Amrikan 125Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora

Khushbu Shah is a food writer and journalist who resides in Los Angeles, California. She was most recently the restaurant editor at Food & Winemagazine, where she crisscrossed the United States several times over on the hunt for the country’s best new chefs. She is the youngest person and the first person of color to ever hold that title. You can also find her work in the New York Times, Washington Post, GQ, Eater, and more. Additionally, her writing has been featured in the Best American Food Writing anthologies, and she has made appearances on television shows like Ugly Delicious. Khushbu grew up in Michigan, where her immigrant parents raised her with a deep appreciation for spices and good fruit. Amrikan is her debut cookbook.

Shah’s exuberant cookbook embraces all of the staples of the Indian American pantry…and delivers to readers delicious, crowd-pleasing recipes that run the gamut from a saag paneer lasagna to a jiggly, juicy mango pie. It’s a deeply satisfying and imaginative cookbook—and one I’m looking forward to cooking from for years to come.- Karen Shimizu,  Food & Wine

Shah’s book reflects her personality: vibrant, creative, outspoken, thoughtful, fun-loving.- Joe Yonan,  Washington Post

An inventive, wholly original celebration of the foods and dishes of the Indian-American diaspora.- Michael La Corte,  Salon

Chronicle[s] how Indian immigrants have swapped ingredients and techniques with other immigrants, creating Indian Tex-Mex dishes and Indian pizzas, adding Indian flavors to American staples, opening restaurants, and building a cuisine unique from those of the country from which they emigrated. Amrikan is a history book as much as it is a cookbook, a testament to a diaspora’s innovation and creativity. – Jaya Saxena,  Eater

Truly, an insightful revealing into the wonderful world of Indian cuisine in America—from Masala Shakshuka to Saffron Chia Seed Pudding, and Carrot Halwa Sticky Buns, you’re in for a real treat. And the pictures in Amrikan are as delectable as the recipes—they basically pop off the pages! – Randy Sean Schulman,  Food Republic

Captures, through recipes from the Indian American diaspora, everything that is joyful about cooking and eating: flavors and textures that contrast and delight, deftly told stories that feel like your favorite cynical friend is right beside you in your hot hot kitchen, playful recipes with nostalgic nods, a celebration of innovative adaptation, or, when the dish calls for it, strict adherence to the classics. – Ella Quittner,  Family Style

Shah wows in her debut cookbook….Bold, flavorful, and only sometimes spicy, these recipes represent a cuisine that has been largely overlooked in the ever-growing Asian cooking boom in America….[A]n alluring collection that every true foodie will embrace. – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

[Amrikan] is a joy, richly infused with Shah’s sense of humor. . . . Cooks will not be able to resist this vivaciously written and vibrantly packaged paean to Indian American culinary mashups.- John Charles,  Library Journal (starred review)

Shah’s approach and colorful photographs make this a delightful starter cookbook for Indian fare. – Booklist

Khushbu Shah is showing a side of Indian food that everyone who enjoys eating should know about, and she does it in a way that makes it easy to understand and gets you excited to try it! – Joshua Weissman, author of An Unapologetic Cookbook

I can’t begin to explain how stoked I am for Amrikan! It’s packed with playful recipes like Rice Krispy Bhel, Crispy Paneer Burger, and Nutella Burfi. But more importantly, Khushbu Shah highlights how many of our immigrant mothers cook. By blending cultures and adapting to use what’s accessible, they create new family recipes that are just as reflective of the diaspora as the foods they ate back home. Yes, please, to Carrot Halwa Sticky Buns! – Sohla El-Waylly, author of Start Here

As one of the most exciting culinary voices of our generation, Khushbu Shah redefines what it means to be Indian American in her debut cookbook, Amrikan. Filled with emotion and recipes that demand your attention—this is a cookbook you will be returning to over and over for inspiration. – Andy Baraghani, author of The Cook You Want to Be

I’ve been a fan of Khushbu Shah’s work from day one, and her first cookbook knocks it out of the park, deeply wonderful and highly doable using mom-approved grocery store adaptations but also hella fun. I want to Julie–Julia the whole book. – Deb Perelman, author of Smitten Kitchen Keepers

Imagine being someone that has eaten at restaurants across the country, several times over, for your job! A discovered and informed perspective is apparent but what really drew me into Khushbu’s inaugural cookbook were the crave-able pathways of nostalgia and family tradition. Very little can compete with coming back home. Approachable, comfortable, and full of heart. – Kristen Kish, chef, author, and host of Top Chef

In this very impressive debut book, Khushbu covers Indian-American home cooking through a very personal lens, offering recipes that blend South Asia with suburban Michigan sensibilities. – Matt Rodbard, editor in chief of TASTE and author of Koreatown: A Cookbook

At last! You don’t have to live in India and have access to only Indian ingredients to cook fantastic Indian food. The great Khushbu Shah has provided brilliant, original, easy, and, most of all, delicious Indian American recipes that will dazzle anyone’s palate. You will want to make and eat, every dish.” – Phil Rosenthal, TV writer, producer, and host of Somebody Feed Phil

Like most Indian Americans of my generation, I grew up in a kitchen witnessing culinary genius: Mom. She never left the kitchen. If we went to restaurant, she’d eat spitefully, and then remark, ‘I can make this at home. Why did we come here?’ And then she would make it. But always with her own Indian twist. And then, as I grew older, I tried to imbue some of her styles into my own cooking and, every now and then, I actually made a winner. That’s what this cookbook is: it’s the best of every Indian Mom in this country mixed with the best of their kids. And now I’m going to cook every one of these dishes for my kids. Perhaps, like my mother, it can make me insufferable in restaurants. Thank you, Khushbu. – Ravi Patel, actor, director, producer

Khushbu Shah’s debut cookbook is highly personal, yet it lovingly encompasses the entire Indian immigrant community in America. While restaurant touchstones like tandoori chicken and chicken tikka masala are great and all, Amrikan proves that the most exciting and heartfelt Indian food in America comes from home kitchens—soon, perhaps, your own home kitchen. – Sara Bir, author of The Fruit Forager’s Companion

Amrikan is a celebration of…culinary ingenuity. Along the way, Shah introduces us to her family, takes on some myths (“Indian Food is Complicated”—busted!), and makes mouths water at the turn of every page. – Jenna Helwig, food director at Real Simple and author of Bare

Brilliant. . . . [Shah] brings a near-dogmatic sense of PLAYFULNESS to so much of her work. That tone matches her subject—diasporic cooking—perfectly. – Marian Bull on Substack (Mess Hall)