Best indian cooking, food & wine books according to redditors
We found 230 Reddit comments discussing the best indian cooking, food & wine books. We ranked the 79 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 230 Reddit comments discussing the best indian cooking, food & wine books. We ranked the 79 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
![The New Indian Slow Cooker: Recipes for Curries, Dals, Chutneys, Masalas, Biryani, and More [A Cookbook]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/612xwqQ71gL.jpg)
We love ours so much that we bought a second one. I can cook food that I like better than what I can get in a restaurant, and that together with Alternate Day Fasting has lead to 30 pound weight loss since August.
I really love the Indian Instant Pot Cookbook https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Instant-Pot®-Cookbook-Traditional-ebook/dp/B075HHYXWF/
I've come across a few great vegan cooking resources that you may be interested in:
please share others!
Generally, recipes in Western cookbooks and food blogs are watered-down versions of Indian food -- maybe that's your problem?
I've seen recipes for tikka masala that ask for a single onion, just a few teaspoons each of powdered spices, and no mention of ginger-garlic paste or essential things like fenugreek leaves, curry leaves, desiccated coconut or ghee, and rarely any mention of blooming spices (frying them in oil/ghee to release their aromatic oils).
Then they ask you to throw in a whole can of tomatoes and sometimes even water. Of course it will be flavourless.
Look into cookbooks that tell you how to make a base gravy (a highly concentrated, finely blended onion/pepper mixture that often uses things like cabbage and carrots, and acts as a flavour enhancer and thickener), how to make your own garam masala, how to make your own ginger-garlic paste etc.
The best book I've encountered for this is The Secret to That Takeaway Curry Taste. It's a somewhat ramshackle e-book, but it's written by a working chef who runs a small British-Indian takeaway restaurant, and the techniques are exactly right.
The base gravy is similar to the mother sauces in French cooking. With the base gravy you can make a lot of different dishes. They typically start with blooming some spices in ghee or mustard oil, adding meat or vegetables, then adding the gravy and other flavour elements like yogurt and coconut, and then cooking this in the sauce. For even more concentrated flavour, consider making the sauce separate from the protein, then blending the sauce until it's velvety smooth. Marinate and cook protein separately (e.g. chicken pieces or paneer on skewers), then add to the sauce.
One of the biggest reasons I got the IP is for Indian food. Highly recommend Instant Pot Indian cook book
This is an amazing book of recipes: https://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-India-Journey-Through-Cooking/dp/1101874864
not veg, but have reduced a lot.
Same reason all shop curries are a bit shit, they cheap out on the ingredients, a decent korma from a curry house will have a good amount of ground almonds in it, shop versions which are produced in massive quantities in factories for a very strict price margin will most likely have more cream in and possibly cheaper nuts, spices used in a curry house will also be freshly roasted and ground, where as factory versions are not roasted before hand and they will use the very bare minimum of the expensive spices to achieve something that is just about OK for the price demanded by the supermarket.
If they can save a couple of grams of spice in every portion accords hundreds of portions it’s hundreds of £s saved.
If you’re disappointed by supermarket versions, try making your own, I highly recommend;
The Curry Secret
This is an updated version of the original, I still refer to my copy which has so many spices impregnated into the pages I could probably eat the ratty old thing and it would taste goood!
Aah asafoetida - sometimes called Devil's Dung because of its aroma, especially when the powder is fresh! A pinch or two is all that is ever needed, and it adds a similar flavour to onions and garlic to a dish. It is commonly used with lentils and beans.
In South India it is used quite a bit. It is very common in Sambar and Rasam dishes. It is also very common in Ayurvedic cooking as that does not use onions or garlic.
The cookbook Lord Krishna's Kitchen uses it in almost every recipe, and the recipes are all great.
This is a great article on Asafoetida - and here is one of the few recipes you will find with it in the title - Salt Lassi with Asafoetida
Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking is on my shelf. Good recipes & very comprehensive.
I think you mean "definitive".
https://www.amazon.com/Secret-That-Takeaway-Curry-Taste-ebook/dp/B008N2B0OC
There are a lot of varieties, and they can taste pretty different. The good news is that they are hard to screw up.
For Thai curries, I like these pastes, they just get mixed with coconut milk (ratio is on the can), heated, and then you simmer veggies in the sauce until they are cooked to your liking. The red and green are spicy, the panang is somewhere in the middle, and the yellow and masaman are mild.
This is a good and easy Japanese curry. Instructions are on the box. It involves some simple sauteing and simmering.
