I was lucky enough to receive this book as an ARC and will definitely be buying a physical copy when it’s published.
The book is filled with the most beautiful illustrations throughout. The recipes are clear and easy to follow. There is a wide variety of different recipes to try. Would highly recommend buying and can’t wait to cook some of them.

This book has so much detail and character! The illustrations are perfect. NetGalley won't allow me to finish writing this review until I make it longer.

this recipe book has so many yummy recipes in, i really liked the illistations that where alongside the recipes, there were some food photographs in the middle of the book, however i think that having them next to the recipes would make people more likely to try the recipes. I really like this recipe book

This was a great cookbook. Very easy-to-follow recipes. I can't wait to try these recipes. I would highly recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This book is so beautiful and sentimental. The love and depth of culture shines through this wonderfully written cookbook. Packed with recipes that are full of flavour, this book also contains the coolest illustrations.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Jyoti Mukharji, Auyon Mukharji and The Collective Book Studio for allowing me to view an ARC of this lovely cookbook!

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC of the ebook. I love everything about this book and the way it is organized. I appreciate the clear explanations of what to expect when cooking the recipes in this book with lots of tips and techniques to successfully cook these recipes. Some of the recipes are familiar to me, while others are new and I love that. Learning how different people approach a recipe is what makes me learn and practice to then make it my own. The illustrations and photography in this book are beautiful and I think this is a great book to buy and also gift to anyone who is interested in learning how to cook Indian food.

Heartland Masala is an absolute treat for both your tastebuds and your heart. This cookbook blends vibrant Indian flavors with a cozy Midwestern charm, thanks to the delightful collaboration between mother-son duo Jyoti and Auyon Mukharji. Jyoti’s recipes—many of which she’s shared in her Kansas City kitchen for years—are easy to follow, rich with tradition, and full of soul. From classics like Saag Paneer to more adventurous bites like Chicken Curry with Water Lily Seeds, every dish feels like a warm invitation into her home. The colorful food photography makes it even more tempting to roll up your sleeves and get cooking.

But what really sets this book apart are the thoughtful cultural essays and the whimsical, eye-catching illustrations scattered throughout. Auyon, a culinary historian, adds warmth and wit as he explores themes of identity, heritage, and the immigrant experience. The illustrations aren’t just charming—they’re educational too, making complex topics feel approachable while adding a sense of playfulness that brings the book to life. Heartland Masala isn’t just about learning recipes—it’s about savoring stories, celebrating culture, and connecting across generations. It’s a flavorful, heartfelt gem that feeds both the mind and the soul.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is an amazing cookbook and a must read for anyone who loves Indian cuisine. I loved the characters of the two authors being provided next to an introduction of them and then dotted about through the book at the perfect moment. I appreciated that they took the time to talk us through the basics without talking down or making us feel bad for not knowing, especially since chop and roughly chop can mean different things to different people as well as information on the linguistics and common words that will be used. The recipes are easy to follow and I liked that there were also some fun facts like “a note on courses” and “the great curry debate” sprinkled throughout as well as their food and life stories.

One of the most charming cookbooks that I have ever read.
Heartland Masala has the heart at its core, a mother and son, Jyoti and Auyon show us what love means, while also informing us about Indian food, giving us recipes, food stories, and stories about immigration.
The team behind this book includes other Mukharji family members, and if you miss the book, its mood and the Mukharji’s cooking and storytelling, they have a website (I did miss them, and immediately started searching for more - cannot wait to see what they come up with next).
Also, this book has the most amazing design and artwork. Totally unique.

Note: This review is based on an advanced reader copy.

This is the indian cookbook I've spent the past two decades wishing for! My heartfelt thanks goes to the author and his mother for publishing it.

After spending a year in India in the late nineties for college, I developed a craving for Indian cooking and couldn't wait to make my own. However, cooking Indian food in America presents a lot of challenges. Most recipes are written for folks with easy access to Indian grocery stores, and use terms and measurements that are not standard in America. Often recipes for Indian food assume an access to and knowledge of ingredients that most folks raised outside India just don't have.

This cookbook, however, is written by folks who live in the American midwest, and contains so much helpful information and explanation for everything an American needs to know to find or make the ingredients for authentic Indian cooking. Helpful illustrations, explanations, and heartwarming anecdotes about the author and his mother abound.

