Indian food cook book for beginners?

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 13:33:43 -0500, "Kim E" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi - I am starting to learn to cook Indian food and have been
surfing the net for recipes. I would like to buy a good Indian
food cook book, but am having trouble sorting through all of them.
Can anyone recommend a good one, preferrably one that gives an
overview of different cooking styles in different parts of India,
goes over spices, and has lots of pictures and descriptions of the
final product.

My favorite 2 Indian cookbooks are:
Prashad - Cooking with Indian Masters by J. Indersingh Kalra
Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey (ISBN: 0812027000)

Julie Sahni's books are popular here
Sanjeev Kapoor is a celebrity chef in India
Tarla Dalal is popular in India

"Robert Klute" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 13:33:43 -0500, "Kim E" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi - I am starting to learn to cook Indian food and have been
surfing the net for recipes. I would like to buy a good Indian
food cook book, but am having trouble sorting through all of them.
Can anyone recommend a good one, preferrably one that gives an
overview of different cooking styles in different parts of India,
goes over spices, and has lots of pictures and descriptions of the
final product.

My favorite 2 Indian cookbooks are:
Prashad - Cooking with Indian Masters by J. Indersingh Kalra
Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey (ISBN: 0812027000)

Julie Sahni's books are popular here
Sanjeev Kapoor is a celebrity chef in India
Tarla Dalal is popular in India

Julie Sahni authored William-Sonoma Savoring India. It is a truly beautiful
book with lots of pictures and descriptions of foods from various sections
of India. I wouldn't say it is for beginners necessarily, some recipes are
quite complex with many ingredients, but the recipes are wonderful adn the
book spectacular.

Anita

"Anita Amaro" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Robert Klute" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 13:33:43 -0500, "Kim E"
<[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi - I am starting to learn to cook Indian food and have been
surfing the net for recipes. I would like to buy a good Indian
food cook book, but am having trouble sorting through all of
them.
Can anyone recommend a good one, preferrably one that gives an
overview of different cooking styles in different parts of
India,
goes over spices, and has lots of pictures and descriptions of
the
final product.

My favorite 2 Indian cookbooks are:
Prashad - Cooking with Indian Masters by J. Indersingh Kalra
Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey (ISBN:
0812027000)

Julie Sahni's books are popular here
Sanjeev Kapoor is a celebrity chef in India
Tarla Dalal is popular in India

Julie Sahni authored William-Sonoma Savoring India. It is a truly
beautiful
book with lots of pictures and descriptions of foods from various
sections
of India. I wouldn't say it is for beginners necessarily, some
recipes are
quite complex with many ingredients, but the recipes are
wonderful adn the
book spectacular.

Thank you both for the suggestions, i will check out those books.
I guess any Indian food isn't really for "beginners" since I have
found that most of the recipes are more complex than i am used to.
Especially when it took me 5 ingredients and over an hour to just
make rice! 🙂 Thanks again

-kim

"Kim E" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Anita Amaro" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Robert Klute" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 13:33:43 -0500, "Kim E"
<[email hidden]>
wrote:

>Hi - I am starting to learn to cook Indian food and have been
>surfing the net for recipes. I would like to buy a good Indian
>food cook book, but am having trouble sorting through all of
>them.
>Can anyone recommend a good one, preferrably one that gives an
>overview of different cooking styles in different parts of
>India,
>goes over spices, and has lots of pictures and descriptions of
>the
>final product.

My favorite 2 Indian cookbooks are:
Prashad - Cooking with Indian Masters by J. Indersingh Kalra
Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey (ISBN:
0812027000)

Julie Sahni's books are popular here
Sanjeev Kapoor is a celebrity chef in India
Tarla Dalal is popular in India

Julie Sahni authored William-Sonoma Savoring India. It is a truly
beautiful
book with lots of pictures and descriptions of foods from various
sections
of India. I wouldn't say it is for beginners necessarily, some
recipes are
quite complex with many ingredients, but the recipes are
wonderful adn the
book spectacular.

Thank you both for the suggestions, i will check out those books.
I guess any Indian food isn't really for "beginners" since I have
found that most of the recipes are more complex than i am used to.
Especially when it took me 5 ingredients and over an hour to just
make rice! 🙂 Thanks again

-kim

Jaffrey is the best IMO, closely followed by Sahni. The recipes are not
really difficult to make after you do the processes a few times and, most
importantly, have the necessary spices and herbs on hand. Be sure that you
read the introductions and notes with the recipes. There are MANY food
cultures in India. They can be very different. There are also British
versions of Indian foods which is another category. Learning Indian Cookery
is a very satisfying experience. You will need to find a good Indian
grocery if you have one around. It will be of great help! There are also
some excellent recipes along with spices at www.penzeys.com and in their
catalogs.

