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Camellia Panjabi - Great Curries of India - 8
Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2004 3:54 pm
by Darb
Great Curries of India
Here's a copy (slightly edited) of my featured review up on Amazon.com, from a few years back:
"Excellent Background and Explanations" - Darby, 23-Sept-1999
Successes: This book really helps novice cooks understand how typical curry recipes are constructed, from the ground up. Too many authors on the subject are lazily content to simply fob off long lists of exotic ingredients on the reader without explaining the purpose, technique, and timing of each component. This author goes to reasonable lengths to help a typical reader understand not only how to use a particular ingredient, but WHY it's used. Also, there are plenty of pictures which not only help the reader 'window shop' for recipes to try, but also help the reader to understand what the dish is supposed to look like when prepared properly.
Nits: (1) The biggest weakness is this - the author only discusses only a few classic Masala blends, yet there are NUMEROUS others (ex: Sambar) that can & should have been covered in a book specializing in curry. The reader is left to scavenge other Indian books for such recipes. (2) I wish the book were longer - a LOT longer - it focuses heavily on lamb, whereas chicken, pork, fish and vegetable/dhal curries are covered in increasingly less detail ... and curried soups are barely covered at all. (3) There are minor errors and omissions scattered throughout - in fact, my first copy of this book was a misprint, and lacked an entire section in the rear of the book covering different dhals, vegetarian curries, and wine matching suggestions for all of the recipes contained in the book.
Bottom Line: An excellent book, despite being too short, and having minor flaws and omissions.
Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2004 8:23 pm
by Darb
I've got well over 100+ other books on cooking, brewing & wine at home ... but since there's not much demand for them on this forum, additions are apt to be slow. I'll probably stick with more approacheable stuff by authors like Peter Mayle, Michael Ruhlman, Ruth Reichl, etc.
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 1:51 pm
by Darb
4th nit: after describing in detail the early stages of a given recipe with oil, spices and onions, the authoress frequently gets lazy from that point on and omits indicating the remaining time required to cook out meat and dried components (such as dhal) ... opting to state simply "cook until tender". I find such shortcuts to be lazy and mildly annoying.
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 5:15 pm
by Darb
I made another recipe from this book last night ... "Prawns Patia", which is basically shrimp (I thawed some jumbos straight from the freezer, and peeled & butterflied them) in a very hot, spicy, tangy, and lightly sweet tamarind & garam masala based curry. Very nice. Too hot for many of my friends and family, but just right for me.
This book, despite being sadly thin on page count and recipes, continues to impress me. Most, but not all, of the recipes are very good.
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 12:30 pm
by Darb
I made another recipe from this book over this past weekend ... Cauliflour-Potato Curry. It was actually the second time I've made her version, so I took the opportunity to completely re-organize and re-write her recipe (her version is a bit clumsy and disorganized in it's directions). I've also adjusted the flavors a bit, and completely changed the garnishing.
Here's my version:
[quote]Gobhi Aloo Gashi
Comments: A classic version of cauliflour-potato curry, with a rich, med-spicy, coconut-based gravy. Style: Southern Indian.
Batch/Time: Entree for 3-4. Prep = 10 mins, Cooking = 35-45 mins.
Qty Ingredients
¾ cup Coconut, dried unsweetened, microplaned (grated)
1 cup Cold Water
½+ tsp Tamarind Concentrate
2-3 tbsp Peanut Oil
3-4 Cayenne Peppers, dried, crumbled
2 tsp Coriander, ground
½ tsp Turmeric, ground
½ tsp Paprika, ground
¼ tsp Yellow Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Fenugreek Seeds
¼ tsp Cinnamon, ground
1/8 tsp Clove, ground
1/8 tsp Black Pepper, ground
1 med Yellow Onion, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
½â€
Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 12:09 pm
by Darb
The Gohbi Aloo Gashi has become a recurring fave in my household.
In fact, for lunch today, i'm having some that I prepared over this past weekend, along with a 2nd attempt at Yamuna Devi's "Spinach-Broccoli Puree" (this time with mustard greens omitted, and with diced paneer added ... much better).
The 2 dishes mixed during reheating, and the results, while certainly delicious, resemble "Soylent Green" (re: google the IMDB for that, if you're unfamiliar)
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 10:33 am
by Darb
Another nit of mine about this book is that the recipes are not optimized for efficiency ... certain things that could otherwise be done in advance are not, things that should be grouped together in logical sequence rarely are, etc.
Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:32 pm
by Darb
Another minor nit is that the author frequently ends her recipe instructions with a vague "cook until tender" directive ... which isn't very helpful to beginner and intermediate home cooks.
The author just sort of assumes the reader knows how long to simmer various types of lentils, dhal, lamb, pork, chicken, etc.