Title: Asma’s Indian Kitchen
Contributors: Darjeeling Express
Type: Nonfiction
Genre: Food and Drink
Publisher: Interlink Books
Date published: February 22, 2019

A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Thomas Allen & Son, in exchange for an honest review.

Let Asma Khan feed your soul with this collection of authentic Indian recipes. Award-winning restaurant Darjeeling Express began life as a dinner party with friends; Indian food lovingly cooked from family recipes that go back generations.

In this book, Asma reveals the secret to her success, telling her immigrant’s story and how food brought her home. The recipes pay homage to her royal Mughlai ancestry and follow the route of the Darjeeling Express train from the busy streets of Bengal, through Calcutta, where she grew up, and along the foothills of the Himalayas to Hyderabad. Platters of dishes boasting texture and intense flavour encourage you to gather for a traditional `dawaat’ (feast).

Starting with simple midweek Feasts For Two, Asma then reveals the way to quick and easy cooking with less spice for Family Feasts. There are Feasts For Friends for when you want to show off a little and Celebratory Feasts to feed a crowd. Many of the recipes are vegetarian, there are sweet treats and drinks, too, and all feature alongside lesser-known recipes and stories unique to Asma’s family. This is more than just a collection of delicious and accessible recipes, it is a celebration of heritage, culture, community and quality. This is Asma’s Indian Kitchen.

Before I talk about anything else, I just want to make it known that I am a very big fan of Indian food! I will use any chance I get to try new Indian dishes (whether in a restaurant, at a wedding, or by cooking something myself). I tend to avoid the latter option because I like to know how a dish is supposed to taste before I try to make it at home. I requested this book from Thomas Allen and Sons because the cover, title, and subject caught my attention. When the book arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it’s a hardcover! Those of you who have read some of my past cookbook reviews will know that I’m a big fan of hardcover books for in the kitchen. They just survive a lot longer that way.

I was also pleased to find that the interior of Asma’s Indian Kitchen is as lovely as the cover! I love how the text is laid out, the way that things are explained, and also the beautiful photography! These pages are not glossy (which is my preference in cookbooks and larger nonfiction titles), but I find that the matte paper really works with the cover, as well as the overall look, and photographic style used inside of the book. The recipes were easy to follow, and the accompanying photos are just great. Overall, this book was a pleasure to use as a cookbook and also a pleasure to read as a regular book because of some of the extra text explaining things.

THANK YOU FOR READING MY BOOK REVIEW! HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT DID YOU THINK? AND IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, DO YOU WANT TO, OR NOT? HOW COME? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!