And for Indian curries, I have been making my own using these recipes. There are so many good recipes in this book, and they are pretty easy too. However, you might need to up the contents of your spice cabinet to make these.
Anyhow, curries are usually just a very flavorful sauce with veggies simmered in them. Pretty easy stuff, lots of variety, and very tasty.
Her book, Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen is really good, she has a vegan "paneer" recipe in there and pretty much everything you could want. Even sweets, there's a good gulab jamun in there too!
I like The Vegan Table for American food.
Quick Vegetarian Dishes has a variety of recipes from around the world. Not one uses tofu or fake meat. (One note: The recipes use Australian measurements, which are slightly different than American. It only really matters if you're baking, though, and even then, it is easy to adjust for.)
For Indian food, Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking seems to have hundreds of great recipes in it, but not a single one with fake meats or tofu.
I have all three of these, and have really enjoyed the recipes. Happy cooking!
If you are a big fan of Indian food, like me, I recommend Vegan Richas Indian Kitchen https://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Richas-Indian-Kitchen-Traditional/dp/1941252095/ref=nodl_
She also has a website https://www.veganricha.com/
I have this exact issue, and I find myself returning time and time again to this cookbook. It's Jain vegetarian cuisine (mentioned elsewhere in this thread), and it's just a terrific resource
I won't be much help with this, but Indian food is insanely varied. It's not just as simple as "North Indian/South Indian" or "Vegetarian/Meat". I think one of the challenges with finding great "authentic" Indian recipes, is that each family has their own adaptation, and these are passed down through each generation through sharing the love and need to cook quality food in the home.
I guess what I'm saying, is that regional authentic dishes often don't make it onto paper.
I've had great success making Vikram Vij's recipes, he's from Vancouver, BC.
https://www.amazon.com/Vijs-Elegant-Inspired-Indian-Cuisine/dp/1553651847/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510071514&sr=1-1&keywords=vikram+vij&dpID=41J5kSp1EuL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch
I'm no expert in Indian cuisine, but I have this book and I really like it. Great variety in the recipes and tons of pictures. I think it represents most of the regions cuisines.
https://www.amazon.com/India-Cookbook-Pushpesh-Pant/dp/0714859028
Vij's At Home. So good, so cheap and so healthy.
While that may be true to an extent with Jamie Oliver, Anjum really bastardises a lot of Indian dishes by over simplifying them and even trying to merge then with western equivalents. I'm not a fan of hers at all.
Here are a few excellent books that I would recommend:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Curries-India-Camellia-Panjabi/dp/1856265463/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225603&sr=8-3&keywords=curries
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Madhur-Jaffreys-Ultimate-Curry-Bible/dp/0091874157/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225625&sr=8-15&keywords=indian+food
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Food-India-Journey-Lovers/dp/1740454723/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225625&sr=8-16&keywords=indian+food
For Indian cuisine, try Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking.
Here's some background on the author as well.
If you're looking for a cookbook for this then Lord Krishna's Cuisine is one of the best cookbooks I've ever used.
https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Krishnas-Cuisine-Vegetarian-Cooking/dp/0525245642
Look up Jain and/or Buddhist recipes. Jain should exclude onions, potatoes & garlic. Buddhist should exclude onion & garlic, too but from what I've read, the onion is iffy, so it's good you have a substitute readily available.
Lord Krishna's Vegetarian Cooking cookbook follows the Vaishnava diet, which should also exclude onions & garlic.
Good luck!
I'm a bit of a cookbook junkie, so I have a bunch to recommend. I'm interpreting this as "good cookbooks from cuisines in Asia" so there are some that are native and others that are from specific restaurants in the US, but I would consider these legit both in terms of the food and the recipes/techniques. Here are a few of my favorites:
Pan-Asian
Burmese
Cambodian
Chinese
Indian
Indonesia
Japanese
Korean
Malaysian
Middle Eastern
Philippine
Russian
Sri Lankan
Taiwanese
Thailand
Turkish
Vietnamese
(edit: screwed up a couple links)
Rich Roll PlantPower Cooking (ultra athlete) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnGd4addK0o&list=PLD9BA27E8F50AA586
Vegan Richa - http://www.veganricha.com/
Sweet Potato Soul - http://sweetpotatosoul.com/ https://www.youtube.com/user/SweetPotatoSoul
Hot For Food - http://www.hotforfoodblog.com/ https://www.youtube.com/user/hotforfoodblog
The Edgy Veg - https://www.youtube.com/user/stillcurrentstudios
The Happy Pear -https://www.youtube.com/user/happypeargreystones
The Vegan Zombie - https://www.youtube.com/user/ZombieGate
Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen: Traditional and Creative Recipes for the Home Cook
Vegan Richa's Everyday Kitchen: Epic Anytime Recipes with a World of Flavor
Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics: 101 Recipes to Feed Your Face
Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook: Eat Like You Give a F*ck
Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen: 150 Pizzas, Pastas, Pestos, Risottos, & Lots of Creamy Italian Classics
Chloe's Vegan Desserts: More than 100 Exciting New Recipes for Cookies and Pies, Tarts and Cobblers, Cupcakes and Cakes--and More!
