From a forgotten Indian cookbook, a deeply flavoured chickpea curry

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Years ago, I was in a used-book store when I came upon an 800-page treatise I had never seen before: “Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking.”

By Yamuna Devi, the 1987 book was emblazed with a starburst announcing it as Cookbook of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), and on one flap was a black-and-white photo of the short-haired author in a bookstore. In quotes on the back, cookbook authors Deborah Madison, Barbara Kafka and even Julia Child praised it as “full of life,” “big and beautiful” and “gratifying.”

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Who was Yamuna Devi, and why had I never heard of her or what appeared to be her masterwork, a decade in the making?

It turns out that she was an American-Italian woman, born Joan Campanella, who took the name Yamuna Devi when she became a disciple of an Indian swami, Srila Prabhupada, in 1967. As she writes in the book’s introduction, she “travelled the length and breadth of India” with him as his personal cook, at times becoming “the first Westerner allowed in previously restricted temple kitchens.”

Prabhupada and then Devi were Vaishnavas, practicing a form of Hinduism that held that “cooking was a spiritual experience … much like meditation – a means of expressing love and devotion to the Supreme Lord, Krishna,” the incarnation of the god Vishnu.

The book is impressive: heavy on technique and ingredient explanations and including sections on rice, dal, breads, vegetables, dairy-based dishes, salads, chutneys and more.

Has it stood the test of time? I picked a recipe for something I’ve long wanted to make – chole, a.k.a. chole bhature, a Punjabi dish of curried chickpeas traditionally served with a puffy deep-fried bread. It differs from chana masala in that it often uses dark brown chickpeas (kala chana, sometimes called black chickpeas or Desi chickpeas) as opposed to the lighter, bigger chickpeas I’m more familiar with (kabuli chickpeas), and it is less tomato-y.

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On the first go-round, I was faithful to Devi’s recipe, procuring the kala chana from an Indian market and also using asafetida (hing) and amchoor (green mango) powder. And it tasted just as earthy and spicy – with a touch of sourness – as versions I’ve had from northern Indian restaurants. I loved the results.

But I was stuck on something. All the praise I had read for “Lord Krishna’s Cuisine” was from non-Indians. The Cookbook of the Year award was from a Western organization. Devi, who died in 2011 at 69, took on an Indian name and lived and traveled widely in India, but she was from Montana.

I wanted an Indian perspective on her work, so I called two of the world’s foremost Indian cooking experts. Did they remember her?

Madhur Jaffrey, the actress and food writer who has arguably done more for Americans’ understanding of Indian food than anyone else, had written her acclaimed “An Invitation to Indian Cooking” and two volumes on vegetarian cooking by the time Devi’s take came out, and she remembers being sent the book. “The few recipes I remember were good,” she told me in an interview. “But I eventually gave it away. It was not my type of cookbook.”

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Jaffrey, 90, had the sense that Devi was “more Indian than an Indian,” meaning that in her conversion she came across as positively evangelical about the cuisine – and its ties to her religion. Indians “have an easy relationship with our food, and it’s a familiar relationship, and hers was like, ‘This is the food of the gods,’” Jaffrey said. “It was a different way of looking at food than most Indians do.”

Another leading Indian cooking authority, Julie Sahni, remembers Devi as “soft-spoken with a really great talent for representing a cuisine which was completely unknown.” But Sahni, 78, thinks her book was simply too big for either a mainstream audience, which wasn’t ready for it, and for Indian readers used to buying hyperlocal, small, very inexpensive cookbooks.

“Lord Krishna’s Cuisine,” Sahni told me, might have turned off Indians, who “are very particular from region to region. Even when ingredients are the same, the timing, the variations change.” Devi’s headnotes are not very personal, and as Sahni knows from her own acclaimed books, such as “Classic Indian Cooking,” “People want stories.”

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Fair enough. I was starting to understand why I might not have heard about Devi earlier. Ultimately, I did a little more fussing with her chole recipe, adapting it for the Instant Pot, and I loved it still. It’s entering my repertoire, but will anything else from Devi?

I’m not quite ready to let go of “Lord Krishna’s Cuisine” the way Jaffrey did. It’ll return to my bookshelf, waiting for me to pick it up the next time I’m interested in a glimpse of her world. Yamuna Devi might not have quite the same level of culinary credibility as Jaffrey and Sahni, but I’m glad to know about her. Just as Jaffrey has also had a fascinating film career and Sahni has been a dancer, architect and city planner, Devi had a rich life outside the kitchen.

