What do you think?
Rate this book
Phaidon Global Cookbooks
India, The Cookbook
India: The Cookbook is the first comprehensive guide to Indian cooking, with over 1,000 recipes covering every aspect of India's rich and colourful culinary heritage. Unlike many other Indian cookbooks, it is written by an Indian culinary academic and cookbook author who lives and works in Delhi, and the recipes are a true reflection of how traditional dishes are really cooked all over India. They have been carefully edited to ensure that they are simple to follow and achievable in western kitchens, with detailed information about authentic cooking utensils and ingredients.
Indian food has been hugely popular in the UK for many years, and the appetite for Indian food shows no sign of diminishing. Now, for the first time, a definitive, wide-ranging and authoritative book on authentic Indian food is available, making it simple to prepare your favourite Indian dishes at home, alongside less well-known dishes such as bataer masalydaar (marinated quails cooked with almonds, chillies and green cardamom), or sambharachi kodi (Goan prawn curry with coconut and tamarind). The comprehensive chapters on breads, pickles, spice pastes and chutneys contain a wide variety of recipes rarely seen in Indian cookbooks, such as bagarkhani roti (a rich sweet bread with raisins, cardamom and poppy seeds) and tamatar ka achar (tomato and mustard-seed pickle).
India: The Cookbook is the only book on Indian food you'll ever need.
Indian food has been hugely popular in the UK for many years, and the appetite for Indian food shows no sign of diminishing. Now, for the first time, a definitive, wide-ranging and authoritative book on authentic Indian food is available, making it simple to prepare your favourite Indian dishes at home, alongside less well-known dishes such as bataer masalydaar (marinated quails cooked with almonds, chillies and green cardamom), or sambharachi kodi (Goan prawn curry with coconut and tamarind). The comprehensive chapters on breads, pickles, spice pastes and chutneys contain a wide variety of recipes rarely seen in Indian cookbooks, such as bagarkhani roti (a rich sweet bread with raisins, cardamom and poppy seeds) and tamatar ka achar (tomato and mustard-seed pickle).
India: The Cookbook is the only book on Indian food you'll ever need.
960 pages, Hardcover
First published October 27, 2010
37 people are currently reading
1190 people want to read
About the author
Pushpesh Pant
36 books32 followersPushpesh Pant is a noted Indian academic, food critic and historian. He retired as a Professor of International relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 2, 2019
I'm sure Phaidon makes pretty cool architecture books, but this cookbook is not very user-friendly. I grew up in an Indian household (familiar with most spices + basic preparations), but even I am baffled by the inconsistency from recipe to recipe. Some of the recipes look great, but it is a bit of a gamble. An Indian cookbook should provide some basic explanation of the processes involved. For example, the achar recipes should have some explanation of the basic chemistry at work. At the very least, a recipe for a pickle should give some explanation for how long it will last, refrigeration concerns, etc.
Bummed to leave this review since a lot of the recipes look interesting, but again, not really worth the gamble.
Bummed to leave this review since a lot of the recipes look interesting, but again, not really worth the gamble.
June 8, 2012
What an awesome book. It is not easy to find if you want it, but your rewards will be endless if you do.
Authentic, traditional Indian, completely unsullied. The way it is supposed to be cooked.
As an added bonus it is also a beautiful cookbook and it now takes pride of place in my collection.
Love this book.
Authentic, traditional Indian, completely unsullied. The way it is supposed to be cooked.
As an added bonus it is also a beautiful cookbook and it now takes pride of place in my collection.
Love this book.
May 25, 2018
I have a similar problem with this book as I do with other Phaidon books, that in the interest of creating a visually spectacular tome the recipes themselves are often impractical and it is exceedingly clear the more you try to actually cook from the books just how little time was spent with each recipe by the author or their test kitchen.
First, since it seems to be a common question, I am Indian myself, so this review comes from the standpoint of an Indian person coming from a family where my grandmother was the cook of the house, not my parents, needing a cookbook to fill in what I didn't learn from my direct relatives.
So, reading this book cover to cover you are definitely able to understand Indian food and the types of dishes authentic Indian food has. The author tried to sort the recipes by region and it is somewhat accurate. The author is a famous food guy in India so his name being so prominently placed on the front does mean something. The graphic design is exceptional, as per Phaidon standard. It is a very attractive coffee table cookbook.