Im glad that video helped. I love Keto Connect, I have made a ton of their recipes because there videos are super easy to follow and short. They have a cookbook too btw, I have not used it nearly as much as the youtube videos but it has some good ones in it. I do make their pancakes regularly :) https://www.amazon.com/Keto-Made-Easy-Dishes-Fast/dp/1628602880/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=keto+connect&qid=1573136333&sr=8-4
There is a book called "The Curry Secret" which has recipes for British-Indian Restaurant food - not 'authentic' Indian food, but the stuff you get in a UK restaurant. Very different thing.
It has a kickass chicken tikka masala recipe in it, I can eat the tarka dahl with a spoon until I turn greeny yellow from the tumeric, and if you take the time you can make the prettiest, fluffiest pilau rice you can imagine.
I own only one recipe book (the internet suffices for everything else) but that book is (to me) worth it.
I'm guessing you haven't looked yet? Given that most Indian food (I think) is good, and a lot of it is vegetarian, you'd have a hard time finding something not fitting your needs ;)
You might want to take a look a Manjula's Kitchen, a free YouTube-based Indian cooking guide.
A good book I'd recommend (if you really like Indian food) is Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking, an 800 page tome with everything you could want. Here's a recipe I made recently which I enjoyed.
---
Cabbage Kofta (Bandhgobhi Kofta)
Preparation and cooking time (after assembling ingredients): about 30 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
3 1/2 cups (930 ml) finely shredded trimmed cabbage (about 1 lb/455 g)
1-2 hot green chilies, seeded and minced
1/2-inch (1.5cm) piece of peeled fresh ginger root
1/4 cup (25g) grated fresh or dried coconut
1 tsp (5 ml) each turmeric and garam masala
3 Tbps (45ml) finely chopped fresh coriander, parsley or mixed herbs
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
ghee or vegetable oil for deep-frying
about 1 cup (100 g) sifted chickpea flour (sifted before measuring)
a few sprigs of coarsely chopped fresh coriander or minced parsley for garnishing
1 Tbps (15 ml) toasted chopped pumpkin seeds for garnishing
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0689707266
I bought A Taste of India, Madhur Jaffrey, in 1998, and have dragged it around the world with me ever since. Recipes, essays, and glorious photographs from all over different states in India; I can get lost in it.
A local Indian chef here, Vikram Vij, has produced a couple of cookbooks with his wife. I really like this one: https://www.amazon.ca/Vijs-Elegant-Inspired-Indian-Cuisine/dp/1553651847
Yamuna Devi or Ragivan Iyer. The former is a true classic, and I've cooked nearly every recipe over the past 20 years. The later is a more recent book, but the recipes are every bit as classic (and delicious).
Anything by Madhur Jaffrey. Here's a good one to start:
http://www.amazon.com/Madhur-Jaffrey-Indian-Cooking/dp/0764156497
I would use a recipe. I was just thumbing through my new book by Neela Paniz and admiring the meen moili (Kerala fish curry) that I ate all the time at Neela's in Napa. It has coconut milk in it, as do several others. But just curry powder isn't going to be particularly flavorful, imho.
Check out vegan richa's cookbook. If you like indian food, you'll love it. Most of the recipes are simple-medium complexity, and they make a lot of servings. Plus you don't feel bad for stuffing yourself with them since it's almost entirely really healthy food. Plus some of the desserts (especially the doughnuts) are unbelievable in how good they taste.
