Indian Home Cooking cookbook (by Suvir Saran)

[Daniel]

Since getting the book sunday i have made three of the recipes from his book. The Delhi style Lamb, the Chicken with Cashews and Coconut, and the Bannana Coconut Caramel Custard. I have loved everything I have made. The lamb was absolutely terrific and simple to make. Here is a picture of the custard my office will be enjoying today.

[ruthcooks]

I just ordered Suvir's book from The Good Cook Book Club. Finally accumulated enough bonus points and got it for only the cost of shipping.

For members it is a great bargain even without points at 67% off, unheard of for a new publication.

[Daniel]

Last night i made the Shrimp Goan from the cookbook.. I unfortunately ran into a problem. There appears to be a missing step in the recipe. The recipe calls for a spice paste to be made, but then doesnt explain what to do with the paste.. If someone could look at their book and explain the missing step i would appreciate it..

Thanks.

[NVNVGirl]

And is on top at epicurious.com! Check it out! Very nice review and many congratulations Suvir! I am honored to be in such revered company!

[bague25]

Last night i made the Shrimp Goan from the cookbook.. I unfortunately ran into a problem.  There appears to be a missing step in the recipe.  The recipe calls for a spice paste to be made, but then doesnt explain what to do with the paste.. If someone could look at their book and explain the missing step i would appreciate it..

Thanks.

←

Daniel

I had a look at the recipe. You can add the paste after the tomatoes are cooked. Then proceed as in the recipe...

Bague

[Daniel]

Last night i made the Shrimp Goan from the cookbook.. I unfortunately ran into a problem.  There appears to be a missing step in the recipe.  The recipe calls for a spice paste to be made, but then doesnt explain what to do with the paste.. If someone could look at their book and explain the missing step i would appreciate it..

Thanks.

←

Daniel

I had a look at the recipe. You can add the paste after the tomatoes are cooked. Then proceed as in the recipe...

Bague

←

The problem is in the paste you have all that raw ginger and garlic.. I personally like to get that a little bit in the oil to cook it up a little bit more.. The sauce didnt really cook too much after the tomatoes are added.. I believe the tomatoes cook as long as the shrimp does in the butter, which isnt very long..

What i eventually did was made about 1 and 1/2 more paste then called for. Coated the shrimp in the paste and added some to the stew while i added the onions.. None the less. It came out really good, I was starring at this thing wondering if I was going crazy or if the book didnt mention what to do.

[bague25]

Daniel

Try sautéing the paste after onion and then add the tomatoes. You're right the ginger - garlic needs to cook.

[Sleepy_Dragon]

Since getting the book sunday i have made three of the recipes from his book.  The Delhi style Lamb, the Chicken with Cashews and Coconut, and the Bannana Coconut Caramel Custard.  I have loved everything I have made.  The lamb was absolutely terrific and simple to make.  Here is a picture of the custard my office will be enjoying today.

←

Mmmmm, I made this recently too for school. Though minus the banana because we didn't have any on hand, and in small ceramic pots de creme containers for individual service. Added to that a freshly baked lime wafer, pineapple mint blossoms from the chef's garden, and served it at the school's restaurant. It sold out really fast!

The caramel is so beautiful the way it glistens after the flan has been upended from its container.

Also made Suvir's aloo tikki and brought a plateful of those to an evening class. They got inhaled as well.

Pat

Edited November 17, 2004 by Sleepy_Dragon (log)

[reesek]

hi there,

I just got the book on Friday, and last night I made tandoori prawns, curried black-eyed peas and green chutney. I'm wondering if Suvir or someone else can weigh in on the prawns.

The recipe calls for 2 hours of marinating, then 10 minutes of roasting at 550 then 15 minutes of resting, then 10 more minutes at 550 after a brushing of butter.

I've only had the massive (8-count) prawns a couple of times before ... I thought a total of 20 minutes of cooking time seemed very high...I cut it back a bit, but still thought the prawns were a bit dry, though I reduced the second cook by 3 minutes. I have a pizza stone in the bottom of my oven - might that have increased the temp? In general - why the roast/wait/baste/roast approach?

The flavors were very good - and the prawns were excellent with the green chutney. I'm looking forward to having the black-eyed peas tonight...I'm sure they'll be even better the second night.

The book, for those who are still on the fence, is great. I love the use of canned beans, the appropriate substitutions and shortcuts - it will definitley take Indian food into mid-week cooking.

