Neha Mathur - My Indian Bucket List Cookbook: 60 Bold, Authentic Dishes Everyone Needs to Try

Creator of
Whisk Affair The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the authors copyright, please notify the publisher at: http://us.macmillanusa.com/piracy. TO MY FAMILY There is nothing you cant achieve if you put your mind to it, and if working toward it brings you joy then the journey is super sweet. That, in a nutshell, is Nehas approach.

She is a very inspiring and passionate personality, and her ambitious work compiling Indian food for the world to cook is commendable. Cooking Indian food at home can be really daunting to many; I understand that. But with this book, Neha has put together a treasure of recipes that anyone can cook. Her book is a collection of classic finger-licking Indian food that you can cook at home, anywhere in the world. I wish her the best and definitely recommend readers to take a bite out of her recipes soon. Chef Kunal Kapur

Thanks for picking up this book and showing interest in Indian cuisine.

If you are from India, Im sure you have a natural taste for Indian food, and if you are trying Indian recipes for the first time, you are going to fall in love with cooking them. Throughout my professional life, Ive come across people from various nationalities; many of them have now become good friends. When I look back, I can see that we have connected on common areas of interest, including food. Im surprised at how many of them loved Indian cuisine. Some of them have even thanked me for introducing them to Indian cooking for the first time. Rasoi in India means kitchen and through this book, I want to bring my rasoi closer to you.

Here, you will find recipes that can be prepared easily in your kitchen using basic equipment. My selection of recipes for this bucket list was to give you local must-have flavors from different regions of India; cooking these recipes will quickly immerse you in a broad range of Indian cuisine, introducing foods and spices that will give you a newfound love for Indian dishes, perhaps even those with which you consider yourself familiar. Every recipe offers a burst of flavors that will check all the boxes on your bucket list of Indian dishes. While I love to cook now, you would be surprised to know that I never cooked as a kid; in fact, I didnt cook until I got married. I started from the very basics. I still remember starting with a simple rice recipe, something that my mom dictated to me over a phone call.

I wrote down the proportion of rice and water in a diaryI used it many times over. This diary continued to be my cooking bible as I jotted down many more recipes from my family and friends. I also remember buying several Indian magazines that always had a few printed recipes. I used to tear out the relevant recipe pages and got them bound together in book shops so I could refer to them whenever I made them. What I learned in my early years of cooking was that in every recipe it is essential to maintain the correct proportions. Ive continued with this mantra of writing down recipes once they turn out well and reuse them many times over.

All these tried and tested recipes also helped me launch my blog, Whisk Affair, in 2012 and share them with my readers so everyone can get the best taste. My blog has since grown to 1,000+ recipes from India and across the globe. My goal with this book is for people to experience Indian cuisine with ease. Ive picked recipes you must try and those that can be made with little effort in a home kitchen. Each of the recipes in this book has been personally tested for the proportions of the ingredients and cooking instructions, so rest assured that it will turn out well. Each mouthwatering image that you see in this book is how the recipe turned out, and I personally shot all of them.

If you love Indian cuisine, this is the book for you. You can write to me, ask me questions, send me pictures of your dishes and tell me stories of how your friends and family loved the dishes at neha@whiskaffair.com. Lets get started and get cooking!

I still remember my childhood when I used to accompany my dad to the local mandis. In India, mandis are large groups of stalls selling vegetables ranging from the regular staples of onions, potatoes and tomatoes to green and seasonal vegetables at a reasonable price. This was a weekly routine for most of us growing up in India, and Ive continued this tradition to this day. Did you know India has a large number of vegetarians? The recent count suggests that it is more than in the rest of the world put together. No wonder a large variety of vegetarian dishes are made in India.

You will also find many vegetarian restaurants in India as well as many vegetarian Indian restaurants around the world. These dishes can be super comforting, like 10-Minute Rasedar Aloo (potato curry; bring them together in an interesting way. When you are trying out Indian cuisine, you must try these vegetarian main course recipes. Make for a party; this selection will surely make you fall in love with Indian cuisine.

A delectable and luscious curry is something I always look for whenever I host a dinner for my near and dear ones. If we talk about rich vegetarian curries, this recipe is definitely a keeperpieces of paneer dunked in a smooth and rich tomato cashew curry.

I feel this curry has a royal touch to it, making it perfect to prepare for festive meals. If you have tried this curry in your favorite North Indian restaurant and are craving the same, then this recipe will surely excite you. One bite of naan with this oh-so-delicious paneer makhani and this will be your new favorite recipe. SERVES 4 4 tbsp ( stick, 56 g) unsalted butter, divided 1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil 3 whole cloves 1 black cardamom pod 2 green cardamom pods 1 cup (160 g) chopped red onion 1 cup (180 g) chopped tomato 1 tsp chopped fresh ginger 2 tsp (7 g) chopped garlic 2 tsp (4 g) chopped green chile pepper 20 unsalted cashews 2 tsp (4 g) ground coriander tsp ground turmeric 2 tsp (4 g) Kashmiri red chile powder (see ) 2 tbsp (32 g) tomato paste 3 tbsp (40 g) ketchup Salt 1 lb (454 g) paneer, cut into 1 (2.5-cm) cubes tsp garam masala spice blend cup (60 ml) heavy cream, plus more for garnish cup (30 g) shredded Cheddar cheese 1 tsp honey 2 tbsp (4 g) kasuri methi (see ) 1 recipe , for serving In a nonstick 9-inch (23-cm) skillet, heat 1 tablespoon (14 g) of the butter and the oil over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the cloves and black and green cardamom pods, and saut for 3 to 4 seconds, or until their flavor has seeped into the oil and butter. Add the red onion and saut for 3 to 4 minutes, or until it is translucent.