https://www.amazon.in/Essential-North-Cookbook-Hoihnu-Hauzel/dp/0143030272
Also https://www.amazon.in/India-Cookbook-Pushpesh-Pant/dp/0714859028
Hi again,
I have learnt the little I know through reading (and cooking). Especially Madhur Jaffrey http://www.amazon.com/An-Invitation-To-Indian-Cooking/dp/0880016647 and Monisha Bharadwaj http://www.amazon.co.uk/Indian-Kitchen-Monisha-Bharadwaj/dp/1856266591
I will copy a few paragraphs out by Madhur Jaffrey that I hope will clarify what I mean:
Sometimes as you glance at a couple of recipes, the spices used may look identical, which may lead you to the conclusion that the two dishes will taste the same. But that is not necessarily true. It is not only what spices you use, but also how you use them that gives dishes their special taste and appearance. Take cumin for instance. If it is roasted whole and crushed, its coffee colour will darken the looks of any food and its strong aroma will fill not just your kitchen, but your entire house. This way it has a sharp, nutty taste. Whole cumin, when it is 'popped' in very hot fat, has a mild aroma and a gentle, licorice-like taste. Ground, unroasted cumin provides a third flavour, and perhaps the mildest taste of the three.
Different spices require different treatment during cooking. Turmeric burns easily and becomes bitter, so it is generally used in conjunction with some liquid. Saffron gives of its best colour when lightly roasted, crushed and then left to soak in warm milk. Too many fenugreek seeds can make a dish bitter, so while you can play around with the number of peppercorns or cardamom pods you put in a dish, you cannot do the same with fenugreek.
Spices, herbs and other seasonings are always added to the cooking pot in a specific order, and this again changes the taste of the dish. For example, if a hot, dried pepper is browned in oil and then mixed with cooked lentils, the lentils will not be very hot, but will have gained the subtle flavour of the pepper. On the other hand, if the pepper is browned in oil first and cooked with the lentils, you will end up with a fairly hot dish. This applies to nearly all the spices as each has their own peculiarities. The order in which they are put into the pot is extremely important.
This is an oven-adapted and expanded from the recipe in Pushpesh Pant's India: The Cookbook. It's a common deep-menu item in westernized restaurants, very tasty. Sweet and aromatic. As I mention in the post, I don't recommend hand-mashing the eggplant; it's a pain.
Big fan of Aarti Paarti, a definite mix of recipes with some nice fusions. You get the best of traditional Indian and delicious new dishes! Certainly won't get bored, best of all there's great info on spices, cooking techniques, and the works. https://smile.amazon.com/Aarti-Paarti-American-Kitchen-Indian/dp/1455545414/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483194802&sr=8-1&keywords=aarti+paarti
The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Joanne Stepaniak is a great book with tonnes of clever ideas and substitution advice, all of her books are pretty great. Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen would be a great one as well, same with Bryant Terry's Afro Vegan. If you are looking for something easy and cutesy, the vegan stoner cookbook is a good bet too.
https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com is a great resource.
As for an Indian cookbook: this is regarded as the bible: India: The Cookbook, it has everything you will ever need (it has over 1000 recipes!). It’s wonderfully designed, to look like a bag of flour like one would buy in India.
Hey there. Came into this thread for other reasons, but saw the mini-discussion on Indian food and felt compelled to chime in, lol.
A lot of great Youtube chefs exist that focus on the cuisine; VahChef and Manjula in particular stand out. Also sites like ShowMeTheCurry and VegRecipesOfIndia are great, too.
I hear a lot of good things about Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks, though I don't personally own one.
It's a really fascinating and diverse cuisine, since it covers many different regions of the Indian subcontinent with very different cultures, agricultural heritages, religious beliefs, etc., that all influence the food. From super healthy ultra vegan stuff to deep fried goodies, it's got it all :-D
Good luck learning more, and if you wind up with any specific questions, always feel free to shoot me a message :)
https://www.amazon.de/Vegane-Indische-K%C3%BCche-Traditionelle-Nachkochen/dp/3946566030/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1525726212&sr=8-3&keywords=vegan+richa
There are lots here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Instant+Pot+keto+recipes
https://www.google.com/images?q=Instant+Pot+keto+recipes
Here are just a few others that are either keto or low carb (which could have ingredients left out or modified), some of which are groups at Facebook with lots of recipes:
Keto Instant Potters: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1700398993513578
Low Carb Instant Pot Recipes:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1434534513230508
The Paleo Instant Pot (Paleo or Primal, or not)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/paleoinstantpot
I Breathe I’m Hungry:
http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/2017/03/35-best-low-carb-paleo-instant-pot-recipes.html
Nomnompaleo:
https://nomnompaleo.com
Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/shariweiner55/low-carb-instant-potpressure-cooker
twosleevers --blog & cookbooks (mostly keto because she and her husband eat keto or very low carb):
https://twosleevers.com/recipe-index/?fwp_dietary_consider=keto
https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Instant-Pot®-Cookbook-Traditional-ebook/dp/B075HHYXWF
https://twosleevers.com/product/instant-favorites-easy-delicious-mexican-pressure-cooking
cookbook...looks good, but haven’t gone through entirely:
Instant Pot Cookbook: Delicious Asian Inspired Ketogenic Diet I.Pot Recipes (Kindle)
I used to follow her on IG, I kind of got the vibe she's just out to sell sell sell and ended up unfollowing her. I got the Craveable Keto cookbook and I've loved all the recipes I've done out of it so far. Also pre-ordered the Keto Connect cookbook because I can't support those two enough!
https://www.amazon.com/Aarti-Paarti-American-Kitchen-Indian/dp/1455545414 is a good book too..
