Indian cooking has a reputation for being complicated and it does not have to be. The spice work that looks intimidating is mostly a handful of pantry staples and a little confidence and the right cookbook builds both fast. We gathered the most approachable, most trusted Indian cookbooks for people starting out, from diaspora food writers to Instant Pot specialists to a James Beard-winning legend's gentlest book. Every one is written by someone who cooks this food for real and every one is designed to get a genuinely good meal on your table without a culinary degree.
A quick note: we describe and compare these books to help you pick, we never reprint their recipes. Buy the one whose voice and style click with you and start with a single dish.
Quick picks:
- The most fun place to start: Indian-ish by Priya Krishna. View on Amazon
- Best for Instant Pot cooks: Madhur Jaffrey's Instantly Indian Cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey. View on Amazon
- Best for takeaway-style curry: The Curry Guy by Dan Toombs. View on Amazon
Modern and approachable
Indian-ish by Priya Krishna
Priya Krishna is a food writer known for her warm, funny diaspora voice. A joyful collection of the Indian American food her family actually eats on weeknights, approachable, personal and genuinely fun to cook from.
Best for: Modern weeknight Indian.
→ View on AmazonAmrikan by Khushbu Shah
Khushbu Shah is a food editor documenting the Indian American table. A vibrant, contemporary look at how Indian food lives in America, full of crave-worthy, unfussy recipes and real diaspora storytelling.
Best for: Indian American home cooking.
→ View on AmazonMade in India by Meera Sodha
Meera Sodha is a food writer beloved for accessible, flavor-first cooking. Her breakout book makes everyday Indian home cooking feel effortless, with family recipes and clear, unintimidating instructions.
Best for: Everyday Indian.
→ View on AmazonChetna's Healthy Indian by Chetna Makan
Chetna Makan is a Great British Bake Off alum and cookbook author. Lighter, weeknight-friendly Indian food that keeps the flavor while trimming the effort, ideal for busy cooks.
Best for: Lighter weeknight Indian.
→ View on AmazonFast and foolproof
Madhur Jaffrey's Instantly Indian Cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey
Madhur Jaffrey is a James Beard Award-winning cooking authority. Her Instant Pot book brings the classics to the electric pressure cooker with foolproof timing, the gentlest possible on-ramp to Indian cooking.
Best for: Instant Pot beginners.
→ View on AmazonIndian Instant Pot Cookbook by Urvashi Pitre
Urvashi Pitre is a bestselling recipe developer. One of the most popular Indian Instant Pot books for a reason: tested, reliable recipes that make weeknight Indian genuinely fast.
Best for: Fast Instant Pot Indian.
→ View on AmazonVegan Richa's Indian Kitchen by Richa Hingle
Richa Hingle is a hugely popular blogger with a big Pinterest following. A definitive vegan take on Indian cooking, richly flavored, well tested and a go-to for plant-based cooks.
Best for: Vegan Indian.
→ View on AmazonThe Curry Guy by Dan Toombs
Dan Toombs is a recipe developer obsessed with restaurant-style curry. The book for recreating your favorite takeaway curries at home, with the techniques that get you that restaurant taste.
Best for: Takeaway-style curry.
→ View on AmazonHow we chose these
We looked past the marketing to the people behind the books: working chefs, award winners, food scientists, culture-bearers and the recipe developers whose food people actually cook again and again. Where an author is a food writer or blogger rather than a trained chef, that is a feature, not a knock: many of the most reliable, most-loved cookbooks come from obsessive home cooks. We describe and compare these books; we never republish their recipes.
