5 Indian Cookbooks You Should Own

Want to learn to cook excellent Indian food, but you are daunted by all the spices, names and seemingly time-consuming techniques? It's not as difficult or lengthy as it might first appear. These five books are great for beginners, but have gems for seasoned cooks (pun intended) as well. I've tried to shy away from the most famous Indian cookbooks and give you a selection of a few lesser-known, but equally deserving ones!

This book by Manju Shivraj Singh is simple and great for beginners. After only a few pages introducing spices and ingredients, this book gets down to the nitty-gritty. Most of the recipes have a limited number of ingredients and stick to spices that you may have around the house or are easy to find in any grocery store—like coriander and cumin. If you like pictures alongside your recipes, though, this book might not be for you.

By Sunetra Humbad and Amy Schafer Boger, MD. I admit I had low expectations of this book, designed for non-Indians. I'm pleased to say that my expectations were much exceeded. This book is a great introduction. Many of the recipes include the same basic spice combinations, which is great for beginners, but can get a bit boring for those of us with more experience. This book also has no pictures, but each page has a handy sidebar for a quick reference to what ingredients you'll need.

For those who want a bit more variety in ingredients and technique, this book is one of the best. Raghavan Iyer is a wonderful personality and a well-known chef. The recipes in this collection are interspersed with brief stories about his childhood in India and the sentimental value of the dishes for him and his family. This one also begins with a brief introduction to spices and legumes. The author also provides comments about substitutions and techniques alongside each recipe.

Visually stunning and with a lengthy introduction, this book by Camellia Panjabi is part cookbook and part reference. I learned a lot just from the first few sections and recommend it to anyone interested in delving more into the subtle art of spice preparation. The book is more focused that those above, as it centers around curry dishes. No, this doesn't mean all the recipes contain the same spice blends and all taste the same. A curry is simply a dish based in a sauce or "gravy" and this book contains a diverse collection of them.

This book by Harish Johari is not as medicinal as it sounds! You can ignore the introductory sections if you like, and just try out the recipes. Most of them are relatively easy and on the mild side. But for those who want to understand the age-old tradition of feeling better by eating a better diet, this book introduces the reader to Ayurvedic nutrition. The beginning of the book explains what foods and food combinations are best for digestion, how flavors affect the body and what constitutes a more balanced diet. That being said, the book doesn't skimp on recipes.

I know I promised five books, but I also have to mention Maya Kamal's Savoring the Spice Coast of India. This is the book to get if you are especially interested in Southern Indian cuisine.

One or all of these books will help you take your first steps on the very rewarding path of Indian cooking, or help you refine your skills. As you get more familiar with spices, flavors and techniques, you will begin to experiment and find what works for you. And eventually, you will probably own a well-worn and much-loved copy of each of these books—like I do.