"indian food" news and stories

Originally published in 1973, An Invitation to Indian Cooking was Madhur Jaffrey's very first cookbook. She moved to New York City from India in the early 1960's and started cooking when she started craving the flavors of her childhood. Later on, when people would ask her for Indian restaurant recommendations, she'd sadly tell them that there wasn't anything that appropriately authentic in the city and then, feeling bad and wanting to share the tastes of India with them, she'd invite them over for dinner. When throwing regular dinner parties became exhausting, she began to hand out her recipes. They spread across the city (and some all the way across the country) and eventually led to this book.

My copy of this book came to me in that load of cookbooks I acquired from my friend Fran's friend about a month ago. One of the delightful things I've discovered as I've gone through these books has been the unexpected notes and page markers that fall out when I start to leaf through. This edition is no exception, the recipe for Pork Chops Cooked With Cabbage is marked with a seed pack for wildflowers.

Back in April, I featured another one of Jaffrey's books, that time it was her volume devoted to Quick & Easy Indian Cooking. That book relies more heavily on pre-made spice mixes and short cut items that are available in the supermarket. This book has none of those short cuts and so while the dishes do take considerably longer to make, the rewards that come from toasting and grinding your own spices is quite high. Recently, Serious Eats spent a month cooking from this volume and, other than an unfortunate incident that involved a greasy, gristly goat stew, enjoyed the experience.

If you are a fan of Madhur Jaffery, your collection is not complete without this book.

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If you've been a reader of Slashfood for a while, then you might know that I am a huge, HUGE, fan of Indian food. Sadly, aside from a a few decent attempts at vegetable samosa, I couldn't cook Indian food at home to save my life, let alone smack a ball of dough inside a oven to bake naan.

However, if you have it in you to prepare an Indian meal and want to include that delicious fluffy flatbread, head over to Ooh You Tasty Little Things for a quick recipe for naan. From the picture, they look a bit like pancakes, but I have no doubt in my mind that these babies were absolutely delicious, especially with fresh garlic mixed in!

How far would you travel to have your favorite meal? Or rather, how far would you have it sent? Rap star Kanye West, along with 7 other diners, will be enjoying a feast of Indian food this Wednesday from the restaurant British Raj's, located in Wales, though he will be dining in New York City. The bill for this meal is to exceed $3900.

Even with shipping costs, why is it so much? The actual cost of the food, eaten in the restaurant, would run at about $17.50 per person. However the restaurant's Executive Chef will be accompanying the meal to New York, ensuring quality control, customs clearance, and proper service. The $3900 price tag actually reflects the loss the restaurant will experience during the two evenings the chef will be away. His travel and accommodation costs are extra.

Apparently the dinner will include "onion bhajees, chapati breads, biryanis, pappadums, a specially prepared fish dish and vegetables on the side." Kanye isn't the first to receive this kind of service though. The music promotion company that arranged this dining experience previously ordered food to an after-show party for Snoop Dogg from the same Wales restaurant.

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Wow. All I can say when I look at Meena's Chilli Paneer on her blog Hooked on Heat is "wow." Sometimes I wonder if in a previous lifetime I was an Indian princess (not just Indian, but a princess!) because the spices, flavors and ingredients of Indian cuisine give me shivers like no other. Aside from the fact that this dish is absolutely glisteningly gorgeous in the photo, I was totally taken by how long, er rather, short the preparation time is. Meena sears the Indian cottage cheese cubes (which, to me, have a texture similar to a crumbly tofu) in oil, then basically stir fries them with onions, garlic, and chili peppers. The dark color comes, oddly enough, from soy sauce.

I am not shy about my obsession with Indian food, and today is no exception. When I'm in a restaurant or ordering in, I almost always order palak paneer. I say "almost" because sometimes, it's called "saag paneer." Either way, the dish is a curry made of spinach and lightly sauteed cubes of paneer, a fresh Indian cheese. Hooked on Heat has made palak paneer at home and the photo makes me want to dive into my laptop screen with a giant piece of naan. As delicious as it looks, it seems that it's not overly complicated to make, though it does require a bit of time to make the cheese.

Other bloggers make palak/saag paneer:
Mahanandi
Food, in the Main
SaiLu's Food