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In the North Indian bhindi ki sabzi, another one-pan blend, okra rounds are generously spiced and seared crisp.

“I didn’t like the food there, so I brought desi food from home: dal, bhindi. He fell in love with Pakistani food.”

The book, whose cover featured Rushdie wearing a white-and-crimson-colored sari, smiling as she sits before a spread of bhindi and koftas and prawns, found a cult following among home cooks.

It was a philosophy that guided nearly every dish, in Sameen’s memory, from karahi bhindi, okra stir-fried with half a teaspoon of red chili powder, two or three whole red chillies, and a half teaspoon of turmeric, to hari chutney main gosht, a delicately spiced lamb cooked in yogurt and flavored with a bright coriander chutney.

The order, Rick Wakeman remembers, was for chicken vindaloo, rice pilau, six papadums, bhindi bhaji, Bombay aloo, and a stuffed paratha.