Walk into any Indian bookshop and you will find shelves groaning under glossy cookbooks. They promise secret family recipes, ancient techniques and lost flavours. Yet, the truth is far more humbling.

If you'd like to try pepper water (it's hot hot hot) or day-old rice (it tastes better than it sounds), we've got the scoop. Wilbur Sargunaraj eats and drinks his way through his father's home village ...