Expert Recommends: 5 Cookbooks That You Must Add To Your Bookshelf

For some, cooking is a life skill; for others like Ruchira Hoon, Chef Patron at Dakshin canteen, it becomes a passion project. Hoon started collecting cookbooks as a journalist back in 2008, and now has a collection of over 900. She is also at the helm of a cookbook-cum-potluck club in Delhi with a rather fun name, “Cereal Killer Cookbook Club.” With a cap of 30 people, the club assembles monthly with dishes from a single cookbook. Each person brings two dishes from the book to the table. “This allows us, Cereal Killers, to cook through an entire book in a month,” Hoon said.

According to her, cookbooks are a great way not just to document recipes but also to begin one’s cooking journey and make friends with the kitchen. In an exclusive interview with Outlook Traveller, Chef Hoon suggested five cookbooks that everyone must own and cook out of. These not only provide options for vegetarian, meat-eaters, and pescatarians, but also cover a variety of cuisines.

Cookbook Recommendations By Chef Ruchira Hoon

"The Food Of Sichuan" By Fuchsia Dunlop

British author Fuchsia Dunlop takes you on a food tour across the Sichuan region in China with her red-cover cookbook called "The Food of Sichuan." The cookbook was published in 2019 after Dunlop’s extensive work in China. In this cookbook, the author of one of the greatest cookbooks of all time, "Land of Plenty," revisits the region where her cooking journey began.

“While Indians love their version of Chinese food (Indian Chinese), this book will bring you closer to the authentic flavours of the cuisine,” said Hoon. It offers a brilliant repertoire of recipes from the Sichuan region where food is more spicy, as liked by the Indian palate. “What stands out for me is that in addition to the mouthwatering descriptions of the dazzling flavours and textures of Sichuan cooking, there is enough context setting and stories to understand the origin of these recipes,” added Hoon.

The cookbook features 200 recipes that are not only easy to grasp and follow but also use off the shelf ingredients. Out of these recipes the one that stands out for Hoon is Gong Bao chicken with peanuts that is also called Kung Bao chicken.

The dish gets its name from the Governor General of Sichuan and a Qing dynasty official, Ding Baozhen who really enjoyed it. Baozhen received the title of “Palace Guardian” (gongbao), thus, giving the dish its name.

The dish offers a velvety texture of chicken cubes along with the crispiness of peanuts, paired with the aroma and flavour of the chilli and peppercorns coming through.

The sauce of the dish is called li zhi wei, or “lychee-flavoured”. It is a milder version of sweet-and-sour sauces, made with a mixture of sugar, soy sauces and rice vinegar.

"Baking From My Home To Yours" by Dorie Greenspan

“An underrated magician when it comes to baking,” says Hoon when talking about Dorie Greenspan. Her book "Baking from my home to yours" brims with full-proof and triple tested recipes—an important marker of a good baking book. “Unlike in a hot kitchen, baking gives you little room for error. A lot is about the correct measurements and proper execution. If you don’t follow the recipe, you are signing up for trouble,” added Hoon.

Greenspan has also worked with American author and chef Julia Child, the American cook on whom the 2009 film "Julie and Julia," starring Meryl Streep, was made.

As you flip through the book and assemble all the ingredients, it will remind of your grandma narrating her recipe to you. With over 300 recipes, the book is beautifully written and paired with equally gorgeous photographs.

One of the simplest yet yummiest recipes from the book is that of the marble cake. Everyone can make at home and enjoy thoroughly! The recipe uses simple off-the-rack ingredients like baking powder, vanilla extract, sugar, and milk among others.

"Tenderheart: A Vegetable Cookbook" By Hetty McKinnon

"Tenderheart" is a unique cuisine-agnostic vegetable cookbook by Hetty McKinnon where she treats different vegetables including carrots, kales, potatoes, peas, among 23 others, for different dishes. McKinnon has also chosen a list of Western vegetables to create 10 recipes for each, ensuring the vegetable shines as the hero of the dish.

The book is a Bible for those who wish to broaden their horizons on using a single vegetable in various ways. It might also prove to be useful for parents who might want to curate a Mediterranean, Peruvian, or an Indian dish from a "boring" vegetable.

“Unlike in India where our regional differences become a reason for different vegetables to be cooked and served differently, McKinnon crafts some interesting recipes across cuisines in this extensive, fat book,” said Hoon.

Hoon loves the section on carrot and eggplant which she has cooked innumerable times. The book not only allows readers to go wild and creative with their veggies, but also makes cooking easier. It provides substitutes of vegetables and ingredients that might not be available with you.

"The Bangla Table: Flavours And Recipes From Chettinad" By Jill Donenfeld, Meenakshi Meyyappan, And Sumeet Nair

Co-authored by custodian of the Chettinad cuisine Meenakshi Meyyappan, "The Bangla Table" features authentic recipes from a Chettiar household. The book demystifies the way we look at the cuisine and introduces you to its flavours. The Bangla, a direct translation of "a bungalow" is an elevated home stay in Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu. The exquisite dishes served at The Bangla are featured in the book.

Meyyappan’s parents laid tables and made for competent cooks, ingraining the cuisine in her mind, too. When she opened The Bangla in 2000, she was sure of what she wanted to serve her guests. According to Hoon, the simple yet yummy Uppu Kari from the cookbook is an absolute must-try.

The dish uses only three ingredients: salt, chilli, and mutton. Uppu means salt and Kari is a rather dry preparation in South India. “The smoky aftertaste of the chillies in the Uppy Kari will blow your mind and change the way you look at Indian homestyle food,” said Hoon.

"Falestin" By Sami Tamini And Tara Wigley

A book in which not a single recipe falters, "Falestin" by Sami Tamini and Tara Wigley. Tamini is a Palestinian boy from East Jerusalem who stitches together stories of Palestine with its recipes. A rather thick book that offers over 110 Palestinian food recipes, the dishes not only bring you closer to the country’s flavours and cuisine but also its people and stories. Find yourself in a Palestinian kitchen as you skim through Tamini’s love for Palestinian food.

The book divides its recipes into various categories: breakfast, snacks and sides, desserts, soups, veggie mains, and breads and pastries, among others. The chicken musakhan and hummus are the standout recipes for Hoon.

Cookbooks are not only a great way for people to become comfortable with cooking but also a way for them to start documenting recipes. In Indian households where most of the cooking is freestyle and based on andaza (approximation), it becomes even more crucial for each household to pen down their ancestors’ recipes. As these recipes are passed down from one person to the other, some ingredients are lost on the way while others come to the fore. These recipes are treasured heirlooms that must be preserved.