Charlie

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 22:55:23 GMT, Faux_Pseudo <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

_.-In rec.food.cooking, Kim E wrote the following -._

Quoted message said:

I guess any Indian food isn't really for "beginners" since I have
found that most of the recipes are more complex than i am used to.
Especially when it took me 5 ingredients and over an hour to just
make rice! 🙂 Thanks again

That is why we go out for Indian. We have a good local place that has
a dinner for two for about $40 that comes with 6 food items + naan.
We have another place (that also happens to sell cellphones) not more
than 300 yards from there that is very cheap.

Certain Indian food I never prepare at home, I only eat out - mostly
South Indian dishes - Idli, dosa, uttapam. I prepare Tandoori, but it
is better out of a Tandoor, and I don't have one, yet. Everything else,
is much better when cooked at home and some dishes you just can't get in
a restaurant. For example, the sag paneer at restaurants is usually a
thin creamed spinach with a few cubes of paneer. At home it is a thick
spinach dish with a cube of fried paneer in almost every bite.

Indian food does tend to have lots of ingredients and lots of prep.
But, planning ahead helps. Knowing all the dishes that require chopped
onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, etc. allows for it to be prepped ahead
in bulk, sometimes a couple of days in advance. Many dishes taste
better if prepared the day before - it takes time for the spices to
meld. Choosing the right mix of dishes helps to reduce the work, also.
It gets easier with practice - I have the advantage of living with an
Indian cook.

Kim E said:

Hi - I am starting to learn to cook Indian food and have been
surfing the net for recipes. I would like to buy a good Indian
food cook book, but am having trouble sorting through all of them.
Can anyone recommend a good one, preferrably one that gives an
overview of different cooking styles in different parts of India,
goes over spices, and has lots of pictures and descriptions of the
final product.

Any book by Madhur Jaffrey or Julie Sahni is a good place to start.
Jaffrey particularly has many photos in some of her books.
You will have to be a little patient, and try for awhile. I consider
myself an excellent cook for north Indian food, but it took me 5 years
of doing it a couple of times a week before my Indian friends told me I
was as "good as mummy".
blacksalt

I have an old Ismail Merchant cookbook, not his first which came out to
great acclaim in 1986, but another one called "Ismail Merchant's
Passionate Cooking."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0452282322/qid=1109532130/sr=8-2/ref=pd_csp_2/102-1128644-3163317?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Purists may tell you all the reasons why his recipes aren't... pure...
but I love them for their ease and flavor. He says he is largely self
taught, and he is reknowned for turning out meals for 20 in kitchens
the size of closets, with little time and less money. He and James
Ivory made all those fabulous films together (Room with a view, etc.
etc) and fed their casts on Ismail's cooking.

Those of you who want to jump all over me for suggesting this, be my
guest. It's a nice, if hybridized, introduction and I find many of the
recipes relatively simple.

Leila

Leila said:

I have an old Ismail Merchant cookbook, not his first which came out

to

Quoted message said:

great acclaim in 1986, but another one called "Ismail Merchant's
Passionate Cooking."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0452282322/qid=1109532130/sr=8-2/ref=pd_csp_2/102-1128644-3163317?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I second that recommendation. I made his lemon dal and sag paneer last
night. Dinner was ready in just about an hour, and there were no
difficult to procure ingredients involved. I had made the paneer the
other day with the milk that had just passed its sell-by date. I don't
fry the paneer before mixing it in with the seasoned spinach; it
spatters too much hot oil around.

I also really like Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking.
Most of the recipes really are reasonably quick (assuming you use a
pressure cooker, as directed) and easy. I love the spinach and squid
curry.

Melissa

Melissa said:

Leila said:

I have an old Ismail Merchant cookbook, not his first which came out
to great acclaim in 1986, but another one called "Ismail Merchant's
Passionate Cooking."

Quoted message said:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0452282322/qid=1109532130/sr=8-2/ref=pd_csp_2/102-1128644-3163317?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I second that recommendation. I made his lemon dal and sag paneer last
night. Dinner was ready in just about an hour, and there were no
difficult to procure ingredients involved. I had made the paneer the
other day with the milk that had just passed its sell-by date. I don't
fry the paneer before mixing it in with the seasoned spinach; it
spatters too much hot oil around.