Among other things, she hung out – and even sang – with George Harrison of the Beatles. Doesn’t that count for something?

Chole (Curried Brown Chickpeas)

Chole, a north Indian dish of curried chickpeas, is spicy, earthy and tart, thanks to chiles, garam masala and amchoor powder, or sour mango powder. The late cookbook author Yamuna Devi made the dish with the small, dark-brown chickpeas called kala chana, or Desi chickpeas, found in Indian or large international markets, but you can use conventional (kabuli) chickpeas. It’s also frequently served with the puffy fried bread called bhatura, but naan or other flatbread works well, too. Chickpea cooking liquid adds a lot of flavour to this dish, but you can use canned chickpeas and water in a pinch.

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4 servings (makes 3 cups)

Active time: 20 minutes. Total time: 55 minutes, plus soaking time.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Make ahead: The chickpeas can be cooked and refrigerated in their cooking liquid for up to 4 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.

Where to buy: Brown chickpeas (kala chana), finger chiles, asafetida and amchoor powder can be found at Indian markets, some international markets and online.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups (8 ounces) dried brown chickpeas (kala chana; see Substitutions), soaked for 8 to 12 hours and drained

4 cups water, plus more as needed

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, ghee or vegetable oil, plus more as needed

1 small green chile, such as Indian jwala/aka finger chile, seeded and chopped (see Substitutions)

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground asafetida (hing; see Substitutions)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon amchoor powder (see Substitutions)

1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste

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2 teaspoons garam masala

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (see Substitutions)

Lime wedges or lemon wedges, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a 6-quart Instant Pot or other multicooker, combine the chickpeas, water and bay leaf. Secure the lid on the pot and close the pressure valve. Select PRESSURE (HIGH) and set to 30 minutes. (It takes about 10 minutes for the appliance to come to pressure before cooking begins.) Once cooking is complete, cover your hand with a towel or hot pad and release the pressure manually by moving the pressure-release handle to “Venting.” (Never put your hands or face near the vent when it’s releasing steam.) The chickpeas should be tender but still holding their shape; if they’re too firm, pressure cook them for another 5 to 10 minutes at a time until they’re done.

Drain the chickpeas, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid; discard the bay leaf. Transfer 1/3 cup of the chickpeas to a bowl and mash to a coarse paste.

Set the multicooker to SAUTE (MEDIUM, or NORMAL, depending on your model). Once it heats, melt the butter. Add the chile and ginger and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the coriander, paprika, turmeric, asafetida and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the mixture slightly darkens, 1 to 2 minutes. If at any point the ingredients threaten to burn, turn the saute setting to a lower level and/or add a splash of water, as needed.

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Add the whole and mashed chickpeas, cooking liquid, amchoor powder and salt. Stir to combine, reduce the heat to low and cook until the liquid thickens, 1 to 2 minutes.

Transfer to a large serving bowl or individual bowls, sprinkle with garam masala and cilantro, drizzle with more melted butter or oil, and serve hot, with lime or lemon wedges for squeezing over.

Substitutions: Can’t find brown chickpeas? >> Use conventional (kabuli) chickpeas. Prefer canned chickpeas? >> Use two (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added chickpeas and all the included liquid (aquafaba), adding water to total 1 cup liquid as needed. Green finger chile >> serrano or jalapeño. Asafetida >> 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder plus 1/2 teaspoon onion powder. Amchoor powder >> 3 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice. Cilantro >> parsley.

Variations: You can make this in a Dutch oven or a heavy large saucepan on the stovetop instead of a multicooker: To cook the chickpeas, bring them and the water to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until tender, at least 1 hour and up to 90 minutes. Use the Dutch oven over medium heat to follow Steps 3 and 4, too.

Nutrition per serving (3/4 cup): 307 calories, 12g fat, 6g saturated fat, 39g carbohydrates, 581mg sodium, 23mg cholesterol, 12g protein, 8g fiber, 8g sugar

This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.

Adapted from “Lord Krishna’s Cuisine” by Yamuna Devi (Dutton, 1987).

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