India Express: easy & delicious one-tin and one-pan vegan, vegetarian & pescatarian recipes – by the bestselling ‘Roasting Tin’ series author

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Rukmini Iyer is the bestselling author of The Roasting Tin series selling over a million copies to date ( The Roasting Tin, The Green Roasting Tin, The Quick Roasting Tin, The Roasting Tin Around The World, The Green Barbecue and now The Sweet Roasting Tin).

Inspired by a train journey between her parents' home towns of Kolkata and Chennai, India Expressis a collection of 75 south Indian and Bengali recipes, and Rukmini Iyer's seventh book. I served the fish with a pot of masoor dal which was also a very simple recipe and utterly delicious. Iyer wanted to showcase these distinct regions, while staying true to the ethos of all of her cookbooks. Behind the scenes, Iyer was devising a way to combine those legacies: “I've sort of been plugging away at it for years,” Iyer says.This is a quick and easy weeknight stir fry – if you serve it with rice or flatbreads, it’s all your food groups on one plate. Alongside family news they would include recipes, comforting normalities from home that have become the most precious of heirlooms. Her aim is to transform Britain's midweek meals one roasting tin dinner at a time from omnivores to vegans, flexitarians to families or households of one or two.

This curry, known as rajma, is a classic – I ask my mother to make it every time I’m home for a birthday. It’s mad when your life’s completely turned around,” says the 37-year-old, “So I’m very, very glad to be able to do minimal prep, hands-free cooking. Chapters feature easy weeknight one-tin and one-pan curries, everyday Bengali and South Indian recipes, snack and brunch ideas, and a weekend project section for more ambitious cooks. She is a die-hard Francophile – speaking French helps tremendously – but put her anywhere and she is happy. There are six books in that collection ranging from one on vegan and vegetarian dishes, another on barbeque and one on desserts.

Their trip collided with harvest season: “there was loads of this date palm jaggery, which is a bit like molasses; and it was a big deal because it was the first press. Now, Iyer has written India Express, From Kolkata to Chennai, which is filled with 75 vegan, vegetarian and fish dishes. My mother had a really hilarious phrase, which is – ‘Tomatoes and potatoes, Bengalis put them in everything’.

Four years ago, Iyer took the same journey with both of her parents to really discover the food of those regions – and everywhere in between. The lentils got on with cooking themselves down and were then whisked which resulted in a wonderfully creamy texture. You can, if you like, swap the red kidney beans for chickpeas for a simple chickpea curry (my sister’s favourite). India Express, therefore, references not only the train journey but the speed with which home cooks can prepare the recipes. India Express grew from conversations Iyer had with her parents about the train journeys they used to take across India.

All of the above - which, together with more personal material than her previous work, makes India Express a must-have. Her new book, India Express, is a collection of easy, quick and flavourful vegan, vegetarian and fish recipes.