India In A Cup: From Gardens to Glasses

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Forget chai and lassi.

Nandita Godbole's eighth cookbook treats Indian mixology as something bigger: mocktails get equal billing with complex cocktails, sitting side by side on the page.

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What does the smell of lemongrass have in common with the sweetness of rose, a flash of gold leaf, or a trace of sandalwood? They're all flavors that live in the same Indian pantry, tucked past the masala dabba in sections most cookbooks never open.

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India In A Cup follows that flavor vocabulary region by region, season by season. Many of the recipes draw on trade routes and rituals that predate British colonial influence, not the fusion drinks that get passed off as "Indian cocktails" today.

 

Each one is paired with ceramics, several hand built by Godbole herself, tracing the vessels that have historically held these drinks. No other Indian cookbook on shelves right now connects the glass to what's actually in your hand. Cocktail drinker or zero-proof by choice, you'll find something here: a quick glass for morning energy, a pitcher for brunch, something sharper for board game night with friends.