When I try to cook from it, I often have the problem where the recipes call for impractical steps. Of course there is interest in the "old way" but many people don't live in the "old way" and so naturally, there have been changes that have been authentically adapted to Indian cooking that could have been included. For example many dessert recipes are impractical, and use milk products such as khoya, etc which sometimes require lengthy time of preparation on their own, never mind continuing with the rest of the recipe. I believe ingredients like khoya and fresh paneer are not items which the curious cook would readily have on hand, and you are only directed to another recipe to make those ingredients before the recipe which is sometimes completely made up of other "recipe required" ingredients. Yes, although "traditionally" sweet milk-based desserts are made with long-preparation ingredients, it is also "traditional" that these sweets are purchased outside of the home because of their long and tedious preparation. That's something to consider if you are writing a cookbook for a home cook in my opinion. Especially because I know there are shortcuts like instant milk powder that even my Indian grandmother always used.
Another somewhat paradoxical criticism I have is that, although many recipes are quite complicated, they are almost too simplified as a matter of taste. I can't help but adding a sprinkle of this or that when I'm making food from this book because often times the listed masala is TOO flat or something seems missing. If a little more time was spent on each recipe, the masala could be tweaked to perfection. I would rather have half of the recipes that taste amazing when followed to the letter than twice the recipes you need to "work with." I really don't see how it would be clear to a curious cook how to tweak something either if you didn't grow up with this food.
In the end, I give it three stars for those reasons. Answering the question that everyone asks: it doesn't taste like grandma's.
First, since it seems to be a common question, I am Indian myself, so this review comes from the standpoint of an Indian person coming from a family where my grandmother was the cook of the house, not my parents, needing a cookbook to fill in what I didn't learn from my direct relatives.
So, reading this book cover to cover you are definitely able to understand Indian food and the types of dishes authentic Indian food has. The author tried to sort the recipes by region and it is somewhat accurate. The author is a famous food guy in India so his name being so prominently placed on the front does mean something. The graphic design is exceptional, as per Phaidon standard. It is a very attractive coffee table cookbook.
When I try to cook from it, I often have the problem where the recipes call for impractical steps. Of course there is interest in the "old way" but many people don't live in the "old way" and so naturally, there have been changes that have been authentically adapted to Indian cooking that could have been included. For example many dessert recipes are impractical, and use milk products such as khoya, etc which sometimes require lengthy time of preparation on their own, never mind continuing with the rest of the recipe. I believe ingredients like khoya and fresh paneer are not items which the curious cook would readily have on hand, and you are only directed to another recipe to make those ingredients before the recipe which is sometimes completely made up of other "recipe required" ingredients. Yes, although "traditionally" sweet milk-based desserts are made with long-preparation ingredients, it is also "traditional" that these sweets are purchased outside of the home because of their long and tedious preparation. That's something to consider if you are writing a cookbook for a home cook in my opinion. Especially because I know there are shortcuts like instant milk powder that even my Indian grandmother always used.
Another somewhat paradoxical criticism I have is that, although many recipes are quite complicated, they are almost too simplified as a matter of taste. I can't help but adding a sprinkle of this or that when I'm making food from this book because often times the listed masala is TOO flat or something seems missing. If a little more time was spent on each recipe, the masala could be tweaked to perfection. I would rather have half of the recipes that taste amazing when followed to the letter than twice the recipes you need to "work with." I really don't see how it would be clear to a curious cook how to tweak something either if you didn't grow up with this food.
In the end, I give it three stars for those reasons. Answering the question that everyone asks: it doesn't taste like grandma's.
October 25, 2011
Phaidon is a fantastic publisher and I was so excited to get my hands on this cookbok. This book is comprehensive - an incredible amount of recipes from all over India, supported with short but pertinent stories. I especially liked the full menu suggestions that the book finished up with. Like another reviewer said, there aren't as many photographs as some other cookbooks, but it doesn't take away from the product.
January 17, 2013
This thing is a wreck. Poorly edited with an ingredient list a mile long/requiring Amazon purchases for over half the recipes. Will appeal to traditionalists and people who are really into Indian food. Neophytes steer clear.
April 27, 2016
If you have this, you don't need any other.
December 8, 2021
Read the introduction and brief history /explanation of Indian food and now I can't wait to start making some of these recipes! 🍲🙌
January 5, 2025
I've made a fair few recipes from this book and sadly there's only 3 or 4 recipes that I really liked. Recipes should have been tested because instructions for man were off. Wouldn't recommend this book - much better Indian cookbooks out there. Quality over quantity...
April 7, 2012
It's been a long time since I've wished to own a book. Pushpesh Pant's "India: the Cookbook" is a hefty tome that I could see thumbing through just about every week for ideas. The overall design features lush photos and perfectly-sized fonts that are a cook's dream. It's also fairly extensive. You can tell that a lot of love and years went into it, as mentioned in Pant's foreward. I particularly liked that Pant noted regions, so that one could serve a meal strictly based on the cuisine of--say--Punjab, if one wanted.
