Indian cookbooks--and one I didn't have

[Jean B.]

First, I guess I should say that I am posting from the other side
of the pond (i.e., the US), and I bet there are a lot more Indian
cookbook available there than there are here. Nonetheless, I have
accrued quite a lot of them, with a decent number of them
emanating from India. Over the last few years, I have found
myself thinking that Indian cookery, perhaps with some of the
butterfat removed, be it in cream or in ghee, is very healthful,
and that further fuels my desire to collect Indian cookbooks.

Today I drove fairly far to buy a cookbook that is new to me: The
Oberoi-Penguin Celebrity Cookbook by Rashmi Uday Singh. This book
is arranged by celebrity, and most of the recipes look to be for
authentic (dangerous word) Indian fare. Even the western recipes
are not too offensive in this context, although I probably won't
cook any of them.

Here are some of the recipes that catch my eye (note that my
opinion may be affected by the fact that I am trying to avoid
eating a lot of carbs): cabbage thoran (although I am not too
fond of curry leaves as a dominant flavor), prawn malai (although
I have no intention of using 1/2 cup of oil for 1 kg of prawns),
ripe mango curry, sweet sooji (with banana; oh, I wish!), kurma
curry (I am trying to figure out whether this might qualify as a
navratan korma), seyal gosht (this calls for mutton; I was told
that they actually mean goat or lamb--here in the States, anyway;
comments?), paneer tikka (low carb too).

Note that the photos are of folks eating or preparing food in
their kitchens. They are thus unusually interesting.

--
Jean B.