[snip]

Quoted message said:

Melissa

Ooooh! The lemon dal sounds so good, I had to immediately go do a
search. Are these the ingredients:

* 4 c Masoor dal - (2 lbs); see *
* -Note
* 1/2 c Vegetable oil; plus
* 3 tb Vegetable oil
* 1 lg White onion; peeled, halved,
* And thinly sliced
* 1 sm White onion; peeled, chopped
* 3 Bay leaves -; (to 4)
* 4 Cinnamon sticks (3"😉; halved
* 1 Garlic clove; chopped
* 1 tb Chopped peeled fresh ginger
* 1 ts Cayenne pepper
* 4 c Boiling water -; (to 6)
* 4 c Chicken stock
* 1 ts Salt; to taste
* 1 Lemon; halved
* 2 tb Fresh coriander

(The recipe is attributed to Ismail Merchant but comes from Martha
Stewart.)

--
Jean B.

In article vR7Td.1541$Sn6.539@lakeread03 said:

But I am not cooking it at home. I went through 7 different web-sites
and 20+ recipes trying to find a Mulgatawny recipe that wasn't going
to involve me spending all day chopping and prepping 15 ingredients.

And did you find one??? I'd love to make a pot, but every recipe I've found
is beyond my intimidation threshold.

Art

"Arthur Shapiro" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article vR7Td.1541$Sn6.539@lakeread03 said:

But I am not cooking it at home. I went through 7 different web-sites
and 20+ recipes trying to find a Mulgatawny recipe that wasn't going
to involve me spending all day chopping and prepping 15 ingredients.

And did you find one??? I'd love to make a pot, but every recipe I've

found

Quoted message said:

is beyond my intimidation threshold.

Art

I served this at the 1999 San Diego Cook-In. It was very nice. I combined 2
slightly different Penzey's recipes and came up with this.

Charlie

MULLIGATAWNY SOUP

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 quarts chicken stock [1]
1 tbs. vegetable oil (I used mustard oil) [2]
1 medium onion, minced
1 large rib celery, diced small
1.5 carrots, trimmed into rectangles then cut into small dice
3/4 tsp dry whole leaf thyme
1.5 tsp. curry powder (I used Penzey's Sweet) [3]
pinch ground fenugreek
1/4, rounded slightly, ground ginger
pinch cayenne
2 tbs. flour
2 tbs. honey
1 large Macintosh apple, cored but not skinned, cut in large dice (a red
[censored] apple)
1 tbs. chopped fresh flat parsley
1.5 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground Tellicherry black pepper
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup Basmati rice [4] OR
(prepared rice - recipe below) [5]

Start heating the chicken stock in a soup pot over medium low heat. In a
large (nonstick is best) skillet, heat oil over medium heat. When hot add
onion, celery, carrot and thyme. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until
the onions are clear. Do not brown the veggies. Stir in curry powder,
fenugreek, ginger, cayenne, flour and honey. Cook for 5 minutes more.

Add chicken, apple and parsley. Stir to coat, then add hot chicken broth
gradually, by the ladleful at a time (about 2 cups total), stirring until
smooth and thickened. Carefully pour the thickened mixture into the soup pot
containing the rest of the stock while stirring. Add the salt and pepper,
stir. When smooth, simmer for 20 minutes. (see note 4) If adding now, add
the rice to the soup 10 minutes after the start of simmering.

Remove from heat and stir in the milk. Serve. This is served in a bowl over
a large spoonful of rice. See notes [4] and [5].

[1] For the cook-in I didn't have enough homemade chicken stock so I added 1
cup of canned chicken broth.

[2] I used a somewhat mild mustard oil. If you have REAL Indian mustard oil,
you might want to dilute it with canola oil to get the same effect that I
achieved.

[3] The Penzey's recipe calls for half sweet and half hot curry powder. If
you use a moderate to hot curry powder, you might want to reduce the amount
of fenugreek, cayenne and ginger - but do add extra ginger.

[4] I prefer to serve this over rice. For the cook-in I decided to simplify
things and add the rice to the soup ahead of time. It worked well, but keep
in mind that it is easy to overcook the rice this way.

[5] If serving the soup over the rice (best) here is my recipe, which is
very similar to the Penzey's recipe.

Saffron Rice

1 cup Basmati rice
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbs. sweet butter
1 tbs, minced onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1 small pinch of crumbled saffron
1/8 tsp. ground cumin

Place butter and onion in a saucepan and sauté onion until onion is clear.
Add cumin and sauté for 1 minute more. Add rice saffron, stock and salt.
Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 17 minutes, or
until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.

Note: I also like this with sumac instead of the cumin. I have also had
success with using a pinch of asafoetida OR kala jeera. But for use with
Mulligatawny, I like the touch of cumin best.

