Bindas: Comfort food with an Indian soul by Mehak Kansai

‘Bindas,’ the Anglo-Indian title of Mehak Kansal’s gorgeous new cookbook, translates as ‘a free spirit’ and reflects her bold, creative approach to cooking.

A self-taught chef and avid traveller, she loves to recreate dishes she tasted at Indian street markets during her childhood and to infuse dishes she has encountered on her many global travels with Indian spices and herbs.

The striking cover photograph, featuring a large platter filled with watermelon chaat dressed in chutneys and herbs, and topped with a scattering of Bombay mix, looks mouthwatering. And the bright and vibrant photographs throughout her book reflect Mehak’s joyous and generous spirit.

Bindas begins with Mehak’s culinary journey. As the daughter of Indian immigrant parents, she grew up in the English countryside. From an early age, Mehak was passionate about food. She loved to experiment using different herbs and spices and layering flavours to create delicious meals. She went on to become the owner of the two popular Bindas eateries in London.

Next, she covers the essentials, all the ingredients and equipment you need to have on hand to cook her dishes.

Then follow her recipes with chapters on Street Eats, Buns and Paos, Traditional Eats, Grills, andSalads. Naans& Friends, Chutneys and Raitas, Desserts & Drinks.

While her recipes for classic dishes like butter chicken, aloo gobi and a cup of chai looked very tempting, it was the dishes she tasted while travelling all over the world and recreated once home by infusing them with Indian spices and herbs, which I could not wait to try.

But first, to start the day, I made her papa’s spicy cheesy Masala Omelette served in a brioche burger bun, her childhood favourite. It was a delicious and very substantial dish for a leisurely Sunday brunch.

Many of Mehak’s recipes are served with Naan bread. Now that I have discovered just how quick and easy it is to make, as it is yeast-free and uses just three ingredients (self-raising flour, yoghurt, and nigella seeds), I will definitely make Naan rather than buy it from now on. I am keen to try her chilli-cheese Naan and Garlic and Coriander Naan too.

I love the playful titles she gives some of her recipes, like her Chicken Tikka Naanizza, which is her creative spin on an Italian pizza. It is both economical and tasty and you can make it in the time it takes to order and have a pizza delivered so it is a very useful recipe to keep on hand.

Her bright and colourful Beetroot and Chickpea salad is packed full of goodness and looks spectacular on a large platter. Yellow chickpeas and deep crimson beetroot are mixed with ajwan and fennel seeds before roasting. Once these have cooled, green baby spinach and grated orange carrots are added, and the salad is tossed in a zingy herbal dressing. Perfect for casual entertaining.

And for dinner one night I made her Harissa Paneer Tikka in which she has combined Moroccan and Indian spices. They really do go well together!

Chutneys and raitas play such an important part in Indian meals and Mehak says this chapter may well be her favourite in the whole book as they can become the star of a dish, enhancing its flavours and making it complete. I especially loved her yoghurt-based pomegranate raita, and green goddess chutney. And was intrigued by her pesto in which she has combined Indian spices and Italian herbs. The addition of curry leaves with their earthy flavour in this pesto was especially surprising.

Chaimisu is Mehak’s twist on tiramasu, a classic indulgent creamy unbaked Italian dessert. As she lives with avid coffee-haters, she decided to use masala chai (spiced Indian tea) instead of the usual coffee to create a chai-flavoured version. It is irresistible! I have bookmarked this recipe to make again for a special occasion dessert.

Bindas is comfort food with an Indian soul. If you are an adventurous cook who is open to spicing up your cooking in new and exciting ways, you will love Mehak’s recipes! They are sure to tantalise your tastebuds!

Reviewer: Lyn Potter

Murdoch Books