Attention all fans of Indian food – this great new book has been published this week. It’s a vivid, contemporary portrait of a country through its food and the people who make it.

In this joyful new book, Roopa Gulati travels through India and celebrates the wonderfully varied food that makes up a nation, making pitstops at the homes of the people who cook it every day. The result is over 100 delicious, fresh and vibrant recipes that you’ll want to cook from time and again.

From dals to masalas, and quick and easy suppers to feasts for a crowd, the easy-to-follow recipes are bursting with authentic flavours using ingredients found in our local supermarkets.

Recipes include aubergine pakoras with onion and tamarind relish; potato and paneer tikki, sweetcorn bhajis; Tandoori sea bass; home-style Punjabi chicken curry; phirni with honey, and pistachio and cardamom biscuits.

From the monsoon-washed backwaters of Kerala to the crowded markets of Mumbai, and from remote kitchens in Gujarat to the old French quarter of Ponducherry, this celebration of regional cooking will bring the sights, sounds and flavours of India to your table.

About Roopa

Roopa Gulati is all about making the most of Indian spices in your own kitchen.

Brought up in Cumbria, she crossed continents and worked as a chef in New Delhi’s kitchens, where she cooked in huge hotels, street bazaars, palace kitchens, TV studios and on stoves across India.

Now based in London, Roopa continues to create recipes, write about food and share her skills with fans of regional Indian cooking. 

Indian Kitchens: Treasured family recipes from across the land by Roopa Gulati is out 27th March. Recipe photography by Yuki Sugiura (Bloomsbury Publishing, Hardback, £26) (top photo of Roopa by Sharon Gibson)

Here are a few recipes to tempt you to buy the book.

Salmon with Red Chilli & Ground Fennel

Serves 4

“My dad loved salmon, and during the last few years of his life, he’d have lunch with me at home. ‘Fish on Fridays’ was a weekly ritual and this quick- to-assemble dish, with its sweet-sharp citrussy marination, was one of his favourites. I’d often serve it with potato vinaigrette and a leafy salad, but sometimes, I’d flake the cooked salmon into buttery rice with plenty of chopped coriander – just as my mum used to do.”

2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

20g ginger root, peeled and finely grated

juice of 2 limes

2 rounded tsp jaggery or light muscovado sugar

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

1 tsp roasted and ground fennel seeds

1 tsp sunflower oil

4 skin-on salmon fillets (about 125g each)

sea salt

 

Mix the chillies with the ginger, lime juice, jaggery or sugar, coriander and ground fennel, and season with salt.

Line a roasting tin with baking paper. Put the salmon fillets into the tin and spoon over the marinade. Drizzle with oil and leave to one side for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan, then roast the fish for around 7–10 minutes, until just tender.

Semolina Pancakes with Red Pepper, Tomato & Red Onion

Serves 4

“Spongy in texture, these vegetable-topped pancakes, called uttapam, are thicker than crêpe-like dosas and are a popular breakfast dish in Tamil Nadu. Although they’re usually made with a ground rice and lentil batter, this version works well and doesn’t need fermenting like regular dosa batter. I like to make mini uttapam, but you could make them any size and vary the topping ingredients, too.”

FOR THE TOPPING

1 red onion, diced 1 tomato, diced

1 red pepper, deseeded and diced

2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

25g ginger root, peeled and finely chopped

2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves

FOR THE BATTER

200g fine semolina 1 tsp sea salt

6–8 tbsp melted coconut oil or ghee (see page 18) or sunflower oil

juice of ½ lemon

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Mix the onion with the tomato, red pepper, green chillies, ginger and coriander, and leave to one side.

Whisk the semolina and salt with 350ml warm water, or enough to make a smooth batter that resembles the consistency of double cream. Leave the batter in a warm place for 1–2 hours to soften the semolina, then stir in the lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda.

Brush a griddle or sturdy frying pan with 1 tablespoon of the oil or melted ghee and heat it on a medium heat. Pour a small ladleful of batter into the centre and, using the ladle’s rounded base, spread it out to an 8cm-diameter circle, about 5mm thick. Lightly press a tablespoon of the onion-tomato mixture on to the top and drizzle 1 teaspoon of oil or melted ghee around the edge. Cook for 3–4 minutes, until the base is golden.

Using a fish slice, flip the uttapam over so that the topping now faces downwards. Fry for 2–3 minutes, until golden, then remove the uttapam from the pan and drain it on kitchen paper with the topping facing upwards. Repeat with the remaining batter, keeping the uttapam warm in a folded tea towel – you should get about 14 from this quantity.

Serve warm, with chutney.

Fish Fry

Serves 4

“This fried fish doesn’t have a batter or crumb coating. Instead, nutty-tasting cumin, turmeric and warming chilli are mixed with lime juice and rubbed over white fish fillets to great effect. My friend Yael Jhirad made this simple and delicious snack for me at her home in Alibag, a balmy coastal town about an hour’s ferry ride from Mumbai, across the Arabian sea (see page 119). She used rawas – a local white fish, known colloquially as Indian salmon, even though it has nothing in common with the Atlantic variety that we’re familiar with. Any firm-fleshed white fish will hold up well to this winning blend of spices, though.”

2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder 1½ tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp roasted and ground cumin seeds

2 tsp fine sea salt

juice of 2 limes, plus extra wedges to serve

750g skinless hake fillets, cut into 5–6 pieces (each about 10 x 6cm)

4 tbsp melted coconut oil or sunflower oil

 

Mix the chilli powder, turmeric, cumin, salt and lime juice together in a small bowl.

Put the fish on a tray and, using your fingers, rub the paste all over each piece so that the pieces are evenly coated – it’s a good idea to wear disposable gloves for this. Leave to one side for 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and cook the fish for 2–3 minutes on each side, until the spices darken and the flesh flakes easily. You might need a minute longer depending on the thickness of the fillets. Serve straight away with lime wedges for squeezing over.