Thali (2021)

The practical bridge between cooking single dishes and cooking a region. Maunika Gowardhan sets out four regional thali menu plans, Gujarati, Punjabi and Andhra among them, plus alternative selections, so you learn how a whole plate is balanced rather than how to make one curry with rice. Buy it for the menus. The rest of the book is accessible everyday home cooking, useful but less regional, so a cook who already owns a general Indian book will get the most from the thali chapters.