India, Sept. 21 -- One elementary principle of serving food is to ensure that the food is palatable to the visitor. If I am alone at home, I may be perfectly happy having a glass of milk with some porridge for dinner. But I would not dream of serving the same meal to a guest who has come to my house for dinner.

I would first ask what they would like to eat. Would they prefer chapattis with mutton curry? Would they like vegetable kurma? Or would they prefer rice, sambar and the other traditional dishes of Kerala?

My wife often tells me that cooking for a non-vegetarian is easier than cooking for a vegetarian. For a non-vegetarian, one good meat or fish dish can make a meal. A vegetarian, particularly one accustomed to variety, may expect...