SIMON Daley got some mixed responses when he told people about his latest project.

"'Working with your mother-in-law? No! Really, you're brave! You can have mine if you like...' Those were just a few of the reactions," Simon says with a smile as he recalls the good-humoured jibes when he announced he was teaming up to cook with his ma-in-law.

Despite risking making himself the butt of traditional jokes from pals, it seems that this particular son-in-law has had the last laugh.

Simon, a keen self-taught home cook and curry addict, fell in love with his Indian mother-in-law's cooking the first time they met 11 years ago.

Together they've now produced a book revealing her culinary secrets and irresistible dishes.

Cooking With My Indian Mother-In-Law includes traditional dishes inspired by his in-laws' Gujarati roots in India, influences from Islam and Africa and modern adaptations so the dishes are suitable for today's British cooks.

Simon, a 36-year-old art director, is lyrical about that initial meeting with Roshan - whom he calls 'Rose' - after being taken to her house by his then-girlfriend and now wife, Salima.

"I'll never forget my first visit to Rose's house. She welcomed me into her home in the way she knew best - by offering good food.

"The moment I tasted her divine chicken curry I was in awe. Like any Brit, I knew and loved Indian food, but the food I tasted on that day was something beyond what I had come to expect. The flavours were cleaner, brighter, and yet despite its depth and savour, the food was somehow lighter than I had experienced before."