Ugh, this is killing me. I used to work in the store of the Asian Art Museum in SF and when we had an Indian exhibit last year we got the most wonderful array of Indian cookbooks in stock. One of them was separated into regional categories and the Goan food always made me drool. I have been poring over the Indian cookbooks on Amazon and I cannot find it! I seem to remember it having a blue cover and it was a fairly recent publication but that's all I've got. I don't work there anymore so I can't check, but it might be worth calling them to see if they still carry it: (415) 581-3600. Anyway in my hunt I did find these two:
How to Cook Indian - we also carried this wonderful cookbook.
The Essential Goa Cookbook - no idea whether this is any good, but you ought to check it out!
For a slightly less heavyweight introduction (to specifically Indian curry), I highly recommend this book by Camellia Panjabi. It's a selection of (only) 50 recipes, but it's got a great introductory section talking about the different basic techniques and ingredients, plus titbits about the regions/cuisine of India and the religious/cultural background to the food. I've been slowly making my way through the recipes for a few years now and I've yet to have a real flop from it
Nice! If you're into cooking, I recommend this cookbook. Super delicious Indian food that tastes really rich but is 100% vegan. Lots of coconut cream and coconut yogurt and tons and tons of vegetables.
I seriously feel like I'm indulging whenever I make some of these recipes, and then I remember it's VEGETABLES. IT'S ALL VEGETABLES.
not that coconut cream is the least caloric thing,but still. it's delicious, so worth it.
I bought "Indian Instant Pot: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast". I guess the author is kind of famous in Instant Pot circles?
https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Instant-Pot-Cookbook-Traditional-ebook/dp/B075HHYXWF/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1522776004&sr=8-3
Start with recipes for vegetable curries, and just add some chicken if you want. Just filter out the creamy/heavy ones.
My currently-favourite Indian cookbook, which has plenty of suitable vegetable curry recipes you could start with (and maybe suitable chicken curry recipes, too, but I'm at work and can't check), is https://www.amazon.com/India-Cookbook-Pushpesh-Pant/dp/0714859028 (doesn't have many pictures, so if you want photo-heavy cookbooks, this might not suit you).
Indian food: Indian Instant Pot® Cookbook: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast
Braised meat... hmm i'd probably look at How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Though the recipes tend to be under-spiced for my tastes, but that shouldn't hold you back, it's a solid technique book.
If you like Indian food, this cookbook is pure gold.
I decided to buy it because it was $4 on Amazon the 2nd book is $3
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-That-Takeaway-Curry-Taste-ebook/dp/B008N2B0OC?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o00_
India: The Cookbook by Prupesh Pant is probably the most comprehensive Indian recipe book you could ever hope to find.
This ebook would be fantastic!
How many dogs do you have? I'm currently a 3 dog household and its been rough! Still trying to get them all to get along.
Pooper Scooper
Honestly, most anything by Madhur Jaffrey is great. She is not an exclusively vegetarian chef, but she treats vegetarian dishes with respect. I love her book Vegetarian India.
Also als ein wirklich schönes Buch empfinde ich folgendes
Ist zwar Vegan, aber was erwartest du hier sonst :P
Got one Asian store and one Indian resto in this burg. The store's pretty good, and the resto survives because -- only one in town.
Here's what I did:
Shop online, and learn how to make a base gravy like THIS BLOKE does and take it from there into the higher orders of Indian cooking. It's BIR, not Mumbai, but you take what you can get and BIR ain't exactly chump change for Small Town, USA.
You can order just about any of the basics for Indian cooking, and cooking appliances (karai for example), online.
Indians are fantastic at blogging and putting up YouTube videos; there's a real opportunity to learn from that as opposed to when this older Redditor was expanding horizons.
The online purchases won't be cheap, but when you have a craving for quality food, you have the budget to get it.
