Craveable: All I Want to Eat

by Seema Pankhania

Seema Pankhania's first cookbook for food that will wow all week long, with big flavours from all over the world.

Seema Pankhania is in love with food that dazzles and excites; food that spurs memory and recalls a time or place in a single bite; food that allows you to travel the world without leaving your kitchen.

In Craveable, Seema shares joyful, flavour-led dishes, that are sure to satisfy every mood and appetite. Inspired by her travels and the food cravings we all share, Seema will take you on a journey of fresh, comforting, salty, sweet and celebratory meals.
Dishes
- Bombay Fish Finger Sandwich
- Pickled Jalapeno Mac & Cheese
- Aubergine & Mushroom Iskender
- Indian Fried Chicken
- Spiced Chipotle Short Rib Ragù
- Sticky Umami Mushroom Rice Bowl
- Glass-Shatteringly Crispy Kimchi & Potato Pancakes
- Caramelized Honey & Za'atar Cheese Toastie
- Spiced Rum Sticky Toffee Pudding . . .

. . .and even a 30-minute Emergency Birthday Cake

With Seema’s every recipe infused with her voracious appetite for travel and big flavour, this is a celebration of food in its purest form and a collection truly delicious, accessible recipes that anyone can make.

Truly Craveable!

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food

Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2024

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seema Pankhania spends her days thinking about food. When she was a kid, her mother would make big dinners for the family every night. When she went off to college, she studied neuroscience, but kept feeling drawn to food, so after graduation, she found a job in restaurants, specifically Gordon Ramsay’s Lucky Cat in London. When the long hours took her down through an injury, she started selling brownies out of her kitchen. And then, she found social media, and found the outlet where she can cook what she wants and share it with her followers on her TikTok channel Seema Gets Baked.

Pankhania isn’t a meal planner. She has an appreciation for chefs who plan out a week’s worth of meals and shops for it and preps in advance. She cooks by her mood. She just decides what food she’s in the mood for, goes to her pantry, and cooks up something delicious. So when it came to organizing her first cookbook, that’s how she put it together. No matter how you feel, she has a recipe that will make the perfect dinner for you, no matter if you are craving fresh, salty, spicy, green, comforting, or sweet. (But if you prefer a traditional cookbook, there is a key at the beginning that lists the mains and sides and desserts to make things easier for you.)

So if you are craving something fresh, you can try the Bombay Fish Stick Sandwich, Hainanese Salmon Rice, or Peach & Halloumi Rolls. If you’re in the mood for salty and savory, you can go with the Glass-Shatteringly Crispy Kimchi & Potato Pancakes, Secret Cheesy Masala Egg Muffin, Shrimp & Green Onion Pakora, or a Caramelized Honey and Za’atar Grilled Cheese.

If you’re hankering for something spicy, you can try the Peanutty Salsa Macha Noodles, Smashed Kebab Burgers, or Korean-ish Fried Popcorn Chicken. And if that makes you nervous, the beginning of the cookbook also contains a chart of peppers and how hot they are, so you can set your own spice level and either stick with what you’re comfortable with or test your limits, it’s up to you.

If you’re craving something green, there is a Smoky Cauliflower & Pepper Shawarma Bowl, Cabbage Dumplings, or Thai Basil Eggplant. If you’d prefer something comforting, you could try the Citrusy Miso Roast Chicken, French Onion Gnocchi, or Pickled Jalapeno Mac & Cheese. Or if you want something special (and don’t mind spending some extra time preparing it), there is The Butter Chicken, Sizzling Brown Butter Tandoori Lamb Chops, Spiced Chipotle Short Rib Ragu or Sticky Tamarind Cola Ribs.

Looking for something sweet? There’s The Brownie Recipe, the one Pankharia sold after leaving her restaurant job. But there’s also Coconut Cream Key Lime Pie, Spiced Rum Sticky Toffee Pudding, and Emergency Birthday Cake, which works for any celebration. And maybe most importantly, there is an entire chapter of recipes for when you’re in the mood for something now and just can’t wait around. Then you can try the 15-Minute Laksa, Cheesy Gochujang Tortellini, Spicy Tuna Rice Bowl, or Mum’s Emergency 10-Minute Dal.

I think Craveable is a beautiful cookbook. It is inviting and electric, inspiring and warm. Reading it feels like getting invited into the kitchen of a good friend, where you can find the comfort and laughter you crave, along with good food that will remind you everything will be okay. The recipes borrow from ideas and ingredients from around the world and blend them deliciously, and each one comes with the time it will take to make it and thoughtful notes about how to customize it to make it fit your taste or lifestyle. Many of these recipes are vegetarian or vegan or can easily be modified, making it easy to find something to fit just what you’re in the mood for.

A copy of Craveable was provided by Ten Speed Press with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seema starts off with an introduction that explains her concept of this cookbook. How she wanted to compile a list of simple and trusted recipes that you could do at any time. Seema includes how she got started in the food industry and how she began learning different recipes from different cultures. We are given both a non-traditional table of contents and a traditional one which lets you enjoy the book either way. You will also find a section on “Find Your Own Spice” in which the different spice levels of peppers are explained. Another section is on simple substitutions such as peanut butter or any nut butter, chives for green onions, etc.

Each new section starts off with “All I Want is something...” for example Something Fresh, Something Salty and Savory, etc. Seema also includes photos, notes and serving sizes on each recipe. I tried the following recipes which were easy to follow and delicious: Bombay Fish Stick Sandwich, Cheese & Onion Borek, Shrimp & Green Onion Pakora, Seb’s Tarragon Chicken, The Brownie recipe, Upside Down Raspberry Orange & Olive Oil Cake and so much more. A great cookbook to add to your collection. Thank you, Ten Speed Press, for a free copy of this book in Exchange for an honest review.

[Brenda Dickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ten Speed Press provided me with a free copy of this book; the opinions are my own. This beautifully photographed cookbook will satisfy any craving in existence. It features many wonderful recipes ranging from salty to sweet and every craving in between.
I really like the way that Seema has arranged the order of this book - ordered by what one might be craving at any given time. Ingenious!
Every recipe looks and sounds fabulous, but I admit that the Sweets Craving Chapter is what I was hyper-focused on. The Brownie Recipe is great (and has a backstory). The Coconut Cream Key Lime Pie is absolutely to-die-for!
The book also includes spice levels and substitutions for ingredients.
I highly recommend this delightful cookbook.

[aarushi · Rating 5 out of 5]

my first read of the new year! every year, i tell myself that i'll learn how to *really* cook, and i think that 2026 may actually be the year you guys... anyway i found this cookbook so bright and delightful and i hope to try out some of the recipes in it! it's nice to see indian recipes in a cookbook that isn't exclusively about indian cuisine, and i like the representation of food from around the globe in here.

also a special mention for the fact that every recipe actually has a corresponding photo, i always appreciate that!

[Aine Finegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wowsers!

I am 62 years old and have lived and visited lots of countries and would consider myself a "global" cook. I used to have 400 hard copy cookbooks but now keep them on my tablet. However, as I have never in my life ever bookmarked so many recipes in one cookbook, I will be ordering the hard copy of this....just my type of food...big bold flavours, unusual combinations and not overly fussy....well done Seema! Xxx

[Lucy Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fab book! I've followed Seema for ages now so was very excited about the book. Great idea to include swaps in recipes as sometimes I do find there's just that * one * thing I don't have.

Only made one thing so far but very excited to make more, and the curried tartare sauce for fish finger butties is a game changer!

[Kristen Barenthaler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delicious, well-explained, and overall beautiful!