India: The Cookbook

Mustard oil is to Bangladeshi food what olive oil is to Italian food. As a person of Bangladeshi origin it is almost unthinkable not to include mustard oil in my cooking repertoire and belongs to the far end of the spectrum of cooking oils—intense and bold in flavour, it has a high smoking point and also features heavily in Indian regional cooking such as Punjabi, South India and West Bengal.

As you limber up for the big day, and anticipation mounts for that all-important Christmas lunch, here is a little extra inspiration and guidance to ensure that festive feast is all you want it to be.

This week we have an embarrassment of riches, an opportunity to share a treasure trove of recipes that add up to an Indian feast – with books from four chefs each with a different take on the rich diversity of food both from India, and influenced by it, and the food they love outside of that tradition.

If we talk about Indian cuisine, we imply something unified. It would be more truthful to talk about Indian cuisines. India’s many cooking styles are deeply regional, overlaid with cultural, religious, and spiritual differences, all of which change with the seasons – which makes investigating India’s regional dishes and cooking styles all the more rewarding.

The 17 books on ckbk’s Indian bookshelf explore the breadth and depth of Indian cuisines, from countrywide compendiums to books that investigate a single cooking style. Come along on a taste tour through our collection…

Learning With Experts is the ultimate online classroom for people who are keen to sharpen their skills in a number of life-enhancing subjects, including gardening, photography, floristry – and food & drink. Find out about some of the courses on offer in this guest post from Learning With Experts, and see how this hands-on skills training can help you get the most from ckbk’s huge range of cookbooks.

Celebrate Passover with four fresh takes on matzo with recipes from Mexico, India, Hungry, and Greece.