The best book so far is written by Camelia Panjabi called "50 wonderful
curries" You can probably order from amazon.com. If you do buy this
book, make sure to read first 25-30 pages which explains role of each
spices in indian cooking. hope this helps...

The best book so far is written by Camelia Panjabi called "50 wonderful
curries" You can probably order from amazon.com. If you do buy this
book, make sure to read first 25-30 pages which explains role of each
spices in indian cooking. hope this helps...

Mulgitawny soup is based on the South-Indian Rasam. Perhaps these
are a a bit less intimidating.

-Raj

-----------------------------------------------------------------

TOMATO RASAM

1 small ball tamarind (size of 2 Tbsp. coriander leaves (chopped)
lime) 1 tomato
1 Tbsp. toor dhal 2 tsp. oil
1/2 tsp. black Pepper (powder) 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds (crushed) 1/2 tsp. fenugreek (optional)
6 cloves garlic (crushed) 1 tsp. curry leaves (optional)
(or use 1 tsp. Rasam powder 1 dry red chili (or chili flakes)
instead of above 3 items)

Soak tamarind in 1 cup of warm water. Then press the pulp
and get the essence out. Add 2 more cups of water and make
tamarind juice of 3 cups. Remove the pulp by a strainer. Wash and
cook toor dhal with 2 cups of water. When dhal is well
cooked, remove from heat and mix tamarind water, block pepper,
crushed cumin seed, garlic and pieces of coriander leaves. Cut
tomato into small pieces and crush them into tamarind water.
In a fry pan heat 2 tsp. oil over medium heat. Add
mustard seeds. When they crack, add fenugreek, curry leaves
and broken red chilies.
When this mixture turns golden brown, pour tamarind water into
it. In about 5-7 minutes small bubbles will pile on top. Remove
from heat immediately (do not let it boil).
----------------------------------------------

LEMON RASAM

juice from 1 lemon 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder (optional)
1x1 inch ginger chopped 1 tsp. mustard seeds
2 green chillies chopped 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tomatoes 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. toor dhal 1 Tbsp. coriander leaves

Cook toor dhal with 2 cups water and 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
until it becomes soft.
Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When thy pop add ginger and
chillies and fry for a minute. Add tomato pieces, 1 cup water and
1/8 tsp. turmeric paste and boil for 5 minutes. Add salt.
To the cooked toor dhal add 2 cups water and mash well. Add this to
the rasam and boil for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and add lemon juice and coriander leaves. Mix
well.
--
Raj Kumar Rajendran
[email hidden]

Mulgitawny soup is based on the South-Indian Rasam. Perhaps these
are a a bit less intimidating.

-Raj

-----------------------------------------------------------------

TOMATO RASAM

1 small ball tamarind (size of 2 Tbsp. coriander leaves (chopped)
lime) 1 tomato
1 Tbsp. toor dhal 2 tsp. oil
1/2 tsp. black Pepper (powder) 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds (crushed) 1/2 tsp. fenugreek (optional)
6 cloves garlic (crushed) 1 tsp. curry leaves (optional)
(or use 1 tsp. Rasam powder 1 dry red chili (or chili flakes)
instead of above 3 items)

Soak tamarind in 1 cup of warm water. Then press the pulp
and get the essence out. Add 2 more cups of water and make
tamarind juice of 3 cups. Remove the pulp by a strainer. Wash and
cook toor dhal with 2 cups of water. When dhal is well
cooked, remove from heat and mix tamarind water, block pepper,
crushed cumin seed, garlic and pieces of coriander leaves. Cut
tomato into small pieces and crush them into tamarind water.
In a fry pan heat 2 tsp. oil over medium heat. Add
mustard seeds. When they crack, add fenugreek, curry leaves
and broken red chilies.
When this mixture turns golden brown, pour tamarind water into
it. In about 5-7 minutes small bubbles will pile on top. Remove
from heat immediately (do not let it boil).
----------------------------------------------

LEMON RASAM

juice from 1 lemon 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder (optional)
1x1 inch ginger chopped 1 tsp. mustard seeds
2 green chillies chopped 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tomatoes 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. toor dhal 1 Tbsp. coriander leaves

Cook toor dhal with 2 cups water and 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
until it becomes soft.
Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When thy pop add ginger and
chillies and fry for a minute. Add tomato pieces, 1 cup water and
1/8 tsp. turmeric paste and boil for 5 minutes. Add salt.
To the cooked toor dhal add 2 cups water and mash well. Add this to
the rasam and boil for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and add lemon juice and coriander leaves. Mix
well.
--
Raj Kumar Rajendran
[email hidden]