Monica Saigal author page

Monica Saigal biography

Monica Saigal (previously published as Monica Bhide) is an engineer turned writer whose work spans cookery, essays and fiction for adults, with recent titles for younger readers.

Her cookbooks include The Spice Is Right (2001), The Everything Indian Cookbook (2004) and Modern Spice (2009). She went on to publish the short story collection The Devil in Us (2014) and the essay volume A Life of Spice (2015), followed by the novel Karma and the Art of Butter Chicken (2016) and the literary novel The Soul Catcher (2021).

Writing under her maiden name, Saigal has continued to publish fiction, including the contemporary romance A Kiss in Kashmir. She has also written for children: the picture book Papa’s Butter Chicken introduces cooking and family traditions to early readers.

Papa’s Butter Chicken was published on 1 October 2024.