There are some drawbacks, though. Although the recipes are fairly clear, there are some quirks to them, specifically when it comes to the cut or preparation of some key ingredients. Oddly, some ingredients are explained while others are not. Unlike others, I didn't mind so much about the odd placement of photos. I don't necessarily need a photo next to each recipe, though I could see how the--though beautiful--grouped photography of dishes between sections would be annoying to other cooks. The index is also a bit confusing and while there are plenty of recipes for some difficult dishes, there are also recipes for dishes that are too simple to be included: recipes for the standard cooking of rice, for example, seem unnecessary and take up valuable space.
But otherwise, and while not "the be all and end all," it's a great book to add to the classics of Indian cooking, and like many others I'm hoping that Pant revisits this in a later edition that clears up some of those minor issues.
There are some drawbacks, though. Although the recipes are fairly clear, there are some quirks to them, specifically when it comes to the cut or preparation of some key ingredients. Oddly, some ingredients are explained while others are not. Unlike others, I didn't mind so much about the odd placement of photos. I don't necessarily need a photo next to each recipe, though I could see how the--though beautiful--grouped photography of dishes between sections would be annoying to other cooks. The index is also a bit confusing and while there are plenty of recipes for some difficult dishes, there are also recipes for dishes that are too simple to be included: recipes for the standard cooking of rice, for example, seem unnecessary and take up valuable space.
But otherwise, and while not "the be all and end all," it's a great book to add to the classics of Indian cooking, and like many others I'm hoping that Pant revisits this in a later edition that clears up some of those minor issues.
October 15, 2021
Caveat: This is a first impression review based on cooking one recipe.
That said, in the middle of making my first dish out of this, I felt compelled to get online to read some reviews because I found what had looked like a very extensive, thorough cookbook to be somewhat confusing and, to be frank, sloppily written. This was confirmed by other reviews, so I sadly couldn't just chalk it up to my own incompetence. The recipe called for me to add the garam masala twice. There was also a juncture where I was instructed to stir frequently, simmering off some of the liquid...with the lid on. Despite this, the end result was a dish that was close enough that I think I can play with it, leave some of my own notes and nail it after a couple more tries. Unfortunately, I think for most of the recipes, I will likely have to not only read them ahead of time and game plan its execution as usual, but also cross reference them with a couple other recipes to fill in blanks and clarify anything that may be confusing which nobody should have to do with something that is basically an instruction manual.
That said, in the middle of making my first dish out of this, I felt compelled to get online to read some reviews because I found what had looked like a very extensive, thorough cookbook to be somewhat confusing and, to be frank, sloppily written. This was confirmed by other reviews, so I sadly couldn't just chalk it up to my own incompetence. The recipe called for me to add the garam masala twice. There was also a juncture where I was instructed to stir frequently, simmering off some of the liquid...with the lid on. Despite this, the end result was a dish that was close enough that I think I can play with it, leave some of my own notes and nail it after a couple more tries. Unfortunately, I think for most of the recipes, I will likely have to not only read them ahead of time and game plan its execution as usual, but also cross reference them with a couple other recipes to fill in blanks and clarify anything that may be confusing which nobody should have to do with something that is basically an instruction manual.
May 28, 2011
My wife is a great cook and loves to cook, so I cook very little. But I love Indian food and am willing to do the extra work to cook it. I've worked with several Indian cookbooks and this is the best ever: 1000 recipes from all parts of India, and once you collect the basic spices, oils, and dals, you're in business. In days past cooking Indian food used to take all day. These recipes, or at least the ones I've tried, are quite fast. And there are recipes for every ingredient (except broccoli, which I don't remember ever seeing in India). It's well laid out and easy to work from. It's expensive ($50) but Amazon has it for $29.
September 28, 2011
I really really want to own this book. There are quiet a few recipes I want to try.
December 29, 2018
The Silver Spoon of Indian cookery. One of the most beautiful and tasty cookbooks I own! Transported me straight back to my travels around India.
