{"id":7529,"date":"2026-09-23T18:06:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T18:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=7529"},"modified":"2026-09-23T18:06:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T18:06:43","slug":"the-book-im-cooking-no-1-best-indian-cookbook-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=7529","title":{"rendered":"The Book I’m Cooking: No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"The<\/p>\n

I\u2019m happy to say I have another new series for you! Every month, I\u2019ll take you inside a new cookbook and share a recipe, a conversation with the author, and plenty of photos. First up is No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World<\/a> by Meherwan Irani.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Meherwan<\/a> is the James Beard Award-winning chef behind the Indian street food restaurants Chai Pani<\/a> and Botiwalla<\/a>; the founder of the popular spice company Spicewalla<\/a>; and now a debut cookbook author. Since this book arrived on my doorstep, I\u2019ve been reading, lol-ing, and cooking from it non-stop.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s basically everything you could want to eat: chaat, sandwiches, grilled dishes, desi Chinese food (chili chicken lovers unite!), roadside truck stop cooking, drinks, and desserts. Of course, there\u2019s a butter chicken and a recipe called The Obligatory Saag Paneer. But the chapter on home cooking is what I\u2019ve really been working my way through: a beautiful vegetable pulao, masala-seasoned green beans that are probably the only way I\u2019ll be making them from now on, Mom\u2019s Quick \u2018n\u2019 Easy Potatoes (they are in fact really quick and wicked easy), and My Grandma\u2019s Dal, which might be my favorite thing so far.<\/p>\n

Beyond the food, the personal essays and asides (there\u2019s even An Aside About Asides) make this book a treasure trove for anyone endlessly fascinated by the complex history of Indian food. Topics include Auntie Holdbacks, Why There\u2019s No Fucking Naan in Here!, A Curry By Any Other Name, and What Makes Chai Chai. He opens the book by saying, \u201cMy name is Meherwan Irani, and I\u2019m here to tell you that Indian street food is the best food on the planet.\u201d Now, 288 pages later, I\u2019m ready to agree.<\/p>\n

\"Meherwan<\/p>\n

Meherwan and I got to sit down the other day for a chat, and our conversation inspired me in a million ways. Here\u2019s a condensed version:<\/p>\n

Casey: This book doesn\u2019t look like any other cookbook on my shelf. The design is loud and funny and filled with visual interruptions \u2014 it almost feels like I\u2019m walking down a street in India.<\/strong>
Meherwan:<\/strong> When I sat down with our designer, Mikey Files, I said, \u2018I want the cookbook to feel like you\u2019re in one of our restaurants.\u2019 We\u2019re always trying to create a sense of place. I really like the way you put it, that it feels like you\u2019re strolling down the streets of Mumbai, visiting these various hawker stands.<\/p>\n

When you look at the street food scene in India, art is a huge component. The rickshaws, the Tata trucks, every street cart \u2014 they\u2019re decorated in styles that are bold and audacious, but also brilliant. The canteens, the Irani caf\u00e9s, the little desi Chinese restaurants each have their own visual language, too. The closest comparison in America might be an old Pizza Hut. Even if it\u2019s a Foot Locker now, you look at the roofline and go, \u2018I\u2019m pretty sure that used to be a Pizza Hut.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\u2018No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World\u2019<\/a> is a phenomenal title. There are recipes that come from your mother, recipes from your childhood, recipes you found traveling through India, recipes that reflect the influence of Western and neighboring Asian countries \u2014 really, the definition of \u2018Indian food\u2019 is incredibly broad. How did you decide what belonged in this book?<\/strong>
Calling a cookbook from a part of India an \u2018Indian cookbook\u2019 would be like taking a cookbook from Spain and calling it a \u2018European cookbook.\u2019 Culinarily speaking, the regions of India are really distinct, so if you\u2019re going to write a book about the cuisine of India, you have to find the throughlines. For me, one of those throughlines has always been the street food. You can find an aloo tikki from north to south. You\u2019ll find pani puri called different things in different parts of the country. To me, street food is the most democratic, egalitarian, pan-Indian food.<\/p>\n

The second thing I wanted to convey was that people have this idea of Indian cuisine being \u2018traditional\u2019 \u2014 that there\u2019s an \u2018authentic\u2019 version and a version that has been Westernized. I take issue with that idea, because when does the clock start and when does it stop? We\u2019ve been cooking food as a civilization for at least 5,000 years, and things we now think of as essential to Indian cuisine \u2014 chilies, tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers \u2014 are relatively recent arrivals. Indian food is meant to evolve. People come from all over the world and exchange ideas, and people from different parts of India exchange ideas.<\/p>\n

You see that especially on the streets, where the rules get thrown out the window. Every street vendor, even one a block away from another, might have their own version of the same dish. And the same thing happens with home cooking. Somebody might say, \u2018This isn\u2019t authentic.\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018At whose house?\u2019 Because I guarantee you, if you go a couple blocks down the street to another auntie\u2019s house, it\u2019s completely different there. So, that\u2019s how I chose what belonged: the stuff I love and seek out when I\u2019m in India, but also food that reflects that idea of Indian cuisine as evolving, pan-regional, and not bound by tradition.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

