Good Indian Cookbook: ‘‘Made in India: Recipes From an Indian Family Kitchen’’ by Meera Sodha

Curry for Comfort
Eat
By SAM SIFTON

It took more than a decade to assemble, but Sodha’s ‘‘Made in India: Recipes From an Indian Family Kitchen’’ was published in Britain last year, where it sold very well. Just released in the United States, it offers a terrific introduction to the world of Sodha’s past and present cooking: dead-simple family food absolutely packed with flavor.

Amazon

MADE IN INDIA: Recipes From an Indian Family Kitchen, by Meera Sodha. (Flatiron, $35.) Among this colorful book’s approachable recipes are Sodha’s spicy, yogurt-and-almond-crusted Whole Roast Masala Chicken and Bombay Eggs, a cumin, fresh ginger and coriander dish that’s a weeknight food to rival any other — particularly when served with her Ferrari potatoes, which are pan-fried with peanuts, black pepper and lemon juice. Link

I gave a friend at work who was interested in cooking Indian food a copy of "Made in India: Recipes From an Indian Family Kitchen" after reading a couple of reviews in the NY Times that liked it. While the book was at work, his across the aisle guy, who is Indian, paged through it, liked it, and bought a copy from Amazon. He's raved about the recipes and brought in a couple of things that I've tasted, and they've been very, very good. None of the recipes are of the thousand ingredient curry variety, more the three or four spice curry variety, and they're written by someone who lived in the Midlands o' England rather than next door to Harrod's Food Court. (None of the recipes involve curry powder either.) You'll need things like fresh ginger, garlic, cinnamon sticks, cumin seed, rapeseed oil (aka canola), and a few nightshades (tomatoes, peppers), and maybe some garam masala (which is a spice mixture that you can buy or make).

Peoples!

I see so many, err, people who seem to think that columnists in that vanishing media, newspapers, are reporters who must report balanced stories. Please hit yourself aside the head until you're disabused of this idiocy.

On the other hand, reporters that editorialize, please do the same, and spare me the suffering of banging my head on the desk after reading your crap.

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