Serves: 5
Indian cuisine offers an astounding variety-from simply spiced salads and yogurt dishes (raitas) to complex curries, breads, and layered rice dishes (biryanis). These dishes, with their unique flavors, aromas, and textures, represent the culinary creativity of one of the earliest and most complicated melting pots of the world--India.
While north India excels in flatbreads, south India has an entire genre of food based on rice in various forms. Both coasts are famous for- their seafood preparations, which vary depending on where you are on-the coasts. The ways in which Bengalis, from the eastern state of Bengal, prepare fish--with mustard and turmeric--differ radically from how the people from the southwestern state of Kerala do it, with coconut and more coconut. And in the central parts of India, where people. are mostly vegetarian, they have created culinary wonders with their primary sources of protein--grains, and beans, lentils, and peas-most commonly referred to as dal.
There was a time when all roads led to India--whether it was a stop on the way to equally exotic China, or a final destination. The Greeks, Huns, Persians, Chinese, Jews, Zoroastrians (now Parsis from Iran) French, Dutch, and finally, the British, all traveled through or to India. Some came to visit, some sought refuge, some came to trade, and some to conquer.
They brought their cultures and traditions along with them, some of which influenced India's local cuisines. Add to this India's size and its complex mix of communities based on religion, language, geography, and economic and social status, and the result is a truly multicultural cuisine.
Evidence of the cuisine's variety is only touched upon in America's Indian restaurants. Indian food is not limited to what's served in these restaurants--from the many fast food joints that dot Venice Boulevard in West Los Angeles to the delicious but intricate and elaborate preparations taking gour-mands in New York by surprise. But as more Indians come to the United States, bringing their food customs with them, and as more restaurant chefs experiment with varied Indian ways of cooking, this fascinating realm of food is slowly being explored.
In 1,000 INDIAN RECIPES, I've bridged the gap, capturing recipes from all over the country. Even 1,000 recipes doesn't cover all the wealth I discovered in my travels and in preparing recipes in my kitchen, but you have in this book a wonderful collection of recipes that will make Indian home cooking a pleasure. The average Indian meal is delicious, and, contrary to popular belief, not at all complicated or difficult to make. If you can cook at all, you can cook Indian food. It just takes practice and having the right ingredients.
This book provides the lover of Indian food--by birth or by taste--a wide variety of choices, serving suggestions, and background information that enable you to enjoy and experience Indian food the way Indians do in their own kitchens.
Although the recipes aren't hard, many may require allowing extra time to make the various components of the dishes, or to go stock up at your local Indian or ethnic market for ingredients crucial to the cuisine. You'll see that there are numerous recipes made with a pressure - cooker, which enables me to make traditionally slow-cooked dishes such as dals, soups, curries, even desserts with much less effort and in less time. I highly recommend that if you don't have a pressure cooker, you invest in one it will change the way you think about and cook Indian food. Even traditional cooks in India use pressure cookers daily to simplify their lives. So don't worry about sacrificing authenticity. It will still be there in the taste and texture of every dish you make. Do an ingredient search for "Pressure Cooker Quick" recorded at the top of the recipe. It signifies that a pressure cooker is used.
Many people also rightfully think of Indian cuisine as a source for healthful foods full of flavor. Indian meals are nutritionally balanced and are largely vegetarian, offering many options for people looking to improve their health by eating a meat-free diet. In fact, because so many of the recipes in this book are meat-free--as representative of the cuisine--I go a step further in helping you plan healthful meals by identifying which recipes are vegan--meaning free of meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. Do an ingredient search for "Vegan" recorded at the top of the recipe. It indicates vegan recipes.
I strive for a healthful diet. Most of my recipes are as low in fat as they can possibly be: I pan-fry foods that are normally deep-fried, and in most dishes, I use vegetable and other oils instead of ghee. Even in cases where I do draw the line at keeping some things authentic--like deep-frying pakoras or using cream as in Butter-Cream Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes, I exercise moderation rather than compromising or giving them up entirely.
I have been cooking Indian food in American kitchens for more than 30 years and I know that every cook needs to adapt meals to her or his lifestyle-to time on hand, to what cooks conveniently, to satisfy various family food preferences, to eat healthfully--because I have lived and do live through those same experiences. I hope you find that these recipes fit your needs for everyday meals, for family gatherings, for parties, and just for experimenting with the great flavors of Indian cooking.
This 01- Introduction recipe is from the 1000 Indian Recipes Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
"I must say this is the best recipe software I have ever owned."
-Rob
"Your DVO cookbook software saves me time and money!"
-Mary Ann
"Call it nutrition software, meal planning software, cooking software, recipe manager, or whatever you want. It is the software I use to stay healthy!"
-David
"Your software is the best recipe organizer and menu planner out there!"
-Toni
"Thank you so very much for creating such a wonderful cooking recipe program. I think this is the best recipe program there is!"
-Sarah
"I saw lots of recipe software for PC computers but I was having a hard time finding really good mac recipe software. I'm so glad I discovered Cook'n! It's so nice to have all my recipes in a computer recipe organizer. Cook'n has saved me so much time with meal planning and the recipe nutrition calculator is amazing!!!
-Jill
My favorite is the Cook'n Recipe App.
-Tom
