The collection of recipe books that stand close to my worktop in my kitchen are worn and tattered. Many are splashed with oil, egg stains and spices.

This is because they are my old favourites, containing much-loved tried and tested recipes I have used frequently over the years.

One among this collection rates as a real favourite; it’s a tatty little paperback that is now falling to bits because it has been used so frequently – Madhur Jaffrey’s Quick & Easy Indian Cookery, published in 1933 by BBC Books.

In the introduction to this book Madhur points out that we should not be afraid of the long list of spices required by some Indian recipes. Each spice has a job to do; however the secret to cooking Indian food lies in not being too ambitious. What we should not be afraid of is combining Indian main courses with Western side dishes. Spicy fried fish with boiled potatoes and green salad can provide a perfectly balanced meal. Over the years, this advice and the excellent tried and tested recipes within this delightful little book, have helped me – and countless others – produce some superb meals.

Madhur has probably increased our appreciation of curry more than any other celebrity chef, which is why she has been dubbed Queen of Curry. Her publications include the acclaimed The Curry Bible, which brings together all her years of experience as a cook. As the title suggests, it contains virtually everything we need to know to produce wholesome, tasty Indian food. Even now, despite her busy life, she admits that her family sits down to a home cooked meal nightly, created from ingredients bought from a nearby market.

Last week, Madhur brought a taste of India to Oxford Brookes University. She was guest speaker at the Martin Radcliffe Fellowship Lecture, staged in connection with Brookes’s Oxford Gastronomica, the UK’s first dedicated centre for the study of food, drink and culture.

She is a founding patron of Oxford Gastronomica, along with other stars of the food world such as Raymond Blanc, Prue Leith and Ken Hom.

The Centre works with leaders in the food and drinks world and academics from several universities to improve society’s relationship with food and drink for better health, environmental sustainability and social cohesion.

Her interest in cooking began when, as a 20-year-old student at RADA, she desperately missed Indian home-cooked food. She virtually learned by correspondence, thanks to the help of her mother who guided her through basic Indian recipes, that she could eventually make her own.

When Madhur stood in front of her audience at Oxford Brookes main lecture theatre, she was able to call on four decades of culinary experience which began during those days at RADA. During her lecture she reflected on those early days and the possible pitfalls of home cooking learned through necessity, and her varied career as a well-known actress in TV, film and radio before food took over her life. Donald Sloan, Head of Department of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Management at Oxford Brookes, who had invited Madhur to Oxford, said that everyone was absolutely delighted that she delivered the lecture, which was open to the public as well as hospitality students and staff.

He said: “Madhur Jaffrey has helped change our perceptions of Indian cookery. Her lecture was very timely as people are now realising how fine Indian cuisine can be.” He also pointed out that Oxford restaurants such as Café Spice are now highly fashionable and places like Aziz are attracting well-deserved awards.

Speaking about her link with Oxford Brookes, she spoke with pride about being associated with a university that puts all aspects of food together.

“Guiding young people, acting as their mentors and tutors, is important. They have so much going for them these days, they are so full of confidence, but nevertheless they need to be encouraged and given direction.”

She also said that if she had to give today’s young people one piece of advice it would be that they should not be afraid of new ideas. After all, Madhur had the courage and insight to explore fusion food before it was fashionable.

She was not afraid to experiment with the spices at her command and try adding them to British dishes that did not normally call for spice. Now the Indian cuisine has influenced and been influenced by cooking in South East Asia, Africa and the West Indies, as well as here in the UK and the US. We are no longer scared to add a pinch of spice to classic dishes that originally relied on a pinch of salt to pep them up.

Another aspect of Indian cookery which is now influencing the way we eat today is the awareness we all have of the medicinal properties of food.

Madhur ensures that her food is full of life-giving properties by growing her own. Her regret at this time of the year is that many of the root vegetables she has stored away for the winter are now beginning to sprout.

Apparently the winter season in New York, which is where she lives, continues far longer than ours. She was delighted to note that here in Oxford the snowdrops and crocuses are out, whereas there is still snow lying in her garden.

She concluded by discussing the importance the way those first foods we taste go on to influence our taste buds for life. She said: “Various tastes that we experience when very young start informing our brains very early on, which is why it is so important that young people enjoy good home cooked dishes rather than junk food.”