We Can’t Stop Thinking About This Indian-ish Chile Peanut Rice

Another month, another gathering of BA editors for cookbook club! This time, we all took home a recipe from our dear friend and colleague Priya Krishna’s new cookbook, Indian-ish, and set up the next day in the Test Kitchen to share our dishes, potluck-style, for lunch.

And let me tell you, there was a lot of delicious Indian-ish recipes (Priya’s name for the dishes that her Indian mother, Ritu, would make—and make up—in their American home of Dallas, TX) to try. Restaurant editor Elyse Inamine brought a vegetarian main: the addictively crunchy lotus root with sweet jammy tomatoes. They were perfect for scooping onto the pleasingly oily and slightly spicy paratha I made (I’m trying to brand myself into the flatbread girl). Assistant editor Aliza Abarbanel made the Sabudana—a peanut-lime tapioca dish, which had the consistency of mochi and was surprisingly savory! She served it with Aloo Bhujia, these crispy-crunchy fried potato noodles that are like a skinnier version of those fried wonton strips that come with Chinese takeout.

But the unanimous crowd-pleaser of the day was the chile peanut rice that food editor Molly Baz made. Did we expect to be infatuated with a rice dish? No. But the minute we scooped our first bites into our salivating mouths, we fell in love. Christina Chaey politely asked for seconds. “WHY IS THIS SO GOOD?!” scream-asked Rachel Karten. “It tastes like MF buttered popcorn!” shouted Molly as she walked us through the dish, which uses leftover rice, earthy fried mustard seeds and curry leaves, almost-caramelized onions for a touch of sweetness, crunchy-toasty peanuts, and Indian green chile for some heat.

“It’s crazy to see you guys freak out over the recipes we cooked on a random Wednesday,'” Priya said, as she watched us all shovel more servings directly into our gaping maws.

As we cleaned up, we agreed that we would definitely be making many of the book’s recipes part of our random Wednesdays too. They’re approachable, effortlessly vegetarian, perfect for lunch (no midday naps necessary!), and epic enough for the most colorful dinner party spread you could imagine.

So make this chile peanut rice, whatever else that calls your name, and tag #BACookbookClub so we can see what you’ve made.

Buy It: Pre-order Indian-ish, $19 on amazon.com

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