MUSCAT –– Do you have any recipe that was known exclusively to your grandmother and want to share it with the world? Here is your chance. By doing this you will not only be sharing your heirloom recipe, but also helping a hungry child.

Contribute a traditional recipe that you know, whichever part of the world you come from and your recipe will be used in a cookbook, 'You Can Cook', being brought out to support the cause of a hungry child.

This book is being brought as part of a 'Feed A Hungry Child' (FAHC) campaign started by V. K. Narayanan of Muscat.

The nucleus of the idea for 'Feed a Hungry Child' campaign came when Naryanan lost his mother in April 2006. “I was terribly shocked and coupled with loads of guilt feeling being the eldest son of the family and thinking of my inability as an NRI to be with her when she wanted me the most during her last phase of her life. She was expecting the arrival of her passport that week to join my family and me in the Muscat, which we applied during my brief visit during February 2006. I wanted to do something to immortalise her loving memories.

"So the nucleus of the idea took shape in some months of extensive thinking to combine two-pronged thoughts into a campaign, i.e., that of documenting disappearing recipes along with practical hands-on cooking advice as well the larger goal of raising funds from the sales of the book for the FAHC campaign and the concept of 'Feed a Hungry Child' campaign's group cookbook project 'You can Cook' was born. Getting a cookbook published entirely from the public domain has become the plus point of the project," Narayanan says.

The 'Feed a Hungry Child' campaign was developed by Narayanan in an effort to collaborate and partner with individuals and organisations to stand up and be counted and to promote positive actions in the fight against child hunger supporting the children in need of care one by one. The campaign was successfully launched on the Thanksgiving Day 2006. The focal point of the campaign is to feed 1000 hungry children in 2007, one nutritious meal a day over a one-year period. The project, which will be based in India as a starter, will expand to other countries and reach more and more poor children and communities.

The campaign's first initiative 'You Can Cook' group cookbook project invites contributions for heirloom recipes (recipes cooked at home and that are in danger of extinction). The cookbook project is a collaborative effort on the part of food lovers the world over. The purpose of this project is two pronged; that of documenting disappearing recipes along with practical hands-on cooking advice as well the larger goal of funds gathering from the sale of the book for the FAHC campaign. The 365 recipes will be short listed and published into a book with an appealing format that enhances the shelf of any cook or food lover.

FAHC invites contributions from food lovers and expert cooks. If you want to join the fight against child hunger send your recipes to info.fahc@gmail.com or contact Narayanan at 00968-99618478. For more details about the initiative, log in to www.feedahungrychild.blogspot.com