You say you want this to become the most used Indian cookbook in the world \u2014 and it already is in my house! What did you have to unlearn as a restaurant chef to write recipes that a home cook could actually accomplish?<\/strong>
It\u2019s funny, I actually had to unlearn how to be a home cook to open a restaurant. I wasn\u2019t classically trained. All I knew was how to cook at home. For the book, the challenge was taking a cuisine that traditionally involves a lot of labor and getting it to a place where one person can bang it out. Throughout the book, I keep saying: If you don\u2019t have this, don\u2019t worry. Buy it pre-cut. Buy it premade. I\u2019m a huge fan of high-quality frozen vegetables. Do you really want to blanch spinach in salted water and then dunk it into an ice bath? I don\u2019t either!<\/p>\n

I think a lot of cookbooks try to make you feel like a chef by teaching you to do everything the chef-y way. But I want to give people license to take the shortcut. I want to be the guy who says, \u2018Go to the grocery store, buy the damn frozen spinach, and you\u2019ll have dinner in 10 minutes.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

If I want this book to actually change the way I cook \u2014 not just teach me five great Indian recipes \u2014 what\u2019s a habit you hope I\u2019ll pick up while cooking from it for six months?<\/strong>
First, I hope you will learn more from making mistakes than you will from nailing the recipe. Growing up in India when I did, it was a fairly patriarchal hierarchy, so my mom never taught me how to cook. When I started cooking Indian food for myself in my dorm room in South Carolina, I made a lot of mistakes, but that\u2019s how I learned. This is what happens when mustard seed burns. That\u2019s what happens if you crowd the pan and don\u2019t get a good sear. What you learn from fixing your mistake sticks with you.<\/p>\n

And if you don\u2019t mind screwing up, the second thing follows naturally: You can be fearless with experimentation. The recipe calls for kale pakora and you don\u2019t have kale but you have chard? Try it! Maybe you\u2019ll come up with something incredible.<\/p>\n

I wanted this to be the Indian cookbook where somebody looks at a recipe and goes, \u2018Oh, this is 30 minutes, and I think I have most of what I need.\u2019 Because once you\u2019re cooking without being afraid of messing it up, that\u2019s when you actually start to cook.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Meherwan<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

\"my<\/p>\n

My Grandma\u2019s Dal<\/strong>
Serves 4 to 6<\/p>\n

India is the land of a thousand dals, and this recipe is my buoy in the vast sea of lentils washing across the subcontinent. My maternal grandparents, Shubudra and Kumar, grew basmati rice (along with wheat and sugarcane) in the fields outside of Dehradun, in the foothills of the Himalayas. I\u2019d spend my summers on the farm with them to escape the heat of the Deccan Plateau.<\/p>\n

Although they did occasionally eat meat, their day-to-day diet was almost exclusively vegetarian. I can close my eyes and remember sitting cross-legged on my grandma\u2019s screened-in veranda, eating rice and dal out of a three-compartment metal thali, complaining to my mother (under my breath, of course) that this was boring and that I would rather have some biryani. I now wish I could smack little me on the head, because today, this dal represents everything I love about Indian home cooking.<\/p>\n

This simple, hearty dal is made with both pink and yellow lentils \u2014 the former break down while the latter remain chunky \u2014 and features the use of tadka to flavor the whole lot. Dal is nutritious, filling, and keeps beautifully; serve it over freshly steamed basmati rice for the full effect.<\/p>\n

Dal<\/em>
1 cup masoor dal (split red lentils)
1 cup toor dal (split yellow lentils, aka pigeon peas)
1 1\/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1\/4 cup diced red onion (about \u00bd medium onion)
1\/4 cup diced Roma tomatoes (1 to 2 tomatoes)
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar (optional)<\/p>\n

Tadka<\/em>
1\/4 cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed
2 teaspoons mustard seed
2 teaspoons cumin seed
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1\/4 teaspoon hing (optional)
4 whole dried red chilies, such as Kashmiri (see below)
1 tablespoon peeled and finely minced fresh ginger (about a 1-inch knob)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 to 3 cloves)
1\/4 cup diced Roma tomatoes (1 to 2 tomatoes)
Hot water, as needed<\/p>\n

Combine both dals in a bowl and fill the bowl with water; agitate with your fingers to rinse and pour the rinse water off the top. You don\u2019t have to use a strainer or colander, but three or four rinses this way should get rid of most of the starch and dust in the dal.<\/p>\n

Once they\u2019re rinsed, cover the dals with water and soak for a minimum of 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes. Soaking the dal helps it cook faster \u2014 the 10 minutes you invest up front will save you 20 minutes of cooking time later on, so it\u2019s definitely worth it.<\/p>\n

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, combine the dals with 8 cups of water and the salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the water reaches a boil, add the onions, tomatoes, and brown sugar (if using), then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover partially with a lid, leaving just a small crack for steam to escape. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the dal is soft enough to mash between your fingers, 25 to 30 minutes. You\u2019ll notice a little scum or foam forming on top; scoop this off with a large spoon or ladle. The dal should thicken slightly as it cooks.<\/p>\n

