Ebury serves up 'heartfelt' new Khan cookbook

Ebury Press is serving up Ammu, a “heartfelt” new Indian cookbook by Asma Khan.

Editorial Director Laura Higginson bought world all language rights from Rachel Conway at Georgina Capel Associates. It will be released on 3rd March 2022.

The synopsis explains: “Food with heart, that tastes like home. Asma Khan is a firm believer in the healing power of cooking. While she, like us all, has been unable to go home to see her family, thousands of miles away in India, she has turned more often to the food of her childhood, her ammu’s (mother) cooking, for comfort and connection to loved ones far away. 

"The book takes home cooks through a life of cooking: Asma’s favourite, simple comfort food from growing up in Calcutta; the recipes her Bengali mother shared to teach her how to cook; the recipes that were cooked for special occasions – births, deaths and marriages; the traditional recipes passed through generations of Asma’s Rajput and Bengali families with long, rich histories and slow-cooking methods to match; and the quick recipes Asma cooks every day, now she is ammu, bringing together seasonal British ingredients and the flavours of home.”

Khan is the chef and owner of restaurant Darjeeling Express in London. Cooking was always her passion and she began her food career in 2012 as a supper club in her home. In 2015, she opened a pop-up in a Soho pub to much acclaim, and Darjeeling Express opened its doors in June 2017. A year later her debut cookbook, Asma’s Indian Kitchen, was published by Pavilion, a Gourmand World Cookbook Awards Winner.

Higginson said: “Conversations with Asma feel like beautiful therapy – we have fallen in love with the way Asma communicates about cooking – the ability of food and flavour to transport you to a happy memory and connect you with loved ones, however far away they are. While we have all been at home, this book has felt especially poignant, of course, but we believe it will bring comfort for many years to come.”

Asma Khan said: “The five chapters of my second cookbook cover the five decades of my life. A lifetime of learning about spices, flavours and how to cook with love and patience. I dedicate my new book to ammu, my mother — who taught me how to cook and how to use food to nourish the soul. Within minutes of speaking to the Ebury team, I felt they understood why I was writing this book. It was storytelling through food.”