May 23, 2023
Ich liebe die indische Küche und ich finde es beeindruckend wie der Autor fast schon eine Enzyklopädie dieser geschaffen hat. Es hat 20 Jahre gedauert all diese Rezepte aus den verschiedenen Teilen Indiens zusammenzutragen. Allein das verdient Anerkennung! Zudem sieht das Kochbuch auch wirklich hübsch im Schrank aus, weshalb es dort auch jahrelang bei mir stand. Aber leider ist es einfach nicht das richtige Kochbuch für mich. Ich brauche nicht so unendlich viele Rezepte, da ich vielleicht einmal im Monat was Neues in der Küche teste. Ich möchte auch nicht vorher zehn verschiedene Gewürzmischungen zusammenrühren, meistens muss es schnell gehen. Und wie literweise Öl in die Gerichte gekippt wird, hat mich ehrlicherweise schockiert. Es wird also Zeit sich von diesem umfassenden Werk zu verabschieden und mir ein indisches Kochbuch zuzulegen, das den Fokus auf vegetarische, einfache und gesunde Rezepte legt (und bitte zu jedem Rezept auch ein Bild!). Über Tipps freue ich mich sehr!😆
January 29, 2021
I love this cookbook. I use the German version of it, so not sure how it might be differently. I find the recipes, which I tried so far easy to make and they feel authentic to me. (But I don't know whether that is true or not.)
I don't quite understand the trouble people have with finding ingredients. Sure one might need to go to the Asia store or order online, but once you have the things needed, you won't have much trouble to spontaneousily cook from the book. Personally I like using authentic ingredients and wouldn't be to fond of recipes adjusted to westerners.
So far I found what I cooked quite tasty. So certainly it is one of my favourite cooking books.
I don't quite understand the trouble people have with finding ingredients. Sure one might need to go to the Asia store or order online, but once you have the things needed, you won't have much trouble to spontaneousily cook from the book. Personally I like using authentic ingredients and wouldn't be to fond of recipes adjusted to westerners.
So far I found what I cooked quite tasty. So certainly it is one of my favourite cooking books.
November 28, 2017
This has to be the worlds worst cook book. The recipes just don't work. An absolute car crash of a book, poorly laid out, very poor recipe guides and many ingredients simply are not available in the U.K.
I have been cooking Indian food for 30 years, so I'm not a newbie and I have visited and eaten in India, I reckon I do know my Indian food, but this is just junk.
I left one star because it wasn't possible to leave less.
I have been cooking Indian food for 30 years, so I'm not a newbie and I have visited and eaten in India, I reckon I do know my Indian food, but this is just junk.
I left one star because it wasn't possible to leave less.
July 19, 2022
This is an unbelievably thorough cookbook, with over a thousand recipes.
There are two recipes per page. the pictures are in sections throughout the cookbook, so you have to flip through the book to see what a certain recipe should look like.
This is compensated for by the sheer number of recipes.
Despite squeezing in so many recipes, it also indicates the geographic origin of each recipe, which I really appreciate.
It's like a recipe encyclopedia.
There are two recipes per page. the pictures are in sections throughout the cookbook, so you have to flip through the book to see what a certain recipe should look like.
This is compensated for by the sheer number of recipes.
Despite squeezing in so many recipes, it also indicates the geographic origin of each recipe, which I really appreciate.
It's like a recipe encyclopedia.
May 17, 2019
Good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 20, 2021
Quite a compendium of Indian cuisine. The author brings together many regional recipes under one heading. I liked that he separated meat based from non-meat. Well photographed and organized.
May 27, 2025
MAGNIFIQUE. Des recettes, plein de recettes, des vraies! Le paradis (indien).
January 31, 2012
You'll never have the dilemma of not knowing what to cook anymore as this huge cookbook (1000 recipes) covers almost any ingredient imaginable. I should add that this is not really a book for the beginner. The recipes are not complex, but they're not detailed either. This means you do need to know what you are doing. A word of warning: do look at how many people the recipes serve as it varies from 2 people to 6-8 people. You might have to adapt the quantities if your not cooking for as many or as little people.
Read
May 14, 2017Don't let the size of this book intimidate you: it is a true comprehensive look at Indian cuisine. From curries to naans to lassis to spice blends, there is something for everyone who ever wanted to learn anything about Indian cuisine in this book. Some ingredients may be difficult to find and some cooking techniques may be overwhelming to novice chefs, but other recipes are extremely accessible and simple to prepare. Photography is limited, but extremely illustrative.
-- Meagan
-- Meagan
April 28, 2020
Looks pretty but is a heavy paper weight. Missing steps, inconsistent results and I find myself googling similar recipes to figure out the missing steps. Doubt it ever went through a test kitchen. After several years getting rid of it.
November 20, 2020
Loads and loads of good recipes, and background too. But chaotically organised, and impenetrable in many ways. Takes sitting down to read through in detail to get inspiration, or otherwise thinking around one key ingredient.
December 21, 2013
While lovely, the paper is of poor quality and won't stand up to use.
I'd use 660 Curries first.
I'd use 660 Curries first.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews