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3 inspirational Indian food books
The British love affair with Indian food is longstanding but these three very personal books take our knowledge to another level. Ishita DasGupta takes a look at them.
March and April see the release of three books that give an interesting insight into Indian regional cookery. Ammu by Asma Khan is a tender memoir that contains a collection of recipes that range from the Bengali home kitchen to Mughlai showstoppers; On the Himalayan Trail by Romy Gill is a breathtaking journey through the Kashmir Valley and foothills of the Himalayas shining a light on a region whose food may be lesser known but has had huge influence upon India’s cuisine and culture, whilst The Philosophy of Curry by Sejal Sukhadwala is a whip-snap overview of the history of curry and its influence across the globe. Three very distinctive books, each offering a different facet to the subject of Indian food and culture.
Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking to Nourish Your Soul -Asma Khan. Ebury Publishing, 288pp., £26, March, 9781529148145
Ammu is the latest cookbook by the chef, author, and owner of Darjeeling Express, Asma Khan. Meaning mother, Ammu is a paean to Khan’s own mother, Faizana -the inspiration for her life and work. To simply call this book a cookbook, fails to describe fully what it really is about. Using the language of food, woven within these chapters is the story of two women and their journeys, through childhood, marriage, motherhood, and entrepreneurship.
This collection of recipes draws upon Khan’s Rajput and Bengali background with a mixture of everyday staples and dishes for celebrations and feasting. Quintessentially Bengali dishes such as bhortas -mashed or minced vegetables, fish, and meat, spiked with raw onion, green chilli, and mustard oil, and chorchoris -lightly spiced vegetables cooked in oil with no gravy, sit alongside Afghan chapli kabab, and Mughlai dishes such as korma, kofte, firni and of course, biryani.
Biryani is a specialty for both Khan and her Covent Garden based restaurant, where her Biryani Supper Clubs are much sought after events. The dish is cooked traditionally in a big pot or degh, sealed with dough and steamed dum style. Brought out with much fanfare and a great sense of occasion, the degh is opened in front of diners before the layers are gently mixed and served. For those wishing to recreate this biryani at home, a recipe for Ammu’s chicken biryani, scaled down to feed six, with step-by-step instructions is in the book.
In fact, there is something to satisfy everyone’s appetite and Khan’s recipe collection really showcases the many communities and cultures that have influenced Bengali food. It is a joy to dip in and out of its pages and to see dishes such as Malaikari, Calcutta Haka Chilli Chicken, and Zaffrani Raan make an appearance. In Khan’s own words: ‘This is food I cook for my family every day, meals to comfort, restore and nourish. I give these recipes to you, with love.’
On The Himalayan Trail: Recipes and Stories from Kashmir to Ladakh - Romy Gill. Hardie Grant, 256pp., £27, April, 9781784884406
On the Himalayan Trail by chef, food writer, author and broadcaster, Romy Gill, is a sumptuous book that is part travelogue and part culinary exploration. Beginning in Kashmir, an area largely untouched by foreign and domestic tourism due its political situation, Gill gives us a glimpse into the region’s rich food culture and jaw-dropping landscape.
Kashmiri cuisine draws its heritage from the Pandit and Muslim communities with influences from Persia, Central Asia, and Afghanistan. Certain aromatic spices play a central role in many dishes, as well as ingredients local to the area such as dried Cockscomb flower, saffron and Kashmiri red chillies. In summer, the fertile land offers fresh greens and vegetables, but winters can be harsh, and scarcity of food means that families busy themselves during September and October drying vegetables and preserving fruits.
At the outset, Gill tells us about the many people who shared recipes and food with her, from her driver and guide to professional chefs and home cooks. She takes us to meet food producers and cultivators, café, and restaurant owners and also Waza - chefs who create the famed wazwan, or Kashmiri celebration feasts, which can comprise of up to thirty-six courses. Through them we learn not only about food, but the history and culture of the valley.
