[imagesource: Yuri Arcurs / Getty]

One of the trends to come out of hard lockdowns, everywhere, was a renewed interest in cooking and baking.

With people stuck at home, and with little to do, the kitchen became a welcome retreat from boredom.

Food is also an excellent way to expand your horizons and try something new without having to venture out into the world.

And, while it’s easy to find recipes online, there’s something lovely and tactile about a cookbook that sits on your shelf, waiting to guide you through a new adventure.

Whether you’re a novice, or just want to learn a few new things, Wired put together a definitive list of the best cookbooks 2020 has to offer.

Chaat: Recipes From the Kitchens, Markets, and Railways of India

By: Maneet Chauhan with Jody Eddy

If you’re keen to expand your repertoire, and do some culinary travelling over the holiday season, this guide to Indian cuisine is the cookbook for you.

My favorite is bhel puri, a blast of fine-chopped fresh ingredients like herbs, onion, potato, chilis, and mango with a sprinkle of spice and a drizzling of a chutney or two. It’s also got puffed rice and sev—tiny, crisp garnish made with seasoned chickpea flour. Stirred together, it’s like popcorn’s wildest cousin.

Chaat is Indian snack food and is usually sold as street and railway food.

How to Cook: Building Blocks and 100 Simple Recipes for a Lifetime of Meals

By: Hugh Acheson

The first step to learning how to cook is getting the basics down. Once tastes, cooking times, and preparing basic ingredients becomes second nature, a world of possibilities opens up to you.

A short opening section is followed by “25 Building Blocks”—stuff like sautéed mushrooms, rice, roasted veggies, and simple sauces, each one showing how to do it well, and what to do with it. The last two-thirds of the book is full of recipes that put your new skills and staples to work like pork and chickpea stew, sweet-potato hash, and smoky white bean and ham soup.

The book comes complete with stunning photographs by Andrew Thomas Lee.

The Nom Wah Cookbook: Recipes and Stories From 100 Years at New York City’s Iconic Dim Sum Restaurant

By: Wilson Tang with Joshua David Stern

Dim Sum is the ultimate comfort food, and if you’re keen to try your hand at pork siu mai, among other tasty dishes, The Nom Wah Cookbook fits the bill.

“Dim sum is a system devised to create maximum deliciousness with minimum effort,” says Nom Wah owner Wilson Tang. “Since time immemorial, dim sum kitchens have optimized their menus, building culinary mansions out of just a few basic building blocks, wisely, and repeatedly used.” Pork master filling, for example, shows up in Nom Wah’s siu mai, panfried dumplings, and bean curd rolls.

For more from Wired’s list of the year’s standout cookbooks, head here.

Oh, and if you were looking for the perfect gift for that foodie in your life, you’re welcome.

[source:wired]