Even with the vast number of recipes available on the internet these days, there’s nothing quite like leafing through a beautiful book full of recipes. It’s a medium that’s stronger than ever before, with cookbooks topping bestseller charts throughout the year. If you’re anything like us then you’ll have shelves upon shelves of them in your home – some kept in pristine condition, others earmarked, stained and scrawled over after years of use.
It’s this national love for cookbooks that has prompted us to start our very own cookbook club. Each month we’ll select a cookbook that we think stands out from the rest and ask you, the Great British Chefs community, to cook a recipe from it. We’ll publish a small selection of recipes on our site so, even if you don’t already have the book, you can still get involved and see how your cooking compares to everyone else’s. Apply to join the Facebook group here and take a look at this month's book (and recipes) below. We've also included the winning post from last month's book, as well as some of our other favourite entries.
Kricket is where you'll find some of the most interesting Indian food in London, with chef Will Bowlby taking inspiration from his time cooking in India to combine the flavours of the country with some British twists. His cookbook of the same name shows you how to cook some of his favourite recipes at home, and we're delighted to be featuring it as May's book of the month.
Below are seven (yes, seven!) of the dishes from the book to give you an idea of the full recipes featured, but if you want to buy it for yourself, you can get it here.
Butter, crab, garlic, pepper – that's pretty much all you need to make this delightfully rich crab dip, perfect for scooping up with breads.
Butter chicken is a classic dish that's been a firm favourite for decades in the UK – this version is one of the best we've tried.
A signature dish at Kricket, the crunchy spiced pieces of chicken go perfectly with the aromatic curry leaf mayonnaise.
A street food snack from the streets of Mumbai, bhel puri is a cacophony of contrasting flavours, textures and colours.
A Bengali dessert of lightly spiced and sweetened set yoghurt, this recipe is a delight in the sun and effortless to prepare.
Coconut, curry leaves, mustard seeds and chilli add plenty of flavour to these beautifully steamed mussels.
A thick, warming, hearty lamb dish that's given body thanks to blitzed wheat and lentils – perfect for feeding a crowd.
Last month you took a trip to Italy with Theo Randall's lovely The Italian Deli Cookbook. Congratulations to Hayley Evans who took the top spot this month – she wins a prize! Take a look at her dish and all the other honourable mentions below.
Make sure you post photos along with commentary of the dishes you cook using Kricket in our Facebook group to be in with the chance of winning.
