100 Essential Curries by Madhur Jaffrey – review
Whilst it’s some time since the Grande Dame of Indian cooking has graced our screens, it’s true that she remains our classic Indian TV food presenter. She wafted into our homes in a flourish of sari and with a collection of exotic ingredients that many of us had never heard of.
A couple of decades have passed since that first introduction. Now we all know that ginger doesn’t come in a jar with syrup, and it did have another form before it became a powder. We can appreciate that there really is no such thing as curry powder, although that lurid yellow compound from a cardboard tub was our only “Indian” ingredient for a century or so. But Madhur is thankfully still with us to offer us authentic and adapted recipes to inspire us anew.
100 Essential Curries offers, yes, curry but also those dishes that one adds to make a complete meal. One could choose to use plain rice to accompany sauced dishes but Madhur offers some traditional alternatives that are simple to prepare. Rice with Black-eyed Peas is hearty and perfumed with cloves and a hint of garam masala. Lemon rice is subtle and light and I often serve this with fish. It was originally made with lime juice but this recipe has both lemon juice and rind. It’s worth getting curry leaves rather than substituting basil if one is having this with other Indian dishes.
More and more of us are eating less and less meat these days. Some folks want to treat their bodies like temples and prefer to tread the meat-free path. Others have issues revolving around the non-consumption of anything with pretty eyes. Lentils are an ideal meat substitute. Not that I am suggesting that meat is such an invaluable part of the diet of any thinking person that it needs a conscious replacement. India has a wealth of lentil dishes that are economic and nutritious but also delicious and that is, after all, your reason for eating them.
Pressure cooker
Red Lentils with the celebrated Indian five-spice, panchphoran, has few ingredients and takes only 40 minutes to cook; even less time than that if one uses a pressure cooker, ubiquitous in Indian kitchens even in the UK. The five spices in question are cumin, fennel, mustard seeds, fenugreek and black onion seeds. It’s sold ready prepared or one could use equal quantities of the above and mix the spices oneself. This is an aromatic dal that can be eaten with just Indian bread or rice, or as a side dish for any Indian meat or fish.
My pick of the book is Cardamom and Black Pepper Chicken. All the spices are those you will likely have in your larder and the dish, after marinating, takes about as long as does the rice to cook. This recipe uses black pepper as flavouring rather than as a background seasoning. It gives not only heat but a distinct taste to the dish. A winter warmer.
100 Essential Curries by Madhur Jaffrey has a melange of contemporary and traditional recipes. They have been chosen with the European home cook in mind. There is nothing here that will be over-taxing for the novice, and there is plenty to excite the interest of those who already have a collection of Indian cookbooks. Each recipe has a picture on the opposite page and that always gives a bit of confidence, even to us practised cooks. Here you will find real Indian food from a real Indian. Madhur reminds us of the reasons we took her to our hearts in the first place. She is quite simply a good food writer, and this volume must be just about the best value of all her cookbooks. Buy this and the others will surely follow.
100 Essential Curries
Author: Madhur Jaffrey
Published by: Random House
Price: £7.99
ISBN: 978-0-09-194052-2
See more books by Madhur Jaffrey here
Read reviews of more Indian cookbooks here
Cookbook review by Chrissie Walker © 2018
