The Health Diaries

Madhur Jaffrey on Indian Cooking and Staying Creative As You Age

The writer and actress explains how she stays inspired

There are many ways to live a healthy life. The Health Diaries is a weekly series about the habits that keep notable people living well.

Madhur Jaffrey is one of the most prolifically creative people of her time. The 85-year-old Indian-born actress has also worked as a food and travel writer, and TV personality. She’s written over a dozen cookbooks (her newest, Madhur Jaffrey’s Instantly Indian Cookbook: Modern and Classic Recipes for the Instant Pot, is available now). She had her own food-based TV program in the U.K. in the ’80s, and she was named Commander of the Order of the British Empire around the same time, thanks to her focus on bringing the U.S., U.K., and India together over culinary commonalities. And then there’s her new rap video, “Nani,” which she recently released with up-and-coming artist Zohran Mamdani, a young Queens MC who calls himself Mr. Cardamom. And that’s just a small portion of her resume.

This week, Jaffrey talks with Elemental about her irregular schedule, her mind-over-matter philosophy on life, and the way she’s maintained her creativity over the years.