From here, a journey to the high-altitude desert of Ladakh where Gill explores its biggest township, Leh. There is a marked change in the food here, heavily influenced by Tibetan cuisine. Thukpa, a noodle soup, and whole wheat pastas such as Skyu and Chutagi are served in vegetable laden broths. Momos, steamed buns, fermented wheat breads and Gur Gur Cha -salted butter tea are iterations of foods that connect communities that live amongst the foothills of the Himalayas.
The book has a lovely range of recipes from quick, everyday meals, pickles, and preserves, to dishes for an unrushed weekend or celebration. Nearly all the spices are readily available here, and Gill has adjusted recipes to suit the UK home kitchen. For those who love food and travel, this gem of a book is a must.
Try this recipe for Romy's lamb harissa
The Philosophy of Curry - Sejal Sukhadwala. British Library, 106 pp., £10, March, 978012354509
The Philosophy of Curry by London based food writer, Sejal Sukhadwala, is part of a series of books published by the British Library, with a focus on food and drink. In this volume, Sukhadwala attempts to give a definition for the somewhat contentious term curry, tracing its origins, its arrival in Britain and influence across the globe.
Associated with the British, the word curry is thought to be a modification of caril, used by the Portuguese in Goa during the 16th century. This in turn is thought to be an adaptation of kari, used variously to describe black pepper, spices, or a spiced accompaniment to rice, in Tamil. From here Sukhadwala tries to determine what curry is, exploring the long history of the dish and also the valid objections which surround it.
There are some interesting chapters such as the one devoted to curry powder. The earliest recorded being sold by a perfumery warehouse in Piccadilly in 1784. Powders were thought best to ensure consistency of taste, in comparison to grinding one’s own spices. The flavour profiles vaguely based on regional dishes from Madras, Bengal and Bombay.
The spread of curry around the globe is also a fascinating story. Led mainly by Indian indentured labourers, who were shipped across the British Empire to work in various plantations following the abolition of slavery. Modifying their recipes to use local ingredients, many Indian influenced dishes, now absorbed into each country’s food identity were born.
It is impossible to go into too much detail on such a vast subject across a hundred pages, but Sukhadwala does a great job, whetting the appetite and giving a list for those interested in further reading. The writing here is accessible and engaging, and Sukhadwala is not at all precious about her subject. I devoured this book in one evening and hope that Sukhadwala plans to write more on the subject.
Ishita DasGupta is based in Bristol. She is a home cook who writes about food and culture, migration and identity.
Which BBQ book to buy this summer
Barbecue, as you may have observed, has become big business not only in terms of increasingly flashy bits of kit but a whole raft of books telling you how to up your grilling game. I got blogger and instagrammer Dan Vaux-Nobes, aka Essex Eating, to take a look at three of the titles that have been released his summer. Here's his verdict on which to choose.
"I used to barbecue meat for a living. For seven years I managed a small but incredibly busy BBQ joint in Bristol and in that time I smoked more pulled pork, beef brisket, ribs and chicken thighs than I care to remember. I was personally responsible for an apocalyptic, yet ultimately delicious swathe of carnage, death and butchery inflicted on the global farm animal community.
Although, on the plus side; this also means I am well qualified to review three newly released BBQ recipe books for the summer! Yay!
Seared by Genevieve Taylor
First up, Genevieve Taylor’s latest book ‘Seared’ – ‘The ultimate guide to barbecuing meat’ provides exactly what it promises on the cover, so vegetarians can deservedly f*ck right off. I’m obviously joking here, so please don’t start throwing veg of the heavier variety at me in the street, I’m thinking squashes, baking potatoes etc. LIke you possess the physical strength to lob them at me anyway, with your undernourished, protein-less bodies.
Despite being broken down into just three broad sections, an introduction, ‘Beast’ and ‘Bird’ this is a very comprehensive, surprisingly hefty book, packed with some really interesting and mucho delicious sounding recipes, Achiote Chicken with Lime Crema or Pork Belly Burnt Ends with Tequila and Maple Syrup anyone?
The more traditional stuff gets a look-in too, pulled-pork, beef brisket, Buffalo hot-wings etc. There’s also an explanation on how to make your own Texas Hot Link sausages, which caught me eye.
