🍛 A bumper bookshelf of Indian cooking + Radikal Kitchen live on publication day! 🍛

Our favorite apple recipes 🍎🍏

A journey across India and beyond…

This week we have an embarrassment of riches, an opportunity to share a treasure trove of recipes that add up to an Indian feast – with books from four chefs each with a different take on the rich diversity of food both from India, and influenced by it, and the food they love outside of that tradition.

To celebrate the arrival on ckbk of The Art of Parsi Cooking: Reviving an Ancient Cuisine, we bring you our Behind the Cookbook Feature, written by author Niloufer Mavalvala.

She writes about her culinary career and the creation of this unique book.

As Niloufer puts it:

“Culled from two ancient cultures – Persia, from where we hail, and India, where we then settled – this unusual historical background gives Parsi foods a distinct and unique flavour.”

Parsi cook, culinary educator, and cookbook author, Niloufer began teaching others about the food of her heritage at the age of 17, giving a class to a group of school girls. After settling in Canada, and with the realisation that others did not know about Parsi food and were keen to learn, she began to set down her thoughts and recipes.

The Art of Parsi Cooking, published in 2016, is her first of several books, bringing many classic and favorite dishes, such as this Fish in Gravy – a dish you can make with any firm fish, cooked in an aromatic, spiced tomato sauce. Or try Mango Ice Cream – mangoes hold an important place in Niloufer’s kitchen and memories.

Read Niloufer's Behind The Cookbook Feature

Pictured above: Pickled Mango from The World of Parsi Cooking by Niloufer Mavalvala

Happy publication day to Radikal Kitchen: Flavours Without Borders!

“Flavours Without Borders was born from a desire to capture the unique experience of living in the UK, combined with my love for diverse cuisines. It aims to share stories and recipes that reflect our collective history and showcase the idea that, despite our varied backgrounds, we are all part of a larger, interconnected family.” Radhika Howarth

Food writer and culinary consultant Radhika Howarth was born in Kolkata, India, to a family of Punjabi, Bengali and South Indian heritage. Her extended family brings a host of other cultural backgrounds to the mix, across the subcontinent, and even as far as Armenia and Italy. When she moved to London – now her home for over twenty years – she married a man of Spanish and German descent, and the melting pot of culinary influence grew ever richer.

We are very excited to bring you Radhika’s book Radikal Kitchen: Flavours without Borders, today, on publication day. We spoke to Radhika about her journey to publication and the recipes drawn from her heritage, and that of her friends and family across a multiplicity of cuisines.

To help your ‘radikal’ cooking, chapters are organised by ingredient type, and recipes then take that ingredient in different directions and into different cuisines.

Try a classic Greek Roast Beetroot Salad, and then try a Beetroot Poriyal – a stir-fried South Indian dish.

Find all 80 recipes from Radikal Kitchen

Brilliant cooking with Dipna Anand

For restaurateur, Indian chef, and cookbook author, Dipna Anand, sharing her recipes is a way to share the food of her restaurants, but also that of her family and home in the multicultural UK. Women in the Food Industry co-founder Mex Ibrahim interviewed Dipna about her favorite recipes, and the philosophy behind her book Dip in Brilliant: An Indian Recipe Adventure with a Contemporary Twist.

The cookbook is a tempting collection of dishes, from the authentic Punjabi recipes of her heritage – such as the popular potato and cauliflower dish Alu Gobi – to her updates on British dishes, and the food she likes to eat at home.

Try Masala Halloumi Chips with Nimbu Mayo, or this White Chocolate Elaichi Bread & Butter Pudding.

Read the interview with Dipna Anand

Vegetarian and Vegan Indian dishes from Sanjana Modha

Sanjana Feasts: Modern Vegetarian and Vegan Indian Dishes to Feed Your Soul is the newly published debut cookbook from food writer Sanjana Modha.

A first-generation Brit, brought up in Yorkshire on Gujerati food, Sanjana’s parents were born in East Africa, but of Indian ancestry.

This particular, personal and familial journey has allowed her to explore what the recipes of her childhood, heritage, and country mean to her. As she puts it:

“The way the diaspora cook is antithetical to the perception of inflexibility many might assume is cultivated within the ‘traditional’ Indian family kitchen. We embrace our beautifully muddled experiences, despite the rocky roads that may have led us to them. We’re proud of how generations of adaptation have shaped the food we cook.”

With 90+ recipes there is something for all to try. Ramp up the spice levels with Sanjana’s Scorpion Tikka Masala. Make an easy supper of this Desi-inspired French Bread Pizza. Or sweeten things up with an indulgent Pistachio Bread and Butter Pudding.

To take your Indian journey yet further, explore our well stocked bookshelf on the food of India.

Ingredient focus: apples

The apple, one of the first fruits to be cultivated, is synonymous with the fall harvest. Universally loved, easy to pick, eat and cook with, there are between 7,000 and 8,000 named varieties, though not all are popular or widespread.

A fresh raw apple is a sweet, crisp delight, but cooked apples are also a treat and recipes for apples abound.

Apples pair well with pork, the sharpness of a fine Apple Sauce cutting through the richness of the meat.

Apple Pie is rightly a classic, needing nothing but vanilla ice cream or a jug of cold thick cream as accompaniment.

For a dozen delicious apple dishes, explore these 12 Ways with Apples – after all, it is shortly the season for bonfires, trick or treating and Caramel Apples on Sticks.