There are plenty of illustrations, even including how to fold dough for specific recipes like paratha or samosa. There's illustrations and explanations of the different types of beans, spices, etc that are used in the recipes and common to Indian cooking. There's details on how to grind and mix the right spices for authentic flavor, and So Many recipes. They are all written clearly and kindly to make it easy.

If you are an American who wants to make some delicious Indian food, this is your book! The author makes it possible, step by step. There are so many recipes, from staples like chana masala, samosa, and a killer masala chai, to delicious foods that the average American might not have gotten the chance to be exposed to.

Yesterday, I was trying to recreate one of my favorite foods from my time in India, but found that even after buying a mix to make it simpler, I was stuck. It called for "sour curd," which is not something I can find at my local grocery store. However, just a few pages into this book was the recipe for homemade yogurt (curd). Now I can easily make it myself.

I'm so happy to find this book! There will be some amazing smells coming from my kitchen now.

“I’m in the Heartland! I like Indian food!” was as far as I thought about it before picking up this cookbook, but there’s so much more than recipes in here! It’s full of humor, history, and adorable illustrations. The pictures help you visualize the recipes and I love the dot indicator to know which area of India the recipe is from. Some of the recipes are probably too advanced for me, but the authors break things down and illustrate methods in the simplest way possible. Absolutely gorgeous book!

The illustrations are beyond stunning! They blend vibrant depictions of ingredients with humor to really effectively create engagement.

This really does feel like a labor of love between son and mother. The tidbits and stories shared by Auyon pair perfectly with the rest of the recipes, without feeling disconnected.

Indian cooking can feel overwhelming with so many spices and ingredients, but this book does a great job breaking everything down without being simplistic.

Thank you Netgalley, The Collective Book Studio, Jyoti Mukharji, and Auyon Mukharji for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.


The drawings are so fun! I really liked them, and they gave a cheerful feeling to the whole book. The photos are stunning as well, and it was hard to not be hungry while flipping through this cookbook.

I can tell the Jyoti does cooking classes. This book is written in a way that is easy enough for a beginner to follow. I loved all the detailed descriptions and instructions for ingredients, preparation, and cooking skills.

The recipe directions are clear, and easy to understand and follow. They are also fairly authentic, with some minor tweaks for harder to find ingredients. The little notes that come with some of the recipes are very helpful too!

This is a book that I would love to slowly cook my way through. It's approachable, beautiful, and would also make a great gift for any cook in your life.

Thank you NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Right away, I loved the illustrations, the history, the introduction. The fonts and the colours were also perfectly chosen. I loved that this was written by a mother and son. I loved the given freedom, changing chicken to beef, adding or removing spices and tasting as you go along to understand how what you added contributes to the whole — as Jyoti said.

Well introduced, the equipment needed, the measurements in oz/grams (very!!!! useful!!!), and the fact that they said we dont need a pressure cooker for these recipes made me happy, I don’t have one and I don’t wanna get one.

Love the words before each recipe by Jyoti or Auyon, or both. Loved the illustrations (yes, I’m mentioning them again). The recipes sounded really appetising. The mouth-watering pictures came all at the halfway point, which usually would have been annoying but I think in this book, with the tips and the illustrations and the pages of facts, I think it fits quite well.

I enjoyed learning about Indian cuisine, and about some ingredients I had never heard of before.
Will definitely be visiting the idian grocery soon and trying out some of these recipes!

am so excited to try recipes from this book.

I received an ARC of the ebook, but will be purchasing a physical copy as soon as it comes out.

Getting to know Jyoti and her background. The part of Indian she’s from, her educational background, all the things she learned from her husband (who is from a different part of India which feels like a whole different world), you feel like you’re sitting down and having a conversation with her.

She didn’t learn to really cook until she moved to America in the 70’s and praises her mother and MIL for teaching her.

Then learning about her kids especially Auyon, her middle child, who helped with this book, made you feel even more like you were old friends.

The cartoon illustrations throughout the book are quirky, well done, and unique. The photographs are incredible. Capturing the true deliciousness of each of the dishes.

There a detailed instructions to not only making the meals but teaching you about the ingredients and methods. They also have their own signature dishes and cocktails.

Overall, this is a beautifully curated book. Absolutely a gift I would purchase for someone. I love Indian food but now that we’ve moved from Texas to Georgia, I’m struggling to find anywhere good. I can’t wait to try to make some of these dishes.

