The book is structured around Bengal’s six seasons and the six Ayurvedic tastes
| Photo Credit: Patricia Niven
“The monsoon is sacred to me. It is not just rain; it is the lifeblood of our land,” says Asma Khan, Indian-born British restaurateur and cookbook author. Asma grew up in India where she says everything revolved around the monsoon. “It brought renewal, hope, and the promise of abundance. Culturally, it is when the earth is fragrant, food tastes deeper, and there is a kind of emotional awakening.” It comes as no surprise then that her latest cookbook is titled Monsoon, and pays homage to her most-loved season. “The season reminds me of sitting by the window with pakoras and chai, listening to the thunder, knowing the rain will bring life. Monsoon is a tribute to that emotion, to everything that comes alive when the rains arrive,” says Asma, who also runs the popular restaurant, Darjeeling Express, in London.
Asma Khan
| Photo Credit:
Patricia Niven
The book is structured around Bengal’s (from where she hails) six seasons and the six Ayurvedic tastes. Asma took this approach as she “wanted to return to a way of eating that honoured the earth and respected the seasons”. “When I lived in India in the 1980s, we ate what was in season. You could not get mangoes in winter or cauliflower in summer. That rhythm, tied to local produce and Ayurvedic principles, felt nourishing and intuitive,” she says, adding that the book “is not preachy or scientific”. “It is simply how our ancestors ate, with awareness, gratitude, and balance. Each season carries an emotional memory, and the dishes reflect that.” These include matira (red watermelon) curry, achari murgh, first-class railway curry, omlette curry, and shrikhand, among others.
Matira (red watermelon) curry
| Photo Credit:
Patricia Niven
Many of these dishes are served at Darjeeling Express. “These are dishes from my home, and it feels right that they are part of the restaurant too. But this book also has deeply personal recipes that have not been on the menu, like my family’s yellow curry or the alu chop the way we made it in our house,” says Asma who wrote Monsoon in three “very intense” weeks. “I did not leave the manuscript. It reminded me of writing my PhD, everything had to flow, chapter to chapter. I imagined the season, the feel of the air, the colours, the smells, and the recipes came to me.”
Chotpoti (far left) and Dahi Wada
| Photo Credit:
Patricia Niven
Many of the recipes seem to carry a deep personal connection with Asma, and I ask if there was a particularly emotional or cathartic one. “The omelette curry,” she says, “It is a deeply Bengali dish, and for many it may seem unusual. But for us, eggs are sacred, and a popular monsoon dish. Writing that recipe felt like preserving something essential about who we are. Also the aloo chop, the way we made it at home with just salt and pepper. It was important to honour the Anglo-Indian community, who were such a big part of Calcutta in my youth but are now disappearing.” Even the yellow curry, she says, is a family recipe that no one had ever written down. “I was nervous writing it. I know my uncles may say it does not taste like how our mother made it. But I did my best. It is a comforting, turmeric-rich dish, and I am proud it lives in this book now.”
Many of these dishes are served at Darjeeling Express
| Photo Credit:
Patricia Niven
Along with the omlette curry, the achar chicken — a dish born in the palace kitchens of Bhopal but touched by Bengali spices — is another quintessential Bengali monsoon dish. “It is a story of migration and adaptation, very close to my heart. And pakoras, of course. No Bengali monsoon is complete without them. You hear thunder, smell the rain, and someone is frying pakoras. That is just how it is,” concludes Asma.
Priced at ₹1,399, Monsoon is available online.
Published – August 05, 2025 03:05 pm IST
Dining and Cooking