I like recipes, so may I recommend a great book: http://www.amazon.com/Indian-Home-Cooking-Introduction-Recipes/dp/0609611011/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290208811&sr=8-1
Most recipes use whole spices. I've had the book for several years and have made lots of the dishes in it -- all absolutely yummy. Latest was southern-spiced lahori chicken curry (although I used cornish hens instead)
It's in Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen: Traditional and Creative Recipes for the Home Cook. The book came out earlier this year, and it's great.
Depending on where you live, your library might have a bunch. You can check them out, try some recipes, and see if it's one you might want to buy.
I like a lot of international and multi-cultural flavors so I like a wide variety of cookbooks including:
Afro Vegan
Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen
Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen
and a general cookbook that helps you make your own dishes using vegan staples:
The Homemade Vegan Pantry
Buy The Curry Secret and make them yourself. They will taste just like a restaurant and so much better than a ready meal.
I know, it's easy to get tired of chili since it's easy to make a TON of it and eat it regularly.
So it's the instant pot worth it? I've seen all over the place in reddit. It's not so popular here in Europe and I haven't seen it in appliance stores.
Also never heard of the Thug Kitchen cookbook. "Eat like you give a fuck" lol. Thanks for the references :)
By the way, if you like indian food I highly recommend this book I've been getting lots of good curry recipes from it.
Vikram Vij's cookbook is excellent, there are a ton of super easy curries easily made with spices that are available in most North American supermarkets. There's one made with eggplant and green onions, and another that combines chicken thighs cooked in coconut milk with a raw cilantro, onion, garlic, ginger chutney at the end...spectacular! Can't recommend this one enough!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1553651847/ref=nosim/librarythin08-20
I bought an Instant Pot and have been cooking Indian recipes from Indian Instant Pot Cookbook. I think you could make it work in a dorm with a small set of kitchen items (knife, cutting board, mixing bowl, utensils) if appliances are allowed in your room. A lot of the ingredients don't require refrigeration (lentils, spices, ghee, rice, etc) or can be canned (e.g. tomatoes). I can get most of the non-perishable ingredients online, and just buy the fresh ingredients as I use them.
The food is healthy, affordable (I used to eat out a lot but now rarely do), and leftovers have been delicious!
Instant Pots do cost a bit, but I'm certain I've already saved money and I'm eating much healthier. I'm not really tracking my calories (yet) but I lost 4 pounds since I started cooking this way a month ago.
I would argue "The curry secret" shows British cooking, including such classics as Tikka Masala, and Rogan Josh.
Now I get that these might not fit into the "traditional British" category for some people, but not everyone wants a Sunday roast or toad in the hole.
Madhur Jaffrey is really the source for Indian cookbooks. But I'd actually like to mention two others as well:
660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer is a big one, with recipes covering all levels of complexity. Some are great, some aren't, but there's just so much content in this book that it's hard to beat for the price.
[The New Indian Slow Cooker by Neela Paniz] (http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Indian-Slow-Cooker/dp/1607746190/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411415629&sr=8-1&keywords=neela+paniz) is a brand new book, but I've had access to a couple of the recipes for a few months now and here's the deal: Neela's recipes are occasionally complex. I've taken a few cooking classes from her and her "normal" vindaloo, for example, is really too long for anyone to do unless you have the whole afternoon to devote to it. But this book, due to its "slow cooker" focus, dumbs down a lot of steps without sacrificing much of the flavor, so it's a good compromise. What's more, even though it's focused for a slow cooker, you can easily convert it to a stovetop with very little effort.
This is vegetarian and does the no-onion and no-garlic thing, but it's quite big and covers a lot of material - a good starting point. It really teaches a lot about the what and the whys of Indian food. It was written by the (American) personal cook of the Hare Krishna founder, she followed him around all over India when he travelled there, learning recipes from his hosts.
Some easy to get into books
This is a classic Indian cookery books that grannies used to have
Tarla Daral was a popular food writer in India
Something from Punjab
This is not a beginners book, but very interesting
These Kerala restaurants do lovely modern cookbooks
More from South India
SOURCE: have been collecting books and shared cooking tips with Indian friends for a while
The cuisine of India is incredibly vast. I know of no book which attempts to standardize and codify everything. However, there are several books out there which chop up Indian food into more manageable regional bits.
Two recommendations, one old and cheap, the other new and expensive. Both books are divided by region and focus on regional recipes. For the cheap approach, look for Madhur Jaffrey's "A Taste of India." The chapters are broken down into the individual regions and it's a good place to start learning about the different cuisines of India. Another book which takes the same approach is Christine Mansfield's "Tasting India." Mansfield's book is jaw droppingly gorgeous. The photography is stunning.
