January 29, 2018
Whilst Asian food is one of the most popular cuisines in Britain, it is also one of the most misunderstood. With such a long food history, the countries of India and Pakistan have so much more to teach us about cooking: their menus are so much more varied, vast and truly delicious beneath the surface we have scratched.
Influenced over hundreds of years by external factors such as colonialism, invasions, ancient trade routes and modern food influencers, Asian food is hugely under-represented in Britain. To help broaden our pallets, here are five cookbooks that can teach you more of the rural cooking of Pakistan and India:
Kicking off with a handy introduction to Indian cooking before evolving into the vast subject that is Indian cuisine; Jaffrey also reminisces about life and shares personal anecdotes that are heavily entwined with her cooking.
If ever there was an Indian food thesaurus – this is it. Published first in 1980, this book contains the most comprehensive recordings of Indian cuisine. Dishes are made simple thanks to preparation techniques that demystify any apprehensions you may carry about Indian cooking.
One of the most iconic Asian cookbooks has been separated into six sections; each representing an Asian cuisine. The Pakistani and Indian recipes scale down the labour-intensive preparations to help include everyone. Includes everything from snacks and samosas, to flatbreads and sweet dishes, and everything in-between.
A curry lover’s haven of spice mixes and pastes to create any of your favourite gravies and sauces. If you love to devote yourself to creating dishes from scratch and want to push yourself to create dishes across a broad vegetarian and non-vegetarian spectrum, then this is the book for you.
Royal Nawaab’s halal restaurant in London has a huge selection of Pakistani and Indian cuisine to choose from, if you don’t feel like cooking at home tonight.
