Classic Indian Recipes

An essential collection of beloved home cooking recipes from India’s most famous food historian Classic Indian Recipes is a vibrant celebration of the diversity and depth of Indian cuisine. Pushpesh Pant, author of the global bestseller India: The Cookbook, presents a carefully curated treasury of tried-and-tested dishes from across the country, inviting home cooks around the world to experience this unique and extraordinary culinary culture. The book’s more than 150 recipes reflect the rich tapestry of Indian food traditions. Readers will find an array of homemade meals – including vegetarian options – along with sumptuous feasting dishes and festive sweets, each accompanied by a lively headnote and stunning photograph of the finished dish. Well-known and much-loved dished such as Butter Chicken, Roghanjosh, and Dal Makhani appear alongside more traditional and unusual fare – for example, Hyderabadi Dum ki Biryani (slow-cooked biryani) and Gucchi Pulau (morel pilaf). There are accessible versions of iconic recipes, such as samosas, pakoras, dosas, and chapatis, as well as a host of chutneys and drinks. With a detailed introduction covering the various regions of the country and the gradual evolution of Indian food across India and the world, Pushpesh Pant sets the stage for the recipes that follow. His insights into the cultural and historical background of Indian cuisine reveal the philosophy of Indian home cooking – one rooted in balance, seasonality, and deeply held roots. Recipes include: Hariali Paneer Tikka (green paneer skewers), Dhokla (steamed lentil cake), Musallam Raan (slow-cooked aromatic leg of lamb), Nejandu Kari (crab curry), Aloo Methi (potatoes with fenugreek), and Shahi Tukra (royal bread pudding).

Pushpesh Pant was born in Nainital, northern India. He is an academic and food historian, and retired as professor of international relations at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi in 2011. A regular recipe columnist and author of many cookbooks, including the globally bestselling India: The Cookbook, he spent two decades collecting authentic family recipes from all over the subcontinent.