Topic: Cookbooks

[TheCurryBible]

Wow! You guys put my 60+ to shame!

I guess the next question, is which cook books are your favourites / would you recommend?

[tempest63]

I have 88 Indian books on the shelves at the moment, a few more in boxes still in storage that I haven't sifted out yet and three waiting to be collected from the post office. This doesn't include the Thai, Chinese and far eastern books of which there are probably another twenty or so.

Of them all I think the most important is Indian Cookery, a practical guide by Dharamjit Singh, a Penguin paperback first printed in 1970. My copy is a revised 1987 reprint. This should be on every curry cooks bookshelf because of the amount of information contained within.

The eldest book is a 1953 reprint of Indian Cookery by E P Veerasawmy, first published in 1936; interesting but doesn't really float my boat.

Most used of the lot is good old Madhur Jaffreys Indian Cookery that accompanied her BBC 2 TV series from 1982.

A handful are published by Jaico an Indian publisher but printed in English. I think I bought these through indiaclub.com based in America.

[Madrasandy]

You should open a library 

[tempest63]

You should open a library 

Then others would touch "my precious"

[Peripatetic Phil]

Of them all I think the most important is Indian Cookery, a practical guide by Dharamjit Singh, a Penguin paperback first printed in 1970. My copy is a revised 1987 reprint. This should be on every curry cooks bookshelf because of the amount of information contained within.

The eldest book is a 1953 reprint of Indian Cookery by E P Veerasawmy, first published in 1936; interesting but doesn't really float my boat.

Most used of the lot is good old Madhur Jaffreys Indian Cookery that accompanied her BBC 2 TV series from 1982.

T63, you are shewing OUR age   I too place have Singh, Veerasawmy & Jaffrey, as well as a host of others including (but not restricted to) Aslam, Baljekar, Dhillon, Fernandez, Lama, Prashad, Pruthi, Panjabi, Sreedharan and Taneja.

** Phil.

[tempest63]

T63, you are shewing OUR age   I too place have Singh, Veerasawmy & Jaffrey, as well as a host of others including (but not restricted to) Aslam, Baljekar, Dhillon, Fernandez, Lama, Prashad, Pruthi, Panjabi, Sreedharan and Taneja.

** Phil.
[/quote]

I would say that from those you mention our bookshelves would look very similar.

I have various versions of the Camellia Panjabi from the very first through the one with the CD to the small black paperback. If you have these what do you think was the best one? A lot of what I liked was in the first edition but subsequently got taken out, this Kofta Curry for instance.

From Camellia Panjabi, 50 Great Curries Of India (first edition)
 
This is a curry made with long kebabs of minced lamb. It is a recipe from a
leading Kashmiri family. They call it a kofta curry and say that long kebabs
absorb the flavour of the curry more evenly than the round ones. The koftas
are very tender and the gravy thin but full of flavour.
 
    for kebabs
    2lb (900g) very finely minced lamb
3 tsp    fennel powder
11/2 tsp    ginger powder
11/2 tsp    red chilli powder
6 large    black cardamoms
1 Tbsp    oil
    salt
1     egg
    for the gravy
5 Tbsp    full-fat yoghurt
6 Tbsp    oil
8 clove    
2     in (5-cm) cinnamon stick
4 small    tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbsp    tomato paste
2 Tbsp    red chilli powder
1 tsp    ginger powder
    salt
 
To make the kebabs, mince or process the lamb once more until it is very
fine. Mix the fennel and ginger powders. Remove the seeds from the cardamoms
and pound until crushed. Mix all the spices with the minced lamb in a bowl.
Add the oil, salt to taste and the egg and mix well.
Keep a bowl of warm water handy to dip your hands into when making the
kebabs. Take a handful of the minced meat, about the size of a lime, and
roll it to a 3-inch (7.5-cm) sausage. Place on a flat dish or tray. You will
get about 30 kebabs which, when cooked, will shrink to a 2-in (5-cm) length.
To make the gravy, whisk the yoghurt and set aside.
Take a cooking pot with a diameter of at least 10-12 in (25-30cm)
( it can be a shallow one ) into which the kebabs will fit without breaking.
Heat the oil in the pot over a low heat. Add the cloves and cinnamon first,
then after a minute or so add the tomatoes. Fry until the liquid from the
tomatoes has almost evaporated. Stir in the tomato paste.
Add the chilli powder and fry for a minute, and then put in the yoghurt.
Stir continuously to prevent the yoghurt from curdling. Add the fennel and
ginger powders, season and cook for 5 minutes, stirring all the time.
Add 5 cups hot water and bring to the boil. Very gently lay in the kebabs
one at a time. Leave to cook for about 20 minutes over a low heat. The
kebabs will absorb a lot of the water. Do not stir once the kebabs are put
into the pot. It the gravy needs to be stirred, hold both sides of the pot
and rock it gently.
Taste and add more salt if necessary, mixing it first with water and
pouring it into the pan in various places. You will know when the dish is
totally ready, as oil will rise to the top of the gravy.
 
If the kebab curry is to be reheated before serving, remove from the heat
just as the oil begins to rise to the surface and set aside. Then reheat
gently for 5-7 minutes, before serving.
 
If the mince is fatty and the curry oily, add 2 eggs instead of 1, and when
the kebabs are made up, steam them for 10 minutes, allowing the fat to drip
off before putting the kebabs into the pot.
 

[Peripatetic Phil]

Ah, this one   I have only the 1st edn. (a bit anal about such things), but the CD sounds interesting; I may have to investigate ...

** Phil.

[tempest63]

The cd wasn't much to write home about.

I am hopefully rummaging through our storage this am. If I locate the book I will copy the cd and send it to you for Crimbo :-)

[Peripatetic Phil]

The cd wasn't much to write home about.

I am hopefully rummaging through our storage this am. If I locate the book I will copy the cd and send it to you for Crimbo :-)

You are a Gentleman, Sir.  Should you find it, I will be forever in your debt.
** Phil.