in 2005 with the novel Sometimes Things Are Better When People Applaud. His breakthrough book is Mama Tandoori,which became a bestseller in the Netherlands and Italy upon publication, and has to date sold more than 100,000 copies. It is the second of his novels (after The IceCream Makers) to be published in English. He lives in Rotterdam.