Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking to Nourish Your Soul

Chef and restaurateur Khan (Asma’s Indian Kitchen), owner of London’s Darjeeling Express, gives a sumptuous salute to her Indian heritage with recipes and stories “that made and root me to home.” In a chapter on her childhood in Kolkata, gingery murgh seekh chicken prompts memories of the kababs Khan’s family cooked (“sparks flying out as the ghee dripped down into the charcoal”) in the driveway of their home. Recounting her move to the U.K. for college—where she learned to cook “the way you remember the lyrics of a song”—Khan shares nostalgic family favorites her mother taught her, like a spicy masala fish fry, and monsoon season “rainy-day dishes” including eggplant fritters and a no-fail hara korma (lamb shanks in yogurt and gravy). For crowd-pleasing celebrations, complexly layered and unhurried biryani—her mother’s signature dish—became Khan’s standby. Now a busy mother herself, Khan shares the quick go-to recipes—often “a fusion of western ingredients and Indian spices”—she makes for her boys in London, like keema puffs full of savory meat or veggies, and buttermilk chicken pakoras (“a halfway house between a chicken nugget and a spicy pakora”). Khan’s menus, technical guidance, and soulful stories make this outing a pleasure every step of the way. The result is a delectable homage to a rich culture and its food. (May)