[memesuze]

Last Sunday I threw a "thank-you" dinner for eight friends, and went totally nuts with recipes from Suvir's Indian Home Cooking. Although due to time contraints, I left off the Black Pepper Rasam with Tamarind and the Warm Potato Salad, I had buckets of fun and was busier than the proverbial one-armed paper-hanger on Saturday and Sunday hunting and gathering [after my third visit to the Indian grocery in less than 24 hours, the proprieter said: "back again?"], chopping, measuring, making up little and big packets of ingredients and then cooking the feast which consisted of:

Green Chutney

Tamarind Chutney

Empress Dal

Simple Lentil Dal with Fresh Ginger, Green Chiles, and Cilantro

Sweet Pepper Biriyani with Cumin and Fennel Seeds

Cumin-Scented Rice

Chickpea Salad

Stir-Fried Carrots with Cumin and Lime

Stir-Fried Mixed Summer Squash

Stir-Fried Green Beans with Coconut

Both chutneys are dynamite - I had to add water back into the tamarind one because I let it reduce down too far and it could have bounced off the floor - but it was repairable and is stunning with its heat and flavors.

The Empress dal was a bit blander than I might have expected, but I'll try again. The other dal with ginger, chiles, and cilantro was complex in subtle flavors. I've enjoyed living off the leftovers from the rest of the menu - the chickpea salad has potatoes and enough heat to satisfy us Texans. I got bonus points from my vegetarian friend for a v-friendly menu.

With this extensive a menu, I had a two-paged game plan that helped immensely to ensure I didn't miss any ingredients or any steps. Everything had wonderful textures and colors - do try to find this book and cook from it - you won't be disappointed.

[tanabutler]

I have just spent two wonderful days. Monday night, I attended (as in, "paid for and attended") Suvir's cooking class at Sur La Table in Los Gatos, which is about a half hour from my house. A friend cancelled at the last minute, so I was able to bring my ex's wife, Peri, whose birthday is this week. Yay.

We arrived a little early, and found Suvir—who had no idea I was coming!—who had spontaneously decided to make chai ice cream in the very fancy ice cream maker there. Pea samosas in puff pastry were already in the oven, and soon the sold-out class began.

He prepared a total of six recipes, including eggplant raita, lemon rice, ground chicken with spices, and green beans with coconut. And then he fed the entire class. (Insert swoon emoticon here.)

Besides being thoroughly knowledgable on the history of spices and food in India, he was also very articulate about medicinal aspects of certain spices (as discussed in the NY Times), and had a flotilla of facts and stories at his disposal that belied his state of mild fatigue. It was a very enjoyable evening: those who know Suvir know he's got an impish wit aside from his erudite delivery of factoids. We laughing plenty.

Probably the single best thing that happened for me was losing the intimidation factor. He said he has all these Chinese friends who've written cookbooks, which he gets and then just closes, knowing he can't cook that way. But he admits it's his own brain stopping him. He asked if I'd yet cooked from Indian Home Cooking, and I said I hadn't, that I didn't have the spices and was sure I wasn't properly organized. I don't feel that way now; I still don't have the proper spices, but he's fixing me up with his favorite spice store, "Foods of India," in NYC to remedy that. His Indian mother buys her spices there!

Yesterday, I drove him to Berkeley for his next class, and today he is in Santa Rosa. He's on a 16-city tour with Sur La Table. Next up are Kirkland, Washington (is that where Microsoft is?) and Portland, Oregon.

Here are the dates:

Kirkland • Thursday, March 10, 2005 • 6:00 PM

Kirkland • Friday, March 11, 2005 • 11:00 AM

Portland • Saturday, March 12, 2005 • 11:00 AM

Los Angeles • Monday, March 21, 2005 • 6:30 PM

Newport Beach • Tuesday, March 22, 2005 • 6:30 PM

Carlsbad • Wednesday, March 23, 2005 6:30 PM

Chicago • Monday, April 04, 2005 • 6:30 PM

Cleveland • Tuesday, April 05, 2005 • 6:30 PM

Columbus • Wednesday, April 06, 2005 6:30 PM

Dallas • Monday, April 18, 2005 • 6:30 PM

Arlington • Wednesday, April 27, 2005 6:30 PM

Richmond • Thursday, April 28, 2005 • 6:30 PM

I have no idea if they're all priced the same, so check your Sur La Table site for information. I hope some of you can go and report back. This is a very enjoyable way to spend the evening, I promise. Plus you get a coupon for a discount. Yay again.

[tanabutler]

Whoopsy daisies, I forgot that there was a story in the LA Times about the cookbook, too: "Passage to Indian cooking: Chef Suvir Saran demystifies the flavors of the subcontinent with home cooking that surprises." (March 2, 2005). If you can't open that, if you aren't registered, you can go here.

