Let’s eat Indian!

Every now and then I prepare a shipment of products from the US. And when I can, I add a new cookbook for my ever-growing collection.

My plan for 2026 was to dive into Pakistani cuisine (which I have made a start on - it’s delicious) but since this cookbook arrived my focus has changed.

I love that it’s not just a recipe book.

It’s a cultural history. An exploration of all the regions of India. I’ve long held a view that one can only truly understand a people, a culture, when one understands their food.

I’ve enjoyed my initial dive in.

Murgh Makhani

Oh this was delicious. It’s a north Indian dish. The marinated chicken is folded in to a buttery sauce. It was sweet, spicy and tangy and tasted fantastic. Just what I wanted.

Fun story: 30 seconds after taking this photo, the delicious buttery chicken was upside down on my living room carpet. I salvaged enough to enjoy, but it took a while to get the stain out of the carpet.

Note to self - slow down with the photography.

Murghi Na Farcha

I had a craving for fried chicken but rather than Door Dashing KFC or going to my local fried chicken joint, I decided to try this recipe. I’ve never tasted Indian flavours in a fried chicken before. It was agreeable - but definitely something my palate wasn’t quite expecting. I’ll definitely revisit this one. There’s something about being able to make your own fried chicken. You probably don’t save money, but it is rewarding.

Kerala Fish Molee

This is a creamy fish curry with origins in South India. It wasn’t too spicy at all which is a bonus for this bland-food New Zealander.

I really do need step up my spice tolerance. I’ve gotten a bit weak!

So, my initial exploration of this cookbook has yielded three great tasting dishes out of three attempts. I’m pretty happy with this. Now thinking about getting to grips with making breads - Roti, Naan, Paratha, Puri - all the tricky delicious things.

Watch this space.

^SJD