To make the tadka, heat the oil in a small saut\u00e9 pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the mustard seeds; when they start to wiggle and pop, turn the heat down to medium to avoid burning. (Make sure the oil is hot enough that the mustard seeds actually start to pop; otherwise they\u2019re not flavoring the oil!)<\/p>\n

As soon as the mustard seeds pop, turn the heat to low and add the cumin seeds, turmeric, hing (if using), and chilies. Almost immediately add the ginger and garlic. Allow those to sizzle for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stir until they break down and the moisture evaporates, 4 to 5 minutes.<\/p>\n

Pour the tadka into the pot with the dal and stir well to incorporate. Swish the tadka pot with \u00bd cup or so of hot water to get all the bits loose, and pour this into the dal. Stir well and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 2 to 3 more minutes to fully incorporate the flavors.<\/p>\n

Serve with basmati rice and\/or a spicy curry. Leftover dal keeps, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Plus, four other cookbooks I\u2019m loving this month:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Dinner Time: Deeply Delicious Meals in 15, 30, 45, and 60 Minutes<\/a><\/strong> by Zena Kamgaing
Why I love it:<\/strong> I\u2019m always suspicious when \u201cquick\u201d is the main selling point \u2014 what are we sacrificing in the name of time?! But Zena\u2019s recipes are genuinely exciting, whether you\u2019ve got 15 minutes to throw something together or a full hour to really get into it.
What I\u2019m making:<\/strong> Curry Butter Shrimp, Gochujang Pork Lettuce Wraps, Peanut Butter Gyoza Noodles, Broccolini Caesar Pasta Salad (all from the 15 minutes chapter!)
Who it\u2019s for:<\/strong> Anyone whose life is scheduled to the minute.<\/p>\n

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Greek Out: Sunny Vibes, High-Energy Mediterranean Flavor<\/a><\/strong> by Maria Koutsogiannis
Why I love it:<\/strong> I hold my cookbooks by Diane Kochilas, Aglaia Kremezi, and Vefa Alexiadou near and dear. Maria\u2019s sun-soaked book of approachable meals feels like a natural next step for modern Greek cooking with an American accent.
What I\u2019m making:<\/strong> Lemon-Feta Wings with Feta Ranch, Lemon Pasta with Toasted Almond Crumbs, Gigantes Plaki (Tomato-Simmered Butter Beans), Portokalopita (Orange Phyllo Cake)
Who it\u2019s for:<\/strong> Anyone who wants to live Euro Summer™ all year round.<\/p>\n

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Carla Bakes: Sweet, Savory, and from the Heart<\/strong><\/a> by Carla Hall
Why I love it:<\/strong> It\u2019s impossible not to love Carla, and her personality explodes across every page of her smart, inventive book. Her roots are Southern, but her beautifully unpredictable brain takes the recipes all over the map.
What I\u2019m making:<\/strong> Scallion Biscuit and Sausage Gravy Casserole, Southern Pecan Crinkle Baklava, Pineapple Upside-Down Pie, and Lemon Meringue Cake
Who it\u2019s for:<\/strong> Anyone who wants their treats to be a little more playful.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Happy Snacking, Don\u2019t Die! Foraging and Vegan Recipes with Black Forager<\/a><\/strong> by Alexis Nikole Nelson with Jeanelle Hayner Olson
Why I love it:<\/strong> Alexis writes movingly about how foraging and wild foods connect her to generations of her family. And her book is also pure fun: the weeds and trees you\u2019ve passed a thousand times suddenly feel like an (edible) treasure hunt.
What I\u2019m making: <\/strong>Violet Lemonade, Fried Oyster Mushroom Po\u2019Boys, Juniper-Cured Carrot Lox, Pine Shortbread Cookies
Who it\u2019s for:<\/strong> Anyone who needs a reminder to go touch grass.<\/p>\n\n

Casey Elsass<\/a> is a food writer, recipe developer, and cookbook author based in Brooklyn. He is the author of the bestselling cookbook What Can I Bring?: Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life<\/a> and has co-authored more than 30 cookbooks. His writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, New York Magazine, Bon App\u00e9tit<\/em>, NPR, Food52, and, of course, Cup of Jo<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

P.S. Nine cookbooks that earn their keep<\/a>, and how writing a cookbook taught me what home really means<\/a>. <\/p>\n

(\u201cNo. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World\u201d text copyright \u00a9 2026 by Meherwan Irani. Photographs copyright \u00a9 2026 by Tim Robison, Poras Chaudhary, and Mikey Files. Photograph on page 2, copyright \u00a9 2026 Mehera Kleiner. Photographs on pages 193 and 257, copyright \u00a9 2026 Daniel Peach. Illustrations copyright \u00a9 2026 by Mikey Files. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Portrait of Casey with cookbooks and all other photos by Pacifico Silano.)<\/p>\n

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