Here’s another cookbook review—and this one truly stands out! The introduction is engaging and sets the tone beautifully. It not only introduces the authors but also shows us their culinary philosophy. After the introduction you can find insights into the essence of ingredients, commonly used cooking terms, and useful kitchen tips. It even includes a clever color-coding system with dots on either side of each recipe title, indicating the language of origin. It’s a thoughtful and distinctive way to begin a cookbook, making it both informative and visually appealing.
Another charming feature of this book is the artwork. The hand-drawn illustrations bring a warm, personal feel that makes the book feel more like a cherished family heirloom than a standard recipe collection. The photographs included are equally beautiful—vibrant and mouthwatering. While not every recipe has a photo directly on the same page, the images are thoughtfully placed throughout the book and provide plenty of visual inspiration for the dishes.
The recipes are well-organized, approachable, and clearly written, each one introduced with context and helpful notes from the authors. Their personal insights and cooking tips make the experience feel like a friendly conversation in the kitchen, rather than a step-by-step manual. It’s that sense of connection that makes this cookbook so enjoyable.
What truly sets this book apart is how it goes beyond the recipes. It’s filled with cultural and historical anecdotes, and reflections that add depth and richness to the culinary experience.
You’ll also find some sample menus included, which is especially helpful for anyone planning an Indian meal for the first time.
A particularly helpful touch is the list of retailers at the end of the book for sourcing specialty ingredients—practical and thoughtful.
This book is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in Indian cuisine, offering a mix of both basic dishes like ghee, yogurt, to traditional dishes and even creative fusion recipes. With about 100 recipes, there’s plenty to explore, especially for vegetarians, as the book includes a wide range of plant-based options. The visuals are inviting, and the storytelling makes each dish feel like part of a larger journey.
More than just a cookbook, it reads like a conversation with the authors, filled with warmth, detail, and personality.
I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to try Indian cooking at home and learn more about the culture behind the food.

I love cooking and I love love Indian food, but whenever I try to cook Indian food, it just doesn't turn out quite right. This book made me feel a lot better about what I make not being perfect or not being "authentic" and instead made me think more about making sure the food was good.

I know there are lots of recipes online for free so it can be tempting to not buy cookbooks these days. As someone who has posted recipes online before I am very aware of how easy it is for anyone to post anything online, so while I think online recipes are a great resource, I do like to turn to a good old fashioned cookbook sometimes.

The illustrations in this book are so beautiful, they remind me a lot of the illustrations in my favorite cookbook Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat. In addition to the beautiful illustrations, the book also had great food photography.

I always love it when a cookbook provides more than just recipes and this was definitely one of those books. I loved all the little historical anecdotes and learning about the linguistic origins of recipe names. It's also super helpful that they provided retailers for some of the ingredients at the end of the book.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that's curious about Indian cooking.

I've been looking for this book, but I never knew where to look. There's so many books out there on Indian food, but this one might be the best I've seen.

The introduction to the book is fantastic. It covers topics such as the authors, the soul of the ingredients (always more garlic, please!), a taxonomy of common words used (like the authors definition of chopped), and the linguistics of the food.

I really loved the artwork. Mostly using hand drawn images, the artwork makes this cookbook feel warm and inviting, almost like a family heirloom. The pictures that are also included are also beautiful- your mouth waters just looking at the images. Not every recipes has an actual photograph on the same page as the recipe, which can make some home chefs a little nervous wondering if their food looks right. However, the images do appear in other parts of the book.

The recipes are fairly straight forward with introductions by both Jyoti and Auyon. This includes an introduction of the food and tips for cooking. It really felt like having the two authors in the kitchen with me.

The first recipe I tried was the Paneer. This has really been a difficult food for me to make for some reason. I've made variations on similar dishes, but every paneer recipe I've tried before just didn't work. This one, however, was perfect and turned out great. (I bet it was the colander!) I really love paneer, so it's really great to have a recipe to keep in handy.

The recipes do come in both volume and weight measurements, so people who cook with both methods will be satisfied. Since a lot of the ingredients have to be found at specialty stores, I really liked the shopping advice at the beginning of the book. It helped me understand the ingredients and measurements when reading the recipes.

Overall, this is a cookbook that I know I'll use over and over. Perhaps with my notes, it will eventually become a family heirloom, just like how it feels it should be.