For March, my older brother didn’t request a specific dish, he simply requested Indian food- so I was very excited to cook from my newly acquired cookbook “Indian (-ish)” by Priya Krishna. Indian (-ish) is such a fun cookbook- Priya wrote it alongside her mother, who taught her to cook fun family dishes combining Indian flavors with those discovered in America and lots of other places around the world. I started admiring Priya when she was writing for Bon Appétit, but I especially loved watching her daily Instagram posts during quarantine last spring. After a visit to her parents in her childhood home, she wound up stuck there for several weeks at the beginning of the COVID crisis. She started posting the most heart-warming moments from her days with her parents, from her dad making homemade yogurt (featured in the book!) to the family ritual of cocktails and a cheeseboard every evening, and I loved watching her enjoying a rare and strange time with her parents- with my parents. Their daily rituals became part of ours, and I purchased the book the next time I was in the bookstore with my mom, who immediately recognized Priya and her cute parents from the pages of the book right away. So, when my brother requested an Indian(-ish) menu, I knew right where to turn!

First I made Indian-ish baked potatoes, and they were delicious and just so cute. How had I never thought of a teeny tiny baked potato as an appetizer before? These were spiced with ginger chaat masala and cilantro and I could have simply eaten an entire plate of these (and who knows, maybe I did a few nights later as my dinner…), but everything else was just as delicious.

For the rest of the meal, I served Garlic Ginger Chicken with Cilantro and Mint, which was cooked with a low and slow method I had never tried with chicken before, but it was SO worth it. It was moist and tender and full of flavor. I served it with Caramelized Onion Dal and Aloo Parathas (these were SO fun to make), and potentially my favorite dish was Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Cilantro Chutney. This dish was the real show-stopper, not only because the cauliflower gets all tender and roasted in the oven and the chutney is spicy and green and fresh but because it looks gorgeous on the plate and makes for quite a stunning presentation. My sister in law and I wound up scraping all of the chutney off of “our” side of the plate and moving our forks over to my brother’s side by the end of the evening. I have since repeated this dish just for myself- it makes a great simple dinner.

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This meal was incredibly delicious- but it was also so fun to prepare! I had never really attempted Indian flavors like these before, and I was glad to discover that Indian cuisine is flavorful, a little spicy, fresh and particularly fun for entertaining.

I have, and will continue to repeat these recipes and reach for this book again. I have also enjoyed scrolling back through photos and Instagram posts from this time last year- when we couldn’t have family gatherings or dinner parties, or really be together at all. While I got to enjoy a fair amount of cooking (mostly just for me, my mom and my dad) I am so glad to be getting closer every day to the end of this crisis, and enjoying the new ability to see more extended family and friends, to celebrate being with them- and to cook for them!