Food & Wine magazine has a soft spot for Austin chefs, which is perhaps why its former restaurant editor Khushbu Shah is bringing her debut cookbook here for a special celebration.

There are at least two events where Austinites can meet Shah and pick up a copy of the book: A Made In studio event on September 12 at 6 pm, will include food and drinks inspired by the book as well as an appearance by the author; and she'll visit Olamaie during the Texas Book Festival on November 17 at 10 am to collaborate with executive chef Michael Fojtasek on a fundraising brunch.

Titled Amrikan: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora, Shah’s book launched earlier this summer on June 4, 2024, and retails for $35. Earlier this year, Made In and Shah collaborated to bring The Amrikan Cookware Collection to life in honor of her cookbook launch. Guests who attend the Austin event will receive complimentary signed copies of the book, with a limit of one copy per attendee.

Shah’s writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, Eater, and the Best American Food Writing anthologies, and she has made appearances on television shows like Ugly Delicious. She most recently served as the restaurant editor for Food & Wine magazine and is the youngest and first person of color ever to hold that title.

At the Made In studio event, Shah will speak on the ideas and process behind her book, which draws on her Indian-American heritage and her travels across the U.S. for Food & Wine, to showcase how the Indian diaspora cooks in America today. For the book’s 125 recipes, Shah adapts global ingredients to include in traditional Indian dishes, or turns to her Indian pantry when cooking dishes from around the world. The result is a plethora of dishes that are neither fully Indian nor fully American in origin, but unique, flavorful, and easy to cook at home.

Example recipes include breakfast options such as masala shakshuka and moong dal waffles; snack ideas such as “Dad’s adu ka jaddu masala chai;” several chutney recipes; unique sandwiches, dosas, samosas, and pizzas; hearty entrees; inspired desserts; and much more. The book also features various essays in which Shah further reflects on the Indian diaspora, such as “10 things you need to know about Indian drinking culture” and “On caste and food.”

At the Texas Book Festival fundraising brunch, Fojtasek will present three original courses from Olamaie that were inspired by the cookbook, giving Shah a chance to socialize with guests. Neither a press release nor the event description state who benefits from the fundraiser, but presumably it is the Texas Book Festival, which is a nonprofit that keeps the festival free and grants millions of dollars to Texas public libraries. Tickets to the brunch are $135 and include a signed copy of the book and a signature cocktail.

For more information on Khushbu Shah and her ongoing book tour, follow @khushandoj on Instagram.