Last Updated on February 28, 2026
Fresh dishes from Kolkata to Chennai.
India Express (Square Peg) is the latest cookbook from Rukmini Iyer, who wrote The Roasting Tin series, which has been a runaway success. There are six books in that collection, ranging from one on vegan and vegetarian dishes, another on barbecue, and one on desserts. Then there is a book on 30-minute dishes and one-dish dinners from around the globe. What they all have in common is that every recipe is cooked in a roasting tin. It is a wonderful idea, and the recipes work. Now, Iyer has written India Express, From Kolkata to Chennai, which is filled with 75 vegan, vegetarian and fish dishes. Many are made in one pot, Iyer’s signature style.
India Express grew from conversations Iyer had with her parents about the train journeys they used to take across India. She was so inspired by their descriptions of the dishes they would eat on these trips that Iyer suggested that they all take a train journey together from her mother’s hometown, Kolkata, to her father’s birthplace, Chennai. They would eat wherever they could and collect family recipes from South and East India along the way. India Express, therefore, references not only the train journey but the speed with which home cooks can prepare the recipes. As fans of Iyer’s previous books know, her recipes can be relied on to get dinner on the table with the minimum of fuss and washing up.
The book has two chapters on one-roasting tin or one-pan curries, and also provides a challenge for more advanced cooks who may want to spend more time in the kitchen. There are plenty of recipes to occupy the weekend – making puris, methu vada (fried lentil doughnuts) or homemade paneer. Some of the chapters focus on the foods eaten daily in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, which explains the presence of prawn and fish recipes, as fish, Iyer writes, is an obsession in Bengali cuisine. Iyer writes that she does not tolerate well the traditional Indian level of chilli heat, so her recipes are milder than might be expected, which suits me perfectly.
I was intrigued to discover what flavours would develop with a quick turnaround of ingredients into a meal. I was pleased to find that the recipes are pescatarian in that they are either vegetarian, vegan or fish-based. That is exactly the way I eat most of the time. I began with a simple fish supper for my husband and myself. I made doi maach, fish with yoghurt and turmeric. Iyer helpfully divides her ingredients list into store cupboard items (spices, oils) and ingredients you may need to go out to buy. The fish dish literally took a few minutes to prepare. Yoghurt was mixed with spices and used to marinate fish – salmon or thick white fish. I used cod, which is what I had in the fridge, and it sat for a couple of hours until I was ready to cook. Then it was baked, although it could be fried for a more traditional Bengali dish. I served the fish with a pot of masoor dal, which was also a very simple recipe and utterly delicious. The lentils got on with cooking themselves down and were then whisked, which resulted in a wonderfully creamy texture. On top were strewn spicy fried onions, the perfect pick-me-up for the gentle lentils.
The next day I had a vegetarian friend for dinner, and I chose all-in-one aubergine, tomato and nigella seed curry. This was so easy to prepare that I was slightly concerned about how much curry flavour there would be. There was a lot, it was so good that I added the recipe at the end of this review. I will certainly be making this again. Alongside, I made another one-tin dish – roasted cauliflower with mustard, chilli and lemon. While this dish was not much of a looker, it had good flavours of grainy mustard with a hit of spice and citrus. Finally, I made a pot of chickpeas with tamarind, kale and ginger. I adore dishes with tamarind that bring to the plate that wonderful sweet and sour flavour.
India Express is a substantial book packed with great ideas for quick-to-prepare dishes with some punchy flavours that are not overly spicy. There is a lot to choose from in this new cookbook, which is timely because, as the weather cools, my mind and stomach turn to food that warms and comforts. India Express will be one of the books I consult throughout the autumn and winter ahead. Iyer’s ethos is ‘minimum fuss, maximum flavour’. It certainly has my vote.
All-in-one aubergine, tomato & nigella seed curry
Ingredients
- 300 grams vine cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 inches ginger grated
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 6 baby aubergines, halved and cut with a cross-hatch pattern or 2 large aubergines, thickly sliced
- 2 tsp nigella seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds lightly crushed
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp mild chilli powder
- 2 tsp sea salt flakes
- 3 tbsp neutral or olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C fan / 200 C/ gas 6
- Put the cherry tomatoes, ginger, garlic, spices, salt and oil into a roasting tin or oven dish that holds the tomatoes snugly in one layer. Now add the aubergine pieces.
- Use your hands to mix all the ingredients well, try to rub the spice mixture into the cross hatch incisions in the aubergines
- Place in oven and roast for 40 -45 minutes or until the aubergine pieces are cooked through. Serve hot.
Find it on Amazon and other good booksellers for around £12
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