The Cooking of India

This superbly illustrated coffee table book published by Time Life Books should not stay on the coffee table; it belongs in the kitchen. It is just as well that the coffee table size book is supplemented by a smaller paperback size one that extracts all the recipes and so you can avoid the inevitable food stains spoiling some amazing photographs of foods and markets in India.

The introduction to the recipe book starts unpromisingly by stating that: "The recipes in the book have been selected to present the dishes that are most practical for British Cooks. Although some modifications were necessary, every effort has been made to preserve the authentic character of Indian Food" A quick glance inside and you will realise that these are not show more dumbed-down recipes; they just shout authenticity. The first recipe in the book is for garam masala an essential spice mix for many Indian dishes and this is followed by "ghee" (Indian Butter oil). There is no substitute for making your own ghee, your curries will take on a wonderful nutty taste, that you won't get with shop bought products.

The recipes cover all areas of Indian cooking; vegetarian dishes, rice dishes, meat, fish and poultry, breads, salads and yogurt dishes, chutneys, sweet dishes and sweet meats. The recipe index (there are over 115) is in both English and Hindi. The proof of any recipe collection is whether they work when you try them in your own kitchen. I have not tried every recipe in the book but those that I have work beautifully. I am particularly fond of Indian vegetable curries and there are some good ones here: Ghobi ki sabzi (curried cauliflower), Mattar pannir (home made cheese and peas) and Baingan ka tikka (aubergines baked with curried vegetable stuffing). The meat and fish dishes are excellent too with a full range of; dhansaks, goshts, kormas and koftis. Any Indian recipe book like this one that doesn't contain recipes for onion bhajis or chicken tikka masala has got to be in with a shout for some sort of authenticity.

A book well worth tracking down; ever since I got a copy in 1976 it has never been out of my kitchen and I will be using it again this week show less

Das Buch hatte mal ein Inder empfohlen als das Kochbuch, was Rezepte hat, die dem echten indischen Essen am ähnlichsten ist.

I got this for myself in the late 70's to learn Indian cookery. I did. I still love this set.

Packing away now as we declutter the house, preparing to put it on the market.

Includes illustrated hardback along with a spiral-bound recipe booklet