Book: Indian Kitchen - Secrets of Indian Home Cooking; Author: Maunika Gowardhan; Publisher: Hachette India; Pages: 248; Price: Rs.999
There is a certain warmth in home-cooked Indian food - the spluttering of onions and chillis in hot oil, the aroma of finely-ground masalas and the finger-licking taste of simmering curries which are cooked with a lot of love and care.
Indian home recipes can appear to be simple but there is no end to the list. With such a vast diversity in Indian culture, there is no end to food items. Every house in a state has its own secret recipes, special masalas and a certain way of cooking.
Maunika Gowardhan's latest cookery book, "Indian Kitchen", is an attempt to compile the vast array of dishes within two binds. The 248-page book is filled with delectable recipes - blending tradition and techniques of Indian cooking with contemporary ways of cooking.
The book captures the true essence of Indian flavours. It will leave you mesmerised with recipes, making you turn over the pages that suggest common homely recipes described in easy steps to cook.
Being a Mumbaikar, Gowardhan elaborates in the introduction how the city has been a factor in evolving her love for food. The author's love for her birthplace is evident throughout the book; yet she has finely managed to balance the work with recipes from across the country.
The book is an effort to combine the myriad food culture that exists in India. From Mumbai's "chatpata chaat" to Assamese spiced potato; from Bengali beingun bhaja (fried aubergine) to Goan chilli pork; from Jain-style mattar paneer to Bohra-style fried lamb chops - a recipe given to the author by her friend - the book excels in compiling different dishes belonging to different cultures and religions.
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Gowardhan fondly mentions how her love for cooking was evoked at her home while watching her mother and grandmother turn out lip-smacking dishes. "My mother always played the ultimate hostess. Without realising it, when I too started cooking and entertaining, I would do exactly what she would," says the author in the introduction.
The book is principally divided mainly into four sections - Hungry, which includes easy-to-cook recipes that can be prepared in a short time; Lazy, with recipes that can be prepared at leisure and with comfort and ease; Indulgent for those who want to put some real love into a meal; and Celebratory, where you can get recipes that are full of flavours to win the heart of your family and friends. Then, there is the Extra chapter where you will get recipes for making chutneys, raitas, spice mixes and the like.
Following the introduction, there comes the kitchen essentials - quintessential elements used in Indian homes for cooking and a list of few 'not-so-fancy' kitchen equipment to speed up things. The book also introduces people to many region-specific spices that add a magical aroma to the dishes.
Every chapter begins with a brief introduction. Hungry is described as a chapter where the dishes are grilled, fried, simmered and baked with simple recipes. The chapter includes recipes of some very common dishes like Kandhari murg tikka (chicken with pomegranate molasses), patra ni machhi (Parsi-style steamed fish) and simple tadka dal. For dessert there is cardamom and pistachio cake.
The Leisure chapter has the likes of the iconic Bombay sandwich or a south Indian snack, chickpea sundal, popular among daily commuters. Then, there is bandhkopir torkari (five-spice cabbage fry) - a Bengali vegetable dish - Amritsari fish tikka and Guntur-style chicken stir-fry ending with shrikhand - a traditional authentic Maharashtrian dessert.
Next comes Indulgent, where the dishes might take a little longer to prepare but once cooked, they are hard to resist. The author recalls fond memories of her mother preparing lamb dalcha on Sunday afternoons. The chapter reflects the diversity of Indian dishes. There is a mention of Malwani chicken masala - a dish from the Malwani region of western India which is made from a unique spice blend that traditionally includes dagad phool; Keralan kozhi kuttan (chicken curry with chillis and coconut milk) - an amalgamation of spices that makes a gorgeous curry paste; chukhandar ka gosht (beetroot lamb curry) - a recipe the author obtained from her Muslim friend; and Sindhi dal pakwan - a simple vegetarian dish adopted from the Sindhi community.
The last chapter - Celebratory - includes an array of gastronomic delicacies. There is a Malayali kozhi biryani recipe taken from a neighbouring Malayali family and chicken rezala, a dish synonymous with Kolkata's Muslim community. Worth mentioning is Malwani hirwa tisrya masala (coastal clams cooked in coriander and coconut).
The book is an excellent guide for those who absolutely love cooking. And the best part is that you can try out dishes that belong to other regions and communities. Without delay, indulge yourself in cooking to savour the dishes.
(Somrita Ghosh can be contacted at somrita.g@ians.in)
