South Asians in the UK are highly vulnerable to cardiovascular disease. As a healthy diet is a major factor in preventing heart disease, in 2007 the BHF took a South Asian social cooking project into the heart of communities in Bradford, Birmingham and London. Funded by the Food Standards Agency, the project focused on raising heart health awareness, specifically the impact of high levels of salt used in Sikh and Hindu social cooking at their places of worship, and set out to provide practical help to reduce the salt and fat used by these groups.

At 15 Sikh Gurdwaras and Hindu Mandirs, where large numbers of people gather, and where free food is provided, 13 dieticians worked with religious leaders and volunteer cooks to help them produce healthier, but still delicious food. They also held seminars to raise awareness of heart health related to diet, to encourage congregations to take the low salt and fat messages home. To help South Asians at home, we produced Healthy meals, healthy heart, a recipe book, which includes 60 delicious, easy-to-prepare dishes that use less salt and fat.

The project is having an impact, with a reported overall 10% salt reduction in all cooking in places of worship and most using less oil and ghee. Dietician Baldeesh Rai told us: "I offered unsalted popcorn as an alternative to deep-fried snacks, which proved to be so popular that over my next few visits people started calling me The Popcorn Lady - and some told me the dahl was delicious, even with less salt."

In 2008, we'll continue to visit congregations to reinforce health messages and support temple cooks, and to connect with South Asian communities to raise awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

To order a copy of Healthy meals, healthy hearts recipe book, please go to bhf.org.uk/publications