Anjum's New Indian - Cookbook Review

Anjum's New Indian is a well organized cookbook with regional recipes from states all over India. It documents the traditional Indian cuisine which evolved over time in Indian households.

The book starts with basic recipes like how to make homemade garam masala, indian-style yogurt, paneer and goan red spice paste. It also describes how basic ingredients like tomato, lentils and chilies are actually cooked the Indian way. I believe Indian cooking is unique and renders mild flavorful dishes when ingredients are cooked only in a certain way. This book beautifully describes all those ways.

Even though Indian cuisine is predominantly vegetarian, this book features some amazing non-vegetarian recipes from all regions of India. It 's recipes range from unique entertaining ones like the Anglo-Indian Tomato soup, Madras Pepper Lamb and Kashmiri Pilaff to some basic comforting recipes like the tarka dal, easy mung lentil curry and raitas.

I like the way the recipes are organized under different categories like light meals and snacks, meat, chicken, fish and seafood, vegetables, beans and lentils, rice and bread, raitas and chutneys, desserts and drinks. The recipes also have an introduction to how the recipe shaped up in the particular state of India.

If you are looking for some Indian cookbooks with some authentic non-vegetarian recipes and looking to experiment with cuisines from various states of India, this is your go-to book. It has appetizing pictures and recipes!

Look out for some recipes from the book in the near future in this blog!