The introduction is a seriously informative guide to cooking with fire, providing guidance on everything you need to consider if you really want to get the most out of your barbecuing experience - meat provenance and structure, types of BBQ, useful equipment, fuel types, brines and rubs. It’s all covered. Some of the recipes contain some fairly technical BBQ’ing skills, but they’re well written with solid explanations of the techniques involved.
If you’ve got a half-decent BBQ and want to learn how to really use It, kicking it up substantially from blackened burgers and carbonised sausages (and I can’t stress this enough, you’re not even remotely vegetarian) then this is a book you definitely want to own.
Seared is published by Quadrille at £20
Outside by Gill Meller
Gill Meller’s latest book ‘Outside: Recipes for a Wilder way of Eating’ takes an entirely more freestyle approach to cooking over fire. No BBQ? Absolutely not a problem, Gill doesn’t really mind – cook it over whatever you can lay your hands on, fire-pit, campfire or perhaps the smouldering remains of your garden shed that you’ve inadvertently burnt to the ground whilst attempting to wing-it. Gill is not fussy.
The book itself is full of beautiful, aspirational pics of gorgeous food with just the right level of char in idyllic outdoor settings, all smouldering logs and wild-flowers. It really draws you in and the latent pyro-maniac in me is incredibly attracted to the notion of getting out ‘there’ gathering some wood, throwing a grate over the embers and just cooking like our ancestors might have done. Although I doubt very much they ever ate as well as this.
The recipes are gorgeous, the sort of grub you always wished you were eating whilst camping, Venison Loin with Pears, Bacon and Sage or how about a bowl of Trout, Potato and Dill Soup cooked over the glowing embers? Yes please.
There’s a fair old selection of meat based recipes, but vegetarians and pescatarians are also looked after, as well as people who don’t want to cook over fire at all – there’s a whole section of rather lovely looking salads and picnic food.
One of the interesting things about the recipes being so ‘freestyle’ and easy-going with regards to the cooking method, is that any half-competent cook can easily adapt the recipes to cook at home. I had a crack at the Crispy Pork with Thyme, Garlic and Fennel Seeds using my oven grill and it was absolutely superb, obviously it would have tasted better cooked over wood embers whilst out in the wild, but to be fair, everything does!
This is a lovely book for those just wanting to cook something really nice over whatever fire source you can lay your hands on, whilst camping or at the beach or just at the end of the garden. Just keep the fire away from the shed.
Outside is published by Quadrille at £30
Live Fire by Helen Graves
Finally, a look at ‘Live Fire’ by Helen Graves. I’ve known Helen for quite a few years, and she’s an absolutely superb natural cook. In fact, I can honestly say, over the past decade I’ve probably spent more time drooling over pictures of her food than anyone else’s. Everything she cooks looks and sounds brilliant. No pressure then.
I’m glad to say her book lives up to her formidable reputation. The recipes are stunning, slightly less technical with regards to BBQ technique than Genevieve’s book above, but they’re a hell of a lot of fun. Helen lives in London, and obviously takes a lot of inspiration for her recipes from the melting-pot of African, Asian and Middle-Eastern cooking you find in the city. Lots of spice, herbs and bold flavours.
As you’d expect, there’s a lot of meat recipes but vegetarians and pescatarians get a solid look-in, in fact I tried a couple of the recipes out and I can hand-on-heart say the Charred Tomatoes with Cool Yoghurt, Pomegranate Molasses and Herbs (recipe here) combined with a plate of Lamb Chops with Charred Chilli Sauce, all mopped up with a heap of Easy Flatbreads is quite possibly one of the best dinners I’ve ever cooked. Word of warning – it was stunningly spicy, Helen likes a bit of chilli but bloody hell it was good, I just couldn’t leave it alone despite the scorching hot nature of it.
A real selling point with ‘Live Fire’ is that nearly all of the recipes include alternative instructions on how to cook the food and achieve similar results without a BBQ.
I can’t recommend ‘Live Fire’ enough, as I said Helen is an incredibly talented cook and a whole collection of her superb recipes in print is something to get stuck-into and really appreciate.
Live Fire is published by Hardie Grant at £26
You can follow Dan @essexeating on instagram.
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