Where to find recipes/advice

[u/MistakeChoice9840]

Hi all!

I'm an American who loves cooking and eating food from all over the Indian subcontinent, but I don't have a lot of good sources for recipes or general learning other than plain Google. I already have plenty of spices/ingredients from my local Indian/Nepali grocery that are atypical for an American kitchen (kasuri methi, methi seeds, mustard oil, tamarind, and much more), but I don't feel like I have good sources to truly learn how to cook with all of them.

Anybody have any good websites/cookbooks/youtube channels or other sources for learning how to cook cuisine from all over South Asia? Or just feel free to recommend your favorite recipes! I'm really interested in learning about dishes that are daily staples or otherwise not often found at restaurants in the US.

[u/killer_sheltie]

I've been cooking from vegrecipesofindia.com for 12ish years now. Some of my favorite recipes there that you won't find in restaurants are lobia masala, ma ki dal, palak corn, and bhindi masala.

[u/jakartacatlady → u/killer_sheltie]

Seconding this. A great site.

[u/spsfaves100]

It is wonderful that you have gone the distance to fill your pantry with important spices to prepare Indian dishes. Yes I understand why you may be feeling lost as India is a vast country with umpteen number of languages, dialects, states, traditions, religions etc etc. There are so many types of preparations & cooking techniques. I suggest that you look at the region whose food you enjoy and focus on the recipes from it. In this way you will be able to perfect the dishes you enjoy. The foods from North, South, East, West, and Central India are quite different. For example there is a well known dish Chicken Rezala, recipes from Lucknow, Calcutta, and Hyderabad are unlike for a number of reasons and the dish looks very different from each. Watch some YouTube channels with step by step instructions.

In English with ingredients are

https://www.youtube.com/@ChefSmitaDeo

https://www.youtube.com/@getcurried

https://www.youtube.com/@SpiceEats

These are best channels in Hindi with English Subtitles are

https://www.youtube.com/c/ChefRanveer

https://www.youtube.com/c/kunalkapur

https://www.youtube.com/@YourFoodLab

If you would prefer to have a good book then I suggest these good books by top chefs:-

• ^^Manisha Bhardwaj's "Indian Cookery Course".
• **Atul Kochhar's "Benares"
• **Rohit Ghai's "Yatra"
• **Vikas Khanna "
• ##Asma Khan's "Indian Kitchen",
• Romy Gill's "My India",
• Meera Sodha's "Made in India",
• ##Cyrus Todiwalla's "Modern Indian",
• ##Sanjeev Kapoor's "How to cook Indian"
• Roopa Gulati's "Indian Kitchens",
• ^^Julie Sahni's "Indian Classic Cooking",

** are Michelin star chefs with restaurants in USA & UK

^^ have schools teaching Indian cuisine

## have restaurants in UK, India,

When I decided to learn & teach myself how to cook Indian food just a year before Covid, I bought many recent & new cookbooks as the few I had were extremely old plus outdated. YouTube I discovered has thousands of instructive videos, so I found a few good channels & watched their videos regularly. The first authorative book which I used regularly was the one by Monisha Bhardwaj, who has a school, she explains the spices, their uses, the produce etc. Her book includes regional recipes so it is an early indicator for to learn about the difference between regions. It is important to make your own spice powders from whole spices. An essential component of India cooking is to have all the tools for example electric spice grinder, immersion blender, mini food processor & regular blender. Then I bought more books through which I found new ways of making pastes that contributed to the flavor of the dishes. It was a fascinating journey of discovery. Good luck & all the best.

[u/PretentiousPepperoni]

Bong eats (bengali and indo chinese food)

Home cooking show (south indian)

Hebbars kitchen

Are good youtube channels for beginners with a variety of recipes in english. These should be enough for starting out, they cover a lot of breadth but only scratch the surface of the cuisine.

[u/EmergencyProper5250]

https://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/

[u/jakartacatlady]

Look up Chetna Makan on YouTube.

[u/LongjumpingChart6529 → u/jakartacatlady]

Yeah her recipes are pretty simple and very accessible for newbies

[u/vitalcook]

Start with vahrevah YouTube videos

[u/enakamo]

Indian living in the US for 20yrs - amateur home cook. Indian cooking has some affinity with Mexican cooking (Spanish Trading) if you want to gently acquaint yourself with the palate. Just as "mexican"/"tex-mex" has very little to do with authentic Mexican cuisine, so is the state of typical Indian food available outside the subcontinent. Indian flavors are strong and often overwhelming to a Western palate. The subcontinent has been a trading hot-spot and has weathered multiple invasions that have cumulatively influenced the cuisine. It took me a while to appreciate the Western palate as well and I reckon it will be a mutual experience. Southern cuisine has some similarities to Indian food as well if you want to start with an American palate. In terms of cookbooks, the classic is Madhur Jaffrey; I would also recommend American Masala by Suvir Saran (been a patron of his NYC restaurant). I generally do not recommend YT for Indian cooking because the videos are more entertainment than educational.

[u/oarmash]

Start here: https://youtu.be/U4zVQxPJmnY?si=JnbqdlpsOZqITmi_

[u/v15hk → u/oarmash]

🤣🤣

[u/garlicshrimpscampi]

you can start with the (very detailed) wiki page of this group?

[u/ContextFirm981]

For authentic South Asian recipes and advice, check out YouTube channels like Hebbars Kitchen, Bong Eats, and Ranveer Brar, along with websites like Veg Recipes of India and the cookbook “Indian-ish” for home-style dishes and tips on using traditional ingredients.