Camellia Panjabi back with Michael Joseph cookbook two decades on from bestseller
"Trailblazer in the world of Indian cuisine" Camellia Panjabi is back with a new book for Michael Joseph, Vegetables: The Indian Way, two decades after her last bestselling cookbook.
Publisher Ione Walder bought world all-language rights from Gordon Wise at Curtis Brown. Penguin Michael Joseph will publish in hardback on 28th August 2025.
"Panjabi has shaped London’s food scene with celebrated restaurants like Veeraswamy, Amaya and Chutney Mary, as well as the beloved Masala Zone chain," Penguin Michael Joseph said. Her bestselling 50 Great Curries of India was published by Octopus in 2004.
"Now, she brings us the definitive guide to Indian vegetarian cooking – a vibrant celebration of flavour, culture and ingredients. With 120 authentic, easy-to-follow recipes organised by vegetable, with rich insights into their culinary origins, nutritional values and wellness benefits, and stunning bespoke photography by award-winning photographer Jonathan Gregson, Vegetables: The Indian Way is more than a cookbook – it’s a journey through the heart of India’s plant-based traditions, the people, the culture – and the recipes."
Panjabi said: "Indian cuisine has perhaps the widest repertoire of vegetarian foods in the world. Besides traditions and authenticity, there are a lot of exciting developments when I look at modern Indian food.
"Combine this with current conventional wisdom pointing to increasing the intake of vegetables, I felt there was a need to write a book where vegetables were the celebrated ingredient. I have collected these recipes over many years, and have chosen them with care and love from among the best interpretations from all over India. It has been a very special book to write."
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Walder said: "Camellia’s book is a treasure trove of India’s most delicious, exciting vegetable dishes: from the simple to the special, for every day and for entertaining, it introduces us to some less well-known vegetables as well as providing inspiration for those we know well. Vegetables: The Indian Way is a beautiful legacy cookbook that everyone who loves Indian food will want on their shelf."
Panjabi was born in Mumbai. After reading Economics at Cambridge, she became the first Indian woman to be recruited as a graduate trainee for Unilever before returning to India to work for the Taj Hotel Group. She helped launch several acclaimed restaurants in the Taj Group, including the signature Bombay Brasserie, which opened in London in 1982.
For the past two decades she has been involved in her family’s restaurant company in London, which owns and operates leading Indian restaurants Amaya, Chutney Mary and Masala Zone, as well as Veeraswamy, Britain’s oldest Indian restaurant.
In 2013 she was awarded an MBE for serves to the hospitality industry. She now divides her time between Mumbai and London.
