Follow Along! Our October Pick for Kitchn’s Cookbook Club Is “Indian-ish” by Priya Krishna
Welcome back, Cookbook Club-ers! Last month, as you might know, we launched Kitchn’s cookbook club and we tackled Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat. We chatted about her buttermilk-marinated roast chicken in our Facebook group, and we screamed at the top of our lungs about how delicious her tomato confit is on Instagram (#kitchncookbookclub). I’d like to think it was a resounding success, and I hope that you all found new-to-you favorite recipes (I know I did).
Now that we’ve closed the book on September (get it?), it’s time to announce our October pick: Indian-ish by Priya Krishna. Read on for how to join and follow along if you’re new and why we chose Indian-ish for this month!
How to Join the Kitchn Cookbook Club
Kitchn’s cookbook club is a digital one (although we encourage people to get together IRL as well!). Here’s how it all works.
- Get the book! You can buy the book here or look for it at your local library.
- Join Kitchn Cookbook Club Facebook group. This is our private space for all of you to talk about the book, ask questions, and chat about what you’re cooking. Click here to join!
- Share a recipe review on Instagram and tag with #kitchncookbookclub. Make a recipe from Indian-ish. Post a photo of your dish on Instagram, with a short review of the recipe in the caption. Use our #kitchncookbookclub hashtag by Monday, October 28 for inclusion on our big cookbook club page.
- See what everyone else cooked (and what they thought about it!) on our Cookbook Club page. We’ll pull in as many Instagram recipe reviews as we can on our big cookbook club page. We’ll share our IRL cookbook club the week of October 28, as well!
Why Indian-ish Is Our October Cookbook Club Book Pick
When Lauren Masur interviewed Priya earlier this summer for a story, I knew I was destined to make something from her cookbook. And our readers seem to agree! When we asked our Facebook group what books they wanted to cook out of for cookbook club in the coming months, many people mentioned Indian-ish. This isn’t really a surprise considering that Indian-ish is one of the most celebrated cookbooks to come out this year, and Priya’s recipes have been getting a lot of attention on Bon Appétit’s YouTube channel, where she’s a contributor. We were sold!
Priya co-wrote Indian-ish with her mom, Ritu. She explains in the introduction that the book is a reflection of her mom’s cooking: 60 percent Indian, and 40 percent “Indian-plus something else,” which ends up being mostly vegetarian. This means you’ll find more of Ritu’s spin on traditional aloo gobi right next to a recipe for an herby avocado sandwich. Priya also says the cookbook is about her identity — “that feeling of talking and thinking and acting like an American, but looking like an Indian.”
The cookbook starts out with the essentials, such as how to boil potatoes and the spices you might need to purchase. After that we get into recipes. We start with sauces, move on over to lots of vegetarian mains and sides, then there’s a brief section on chicken, and we end with desserts and drinks. The cookbook itself is gorgeous, and includes comic book-like illustrations from Maria Qamar.
If you’ve been eyeing this book at your bookstore, or it’s been on your shelf since April and you haven’t had a chance to crack it open yet, I hope this will be your push! And if you’re still weighing your options, I highly recommend watching Priya make aloo gobi and try not to be charmed into following along.
Get the Book
What are you planning on making first? Hop on over to our Facebook group to let us know. I have my eye on the now cult-favorite saag feta and the Indian gatorade. I’m so excited to get into the kitchen and I hope you are too!
Happy cooking!
Arie, News & Culture Editor