Note: there are recipes for "South Indian-style chicken with curry leaves and black peppercorns (dakshin murgh)," "Mangalore fried shrimp (jhinga Mangaloree)," and "My sister's favorite corn curry (makayee noo curry)."

I actually went to Ranch 99 market last night to see if I could get anything but was too overwhelmed by all the Asian labels. I need a translator!

[whippy]

tanabutler,

Thanks so much for posting this info. I had no idea that Suvir was going to be in Portland this Saturday. I'm signed up for his demo, very grateful to you.

whippy

[Jaymes]

I had such a wonderful evening! My daughter is visiting, and for our "Mother-Daughter" project, we cooked a meal from Suvir's cookbook!

We had:

Cucumber Raita -- This was a wonderful accompaniment to the spicy meal. It was cool and pleasant, in addition to having a delicious flavor on its own.

Mangalore Fried Shrimp (pictured on the cover) -- Man, was this good! It had just the right amount of 'heat' for our palates, and the flavor was delicious. It was so good that I can hardly wait to have guests for whom to prepare this dish.

Stir-fried Green Beans with Coconut -- The aroma as this was cooking drew all of our eaters to the kitchen to find out what was going on. I simply can't explain how much we enjoyed it. It was nutty and exotic, and I am now a huge fan of unsweeted coconut.

We served it all with a nice helping of steamed white rice to sop up the delicious juices. This was a truly wonderful meal.

I've previously made several other dishes from this treasure of a cookbook. I want to tell any of you that don't have the book and are considering getting it that not only are the recipes terrific, but it is a beautiful book, with full-color photography, and Suvir's description of how each dish figures into his life -- his family, his friends, his remembrances of the country of his birth.

I've got to say that this is a truly remarkable book. Could not possibly recommend it any higher. Even if, for some reason, one is not interested in Indian food, the poignant, heartfelt writing enchants. It repeatedly reminds me of how much all of us, as members of families, have in common.

Thank you, Suvir.

Edited March 10, 2005 by Jaymes (log)

[tanabutler]

tanabutler,

Thanks so much for posting this info.  I had no idea that Suvir was going to be in Portland this Saturday.  I'm signed up for his demo, very grateful to you. 

whippy

←

I can't wait to hear how the class went. And if he made chai ice cream.

[whippy]

got back just awhile ago...

the class was great of course. it was cool to say hello to such a prolific, inspiring and thoughtful poster. suvir would probably hate to be on tv, but he'd be good at it. (in simon cowell voice: "he's got star quality, that's all there is to it.")

we had yummy puff pastry samosas, eggplant raita, lemon rice, minced chicken saute and coconut-spiced green beans.

if he's coming to a shop near you, it's a fun and tasty demo.

thanks again for the info, tanabutler!

many more thanks to you, suvir. i'm not worthy. . .

(edit to add: no chai ice cream.)

Edited March 13, 2005 by whippy (log)

[cjsadler]

Been really enjoying cooking up a storm from this book. I've probably cooked more from this book than any other cookbook I've owned. This is high praise!

"Kwalitys" Chick Peas-- Definitely my favorite so far. Delicious!

Simple Dal-- I usually think Dal is boring, but this, even though extremely simple, was so good. I'll have to try the other, more complex Dals next

Simple Lahori Chicken Curry-- Good and very easy. Again, I'm going to make the more complex curries next.

Saag Paneer-- Much healthier and fresher tasting than what you get in a restaurant (cooking more Indian at home has made me realize just how loaded with butter and cream the dishes are at most restaurants). I think it might be improved by some buttermilk or yogurt to finish next time.

Onion (Vegetable) Pakora-- The book calls for various vegetables, but we just used onions. Perfect (and quick to make).

Mangalore Shrimp -- I didn't like this as much as I hoped to. Didn't use curry leaves, though, which I think would add alot

Green Chutney-- I think the amount of lemon it calls for is about double what you need, but adjusting for that, it's just like what you'd get at your favorite Indian restaurant

Chicken Tikka Masala-- I still have yet to make a version of this at home that I'm truly satisfied with. This was good, though.

Next time I'll take some pictures. We made the paneer using ricotta, just to see how it turns out (though I don't think it's that hard to make paneer by traditional methods)-- we'll eat it tonight.

[tsquare]

This book has made Indian cooking one of my favorite things to eat at home. Every recipe I have tried has been a success. My pantry continues to grow with new ingredients and I planted a curry plant to have fresh leaves. As the book warns - stand back, they pop in the hot oil. Sounds like popcorn though they are skinny string type leaves.

Thanks again Suvir.