If you have any more questions, please let me know. I love Indian food and have tons of Indian cookbooks.
https://www.amazon.com/Aarti-Paarti-American-Kitchen-Indian/dp/1455545414 is to be more chances of security / son
> the most flavorful cuts of meat are the ones that scare you and you'll never purchase them
This. In some of my favorite recipe books, several potentially great meals are skipped because they're calling for unorthodox cuts that scare the shit out of me. Half the time it takes days to find a place where I can get it. Two butchers will tell me they don't sell that, one will tell me they can get one for Thursday. With some luck I can find a frozen specimen. Truly, it feels like I'm hunting for some piece of extraterrestrial belly.
Bones, fuck even bones can be complicated to get. Lamb bones for stock. Sorry, we throw them away unless a customer asks, come by Thursday. No problem, please cut them in 3 inch pieces, I'm making stock, not a marimba, thanks! As for what body part or appendage those bones from are (legs, ribs, shoulders) I never dared to ask.
Fish, I hate shopping for fish. Hello, do you have sable fish? No we rarely do, except sometimes at the end of the season. Well thanks good sir, how can I subscribe to your newsletter? I'd feel like an ass to call and ask what fresh fish they're carrying today so I can select a recipe accordingly BEFORE going out shopping. The short shelf life of fish creates an egg or chicken dilemma: do I choose a recipe and hope to find the fish, or go get some fish and go back home to find a recipe and again back to the store to get other ingredients.
> most (not all) restaurant cookbooks dumb down recipes for you
That's strange, my best cookbooks are from restaurants. I find that most non-restaurant cookbooks (rachel ray stuff, cooking the italian way) contains a multitude of beginner meals I don't care about. If I want to mix pasta and pancetta with some vegetables, I can do it myself thanks. And thai cookbooks that calls for "store-bought green curry paste" goes directly to the trash. Googling recipes works just as well.
On the opposite side, you you have the classical hardcore style "French Cooking" stuff that calls for killing and brining a living rooster in every other recipe. That sounds fantastically rewarding, but I have a day job.
For fine, modern, complex and layered yet approachable recipes, locally oriented & world-inspired restaurants seems to be where it's at. I'm not sure how dumbed down those recipes are from the real thing (as I've never been to them), but those 2 from Vancouver have provided quite fantastic culinary learning and experiences for me:
If anyone has recommendation of great restaurant cookbooks, I'd love to hear them.
Alright then
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Curry-Secret-Indian-Restaurant/dp/0716021919
I came here to say the same thing. Here is the other one. Vijs-Elegant-Inspired-Indian-Cuisine
Palak (saag) paneer. This book has a recipe for it.
Vegetarian India: A Journey Through the Best of Indian Home Cooking https://www.amazon.com/dp/1101874864/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_H-lqDbGAW2ZX8
This: https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Housewifes-Recipe-Laxmi-Khurana/dp/0716020785
Lots of authentic Indian recipes with not too many ingredients and some really cheap. Once you buy the core spices that are used it opens up so many recipes!
Oh we're vegetarian too and absolutely love Indian food. Any good cookbook recommendations?
We've found some success with An Indian Housewife's Recipe Book but it unfortunately also has that 60% discard problem, as you mentioned.
The Curry Secret for Indian dishes. Actually making the base curry sauce right now.
Mung Bean & Coconut Curry
1 cup mung beans
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
3 tbsps chopped garlic
2 cups puréed tomatoes
2 tbsps chopped ginger
2 tbsps ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp crushed cayenne pepper
3 cups of water
2 cups coconut milk, or 1 can.
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Wash and drain mung beans and set aside.
Heat oil in a medium pot on medium-high for 1 minute. Add cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle for 45 seconds, or until they are a darker brown. Add garlic and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until brown but not burned. Stir in tomatoes, then add ginger, coriander, turmeric, salt and cayenne. Stir and sauté masala for 5 minutes, or until oil glistens. Add water and mung beans, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. Taste beans to make sure they are cooked (I reduced the amount of water needed; if the mixture is drying out and you need more simply add 1/2 cup at a time).
Stir in coconut milk and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat (if you want to thicken your curry some more, you can let it simmer on medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes). Stir in cilantro and serve.
Adapted from Vijs At Home: Relax, Honey: The Warmth and Ease of Indian Cooking
IMO Ready meal curries are generally similar to typical indian restaurant takeaway curries. I learnt to cook them this way thanks to https://www.amazon.co.uk/Curry-Secret-Indian-Restaurant-Meals/dp/0716021919 . However it's actually easier and as cheap to buy the supermarket ones.
