When you have that bite of your mother’s paal payasam or hot puttu kadala, you’re sure to wonder when you will be able to cook as good as her. Our parents make cooking look so simple. Yet, when we try our hand at it, somehow our plan fails to impress. That’s where cookbooks come to the rescue. Cookbooks for Indian cooking that reveal the ultimate secrets of traditional Indian cooking. It serves as the perfect gateway to master our cooking knowledge.
If wish to enhance your Indian tastebuds, these cookbooks for Indian cooking will help you satiate it all.
The Essential Kerala Cookbook by Vijayan Kannampilly
If there’s one thing we Malayalis love to do is eat good naadan food. Our food stems from our culture of using locally sourced ingredients (sometimes, even from our backyards). And creating dishes that touch the soul. The Essential Kerala Cookbook has recipes from God’s Own Country, right from pickles to coconut-infused culinary delights. This book is categorised into specific sections such as vegetarian, meat-based dishes, sweets, snacks etc. So you get to choose your preferences accordingly.
You can buy it here.
Tiffin by Sonal Ved
Did you know that this is the first book to feature over 500 recipes from 29 states of India? India is so diverse that it’s nearly impossible to pinpoint one dish that could represent the country. Sonal is able to capture the true essence of India’s diversity in her cookbook. It features dishes from all around the country. The incredible history, the variety of local ingredients, the myriad flavours infused in her recipies make it worth trying out. It will almost feel like you’re travelling to the place and eating locally.
You can buy it here.
The Indian Pantry by Vir Sanghvi
It’s raw. It’s witty. It’s everything you’ve been searching for in an Indian cookbook. By now, we all know who Vir Sanghavi is. He’s the culinary world’s unapologetic star journalist and food columnist exploring stories of food. The Indian Pantry is his take on Indian food culture and the deep-rooted history behind it. We must say; it will definitely open the gates to a whole new world of Indian food. As you read his book, you might just get hungry so don’t forget to stock up.
You can buy it here.
The Essential North-East Cookbook by Hoihnu Hauzel
The Seven Sisters that combine to form India’s North-Eastern states have so much to offer in their local cuisine. The untapped potential of the North-East culinary world has a lot to do with our assumptions about their food culture. Hoihnu’s book breaks all the barriers by bringing a gastronomical experience. The book talks about exotic ingredients, cultural infusion of food recipes, and the historical relevance of communities that have shaped the food culture in the North-East. One bite of these dishes will take you through a ride of flavours that taste divine.
You can buy it here.
Pankajam’s Cooking From The Heart by Bharathi Raviprakash
They say, when you cook from the heart, the food taste even better. That’s why we all owe it to our mothers for giving us a food experience worth remembering. Bharathi is able to capture her grandmother’s recipes that have been passed on from one generation to another in this beautifully curated book. If you’re fond of Tamil cuisines, this book should your go-to if you want to experiment with your taste buds. What’s more, this book also contains age-old practices, most commonly found in traditional Tamilian households. Not only do you dive into a different culture altogether, but you also get to learn a lot about kitchen practices that add to the flavours of the recipes.
You can buy it here.
The Suriani Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections from the Syrian Christians of Kerala by Lathika George
Culinary innovations by Syrian Christians in Kerala has Western influences. Their one-pot delights, roasts, Christmas specials, indigenous snacks are worth drooling over. The Suriani Kitchen features savoury delights and mouth-watering preparations that make their cuisine one of a kind. It’s a great book to understand their culture, way of living, and undiscovered culinary gems that you should try.
You can buy it here.
Party Like A Star by Shilarna Vaze
We have all wondered about what goes behind a Bollywood party – the food, the ambience, the celebrities, the gossip, and whatnot. While we may not be able to spill the beans about what happens behind closed doors, we sure can open the culinary world behind the Big, Fat, Bollywood parties. Shilarna Vaze, who is well-known in Bollywood as the mastermind behind countless curated party menu shares all her secrets to satisfying the cravings of her celebrity clients. You can find the A-Z of planning any kind of party and super-delicious recipes that are a celebrity favourite in the book.
You can buy it here.
Explore the possibilities of real Indian cooking with these cookbooks. Let us know your favourite from the lot of cookbooks for Indian cooking.
