A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food by K. T. Achaya is a landmark reference work on the history, evolution, ingredients, dishes, and culinary traditions of India. Rather than functioning as a conventional cookbook, it traces Indian food through historical, literary, archaeological, botanical, genetic, and cultural sources.

Arranged in an A–Z dictionary format, the book discusses individual foods, ingredients, cooking practices, regional cuisines, food customs, and the origins of food-related words. Achaya also examines how ingredients such as potato, tomato, papaya, and chilli arrived from the New World and became integrated into Indian cuisine.

The book draws on ancient sources in Sanskrit, Pali, Tamil, and Kannada, as well as accounts written by visitors to India. It also explores prehistoric cooking, regional cuisines, Ayurvedic classifications of food, religious customs and rituals, food terminology, and the historical development of vegetarianism.