Richa's Indian Kitchen is my curry-from-scratch bible.
This book is amazing
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Curries-India-Camellia-Panjabi/dp/1856265463
Get yourself Julia Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking book. It's a great place to start. If you're primarily into veg, another place to go would be Devi's Lord Krishna's Cuisine which is a positively massive cookbook that is great and vedic (no onions, etc. only hing).
Also, Manjula's Kitchen has some good videos.
Buy this book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Curry-Secret-Indian-Restaurant/dp/0716021919
that sounds wonderful. I have seen and liked the ones by Madhur Jaffery. She almost holds your hand and guides you in the kitchen in her books on Indian cuisine. And the curries turn out great too.
Edit: Is this the book you are referring to?
I recommend you check out Vegan Richa, who has tons of traditional Indian recipes without all the butter and cream, and far fewer calories. I've been a fan of Indian food for decades and can tell you her recipes are very hard to distinguish from their higher-fat inspirations and in many cases, possess more complexity and nuance than what I'm used to. One of my favorites is her Mango Tofu Curry, which is the sort of recipe you'll never find in the typical Westernized Indian restaurant, and cleverly subs tofu for paneer. She also has a book I definitely recommend.
I got his vegetarian book for Christmas. Haven't made any of the recipes yet, but they look great:
http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-India-Journey-Through-Cooking/dp/1101874864/
I have been doing the same thing (I am into the better part of the learning curve now :)
I highly recommend this cookbook by Vikram Vij. Everything in it I have cooked has been dynamite. What I think is more important is that there is much information about the various methods (for example how to make ghee, garam massala etc) and a lot of insightful suggestions in the recipes themselves about certain pitfalls to avoid etc.
http://www.amazon.com/Vijs-Elegant-Inspired-Indian-Cuisine/dp/1553651847/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451415907&sr=8-1&keywords=vijs
I always like a good curry in cold weather. Have various recipes but recently was recommend this book, The Curry Secret, so hoping you try it soon.
Something else that I came across last summer, is a dessert. Super simple, unhealthy but seriously delicious.
Apparently, it’s called a Malaysian pudding - not sure why though.
1lt of good quality double cream yoghurt mixed with half a can (~200g) of condensed milk. Somehow this combination just makes a difference. Then add all your cut fruits, so...paw-paw, sweet melon, apple, peaches, banana, maybe pineapple. Let it refrigerate a bit to release the fruit juices. Simple goodness.
If they are in season, I like to make a berry version with blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and a banana to balance the flavors. It’s also for the lazy, because only the bananas and strawberries require cutting up. When dishing into bowls, garnish with a cherry.
for many ethnic dishes, a good cookbook is the only resource.
you can look around for variations, some of them are terrible, some aren't. most cookbook authors are experts in their field. There are an extraordinary amount of good and bad recipes online. it;s a lot easier to trust the basics of a cookbook recipe than a random online cook. your mileage may vary.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Indian-Classic-Recipes/dp/1584799137
If you don't find yourself drawn to meat dishes, and you've got the basics of French technique down, why not try exploring Indian cuisine? Obviously, they have a whole different take on spices --- it's a whole different layer in your cooking that should teach you how to draw out different flavors from the same ingredients, learn new flavors, and different ways of combining them -- there was an interesting study recently suggesting that in contrast with most Western cuisines, which tend to put complementary flavors together, indian cuisine tend to combine contrasting flavors, balancing them against each other. The thing with a lot of that California farm-to-table style is that a lot of it's about finding great ingredients and doing as little as possible to them, but if you're finding yourself bored with that something that's a little more sophsticated and layered might be an interesting challenge.
There's lots of places to start -- Madhur Jaffrey, of course, or Manjula on youtube, but I've always liked this cookbook, myself --- 50 Great Curries of India. has a solid introductory section on spices and really showcases a huge variety of stuff from differnt parts of the continent.
I got this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1941252095?keywords=vegan%20richa&qid=1452442977&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
Has a ton of recipes in it, all are pretty damn good.
Not sure how you feel about Indian food but I've been working my way through this cookbook and the author does a really good job of telling you how to modify the recipes to make things gluten free or nut free or other dietary/allergen needs. Recipes are some of the tastiest things I've made too, probably from using fresh spices. The variety of spices can feel a little over whelming but it's been fun learning about it. Also if you go to an Indian grocery store they are suprisingly cheap.