Read The Café Spice Cookbook: 84 Quick and Easy Indian Recipes for Everyday Meals Online

Authors: Hari Nayak

Tags: #Cookbooks; Food & Wine, #Cooking by Ingredient, #Herbs; Spices & Condiments, #Quick & Easy, #Regional & International, #Asian, #Indian

The Café Spice Cookbook: 84 Quick and Easy Indian Recipes for Everyday Meals

BOOK: The Café Spice Cookbook: 84 Quick and Easy Indian Recipes for Everyday Meals
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CONTENTS

The Café Spice Story

A Few Simple Techniques

Some Helpful Tools and Tips

An Introduction to Indian Ingredients

CHAPTER 1
THE BASICS

Café Spice Garam Masala

Chaat Masala

Ginger-Garlic Paste

Indian Curry Basics and Tips

CHAPTER 2
CHUTNEYS AND ACCOMPANIMENTS

Spiced Pear Chutney

Mint Chutney

Tamarind Chutney

Peanut and Garlic Chutney

Spinach and Tomato Raita

Green Pea Relish

Lentil and Sprout Relish

Pumpkin Pickle

South Indian Cabbage Slaw

CHAPTER 3
STARTERS AND SALADS

Veggie Sloppy Joe

Goan Fish Cakes

Vegetable Wrap

Stuffed Lamb Fritters

Crab and Coconut Salad

Shrimp Stuffed Pappadum

Chopped Vegetable Salad

Sweet Potato and Sprout Salad

Chickpea, Mango, and Watercress Salad

Potato and Pea Samosas

CHAPTER 4
SOUPS AND DALS

Green Pea Soup

Red Kidney Bean Dal

Lentil and Spinach Soup

Cauliflower and Curry Soup

Chickpea Curry with Sweet Potato

South Indian Lentils and Vegetables

Buttery Black Lentils

Black-Eyed Pea Curry

Homestyle Dal with Pumpkin

CHAPTER 5
VEGETABLES AND CHEESE

Pan-Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Coconut

Fresh Pineapple Curry

Kerala-Style Mixed Vegetable Curry

Spicy Long Beans and Potato Stir-Fry

Scrambled Paneer with Chilies

Baby Corn and Green Beans

Smoky Fire-Roasted Eggplant

Okra Masala

Stir-Fried Spinach and Red Chard

Paneer Cheese

Paneer with Creamed Spinach

CHAPTER 6
FISH AND SEAFOOD

Bombay Green Fish

Spiced Crab Cakes

Shrimp and Mango Curry

Grilled Tandoori Fish

Scallops with Coconut and Ginger Curry

Lobster Kadhai

Bengali Fish Curry

Goan-Style Mackerel

Pan-Fried Crispy Fish

Pan-Fried Snapper

CHAPTER 7
POULTRY AND MEAT

Kerala-Style Chicken Stew

Omelet Curry

Mom’s Chicken Curry

Chicken Tikka Masala

Tandoori Spiced Roasted Chicken

Curried Chicken Meatball 1

Easy Lamb Curry

Lamb and Spinach

Lamb Shank Korma

Dried Bombay Beef

Pork Vindaloo

CHAPTER 8
BREADS, RICE AND GRAINS

Coconut Rice

Lemon Rice with Peanuts

Tomato and Curry Leaf Quinoa

Wild Mushroom and Spinach Rice

Brown Basmati Rice

Simple Rice Pilaf

Naan Bread

Whole Wheat Griddle Bread

Semolina and Whole Wheat Dosai with Spiced Potatoes

Fried Puffed Bread

CHAPTER 9
DESSERTS AND DRINKS

Creamy Rice Pudding

Milk Dumplings in Saffron Syrup

Coconut Fudge

Chilled Mango Cooler

Lassi

Carrot Pudding with Nuts

Steamed Yogurt Pudding

Tender Coconut Cooler

Tamarind Cooler

The Perfect Chai

Shopping Guide

Index

Acknowledgments

THE CAFÉ SPICE STORY

Far from the land of its birth and the influences that shaped it, Indian food is now a five billion dollar industry in the West and growing rapidly. Westerners’ exposure to Indian cuisine has come a long way since the early days of inexpensive curry houses. Since then, more professional Indians have settled overseas, and non-Indians have had the opportunity to travel to India and discover the authentic and diverse flavors of local foods.

Restaurants have become more upscale, and it is common now to find places specializing in regional cooking from, for example, Kerala or Chennai or Bombay. At the same time, Indian chefs with formal culinary training are developing their own styles of preparation using locally-available products and European-inspired methods. The new generation of Indian chef might even consciously avoid commonly known dishes such as Chicken Tikka Masala, Korma, Vindaloo, and Madras Curry, despite the fact that a huge number of diners still seek out those traditional restaurant dishes. I actually tried Tikka Masala and Madras Curry for the first time when I came to New York from India and had my first meal on “Curry Hill” on Lexington Ave. between 27th and 28th St.—and it was an experience, to say the least! I had never eaten anything like that in India, and yet these are the most popular and best-known Indian dishes in America.

As a student at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York, I dreamed of changing the way Americans view Indian cuisine. Most Americans are intimidated, some are curious, and some are addicted to curry. But almost all non-Indians I meet are eager to explore further and learn more about our cuisine. Indian cuisine retains its exotic image today, and yet many people only know what they get in restaurants. I was eager to take up the challenge and be an ambassador who could make this cuisine more accessible to the average person. By simplifying a few processes and adding new creative twists to the classic recipes, I began publishing books with easy recipes that allow a home cook with a normal Western kitchen to recreate classic Indian dishes with all the flavor but none of the fear or fuss.

BOOK: The Café Spice Cookbook: 84 Quick and Easy Indian Recipes for Everyday Meals
10.15Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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