Grandfather’s Curry Puffs

My grandfather was mainly conservative in his tastes: grey beef, thinly sliced, cooked within an inch of its life. He was fond of smoked salmon and sugared almonds - although polite hints were dropped when the sweets became the present he would always receive from his grandchildren. He would sometimes take charge of the cooking: barbecue chicken was a favourite of his. And he introduced me to Bolst's mango pickle.

So it was that my mother was particularly fond of introducing her father-in-law, my grandfather, to foods she thought he might enjoy. She knew he had been born in Bangalore, and she once produced some Tamarind for him. Curry puffs he also liked. For his funeral, she commissioned me to buy a hundred vegetable samosas from my local takeaway which were provided most beautifully wrapped. But the beef, on this occasion, was served rare.