Sejal Sukhadwala

Food writer

https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sejal-sukhadwala

Biography

Sejal Sukhadwala lives in London, and has been writing about food for several newspapers, magazines and websites for many years. She’s vegetarian, and has compiled an all-vegetarian list that’s a mixture of much-loved classics and lesser-known gems. Although she loves general cookbooks, she has a preference for ones that focus on a specific country or region, and this is reflected in her choices here.

The Greens Cookbook

Deborah Madison

This groundbreaking, highly influential vegetarian classic is one of the first that I bought. It had a huge impact on my cooking, and set me on the path to becoming a food writer. It got me curious about ingredients like Yukon gold potatoes and collard greens that were unavailable in the UK at the time; and made me aspire to the sort of idyllic lifestyle where I’d spend hours making elaborate soup stocks from scratch.

Dakshin: Vegetarian Cuisine From South India

Chandra Padmanabhan

I have countless regional Indian cookbooks, but this one stands out for the clarity, accuracy and ‘authenticity’ of its recipes, and the utter deliciousness of the end results. The pictures are enticing, too.

Plenty

Yotam Ottolenghi

This book was a game-changer; it revolutionised vegetarianism in Britain. The way in which meat-free dishes were perceived, cooked and eaten was transformed as a result of Ottolenghi’s Guardian recipes (collected in this book). British dinner parties were never the same again.

Vegetarian Dishes from the Middle East

Arto der Haroutunian

I have dozens of excellent Middle Eastern cookery books, but this reliable classic is the one I turn to time and again.

Kansha: Celebrating Japan’s Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions

Elizabeth Andoh

If you’re already familiar with Japanese cookery (I learnt the basics through other Japanese cookbooks), this stunning and informative book will help take it to the next level.

Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts

Aglaia Kremezi

This one's packed with traditional and modern Mediterranean dishes that are practical yet impressive. Even if you’ve cooked Mediterranean food dozens of times before, there’s plenty to inspire here.

Creole Vegetarian Cookery

Kenneth Gardiner

I’ve been cooking from this unique book for many years, and the recipes never fail to get a compliment. They’re suffused with tropical fruit and veg, herbs and spices, and dreams of a more exotic life. The mango and ginger cake, which I make during the alphonso season each year, is an edible masterclass in how to win friends and influence people.

New Feast: Modern Middle Eastern Vegetarian

Greg Malouf and Lucy Malouf

If you’re an experienced Middle Eastern cook and confident about the ingredients, you’ll have fun with this fabulous cookbook. The recipes are highly imaginative; and the more ‘cheffy’ ones are perfect as weekend projects.

Thai Vegetarian Cooking

Vatcharin Bhumichitr

This is the book from which I first learnt to cook Thai food. There are wonderful, traditional recipes for Thai curry pastes, regional curries, rice and noodle dishes and condiments.

The Flavour Of California: Vegetarian Sun-Drenched Cuisine

Marlena Spieler

This exuberant book came into my life like a blast of sunshine, at a time when sun-dried tomatoes and pesto were newly fashionable. In the grey, early ‘90s England, when cookery writers cautiously instructed you to use one clove of garlic and half a teaspoon of dried herbs, Spieler came along and encouraged the use of half a dozen garlic cloves and a whole bunch of fresh herbs.

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What's playing in Sejal's kitchen?

It depends on what I'm cooking, but often Latin jazz.