Jug,
Even thoough I usually use the internet to find recipes, I always print them out as I like recipes on paper to write notes and such on them. I also don't like my computer near my work surface. My vote is for the paper book.

Because Indian culture is so intertwined in its foods, I would love to read about the connections between certain foods/dishes and the cultural meaning behind them.

By the way, did you ever see this link?

Here is a link that might be useful: Indian cooking discussion here

Both paper and electronic formats. When I create a large document like a book it is good to see it on paper. Sometimes I will spread the pages out on the floor so I can see whole section at once and how they "connect" to other chapters. I can actually pick up a page or whole chapter and move it to a different location.

Probably cheaper to publish it in electronic format.

I have never been to India. Stories, pictures, and detailed descriptions of the spices and grains really help. Sometimes I have to substitute what I can find in this country. For example Tamarind is common in many parts of the world but not stocked by grocers in my area... a few drops of cherry or lemon juice comes fairly close to the fruity tangy taste of tamarind. I can get brown lentils.. no yellow or red. I often substitute green peas as the sweet smooth texture when they have cooked down makes a fair base for a curry.

I will tell you my story. An Indian friend I was dining with offered me a "pickle". In the USA a pickle is a mild cucumber with vinegar and dill. In India it is a bit of fruit spiced with extremely hot peppers. I ate the whole "pickle" in one bite and will never forget the look on my friends face as he waved his arms saying "no no no". I survived with the help of a whole dish of yogurt. One of the hottest things I've ever ate.

I love Indian food! Each dish is an adventure as I explore how different chef's interpret it. Currently online spice merchants can get me the spices I need at a reasonable price. I will not pay online prices for grains where the shipping cost is many times the value of the grain... I must substitute. We often have different fish available, goat meat the most common meat in the world is not consumed in the usa, even our peppers are often different. Being "authentic" is very difficult.

If I were to write a cook book it would arrange dishes from simple to complex. In Indian, I'm told, women will spend the whole day preparing food. The steps are many and take time. This is not how most americans cook. If a cook book starts with things people can do in 5 or 10 minutes they are more apt to get excited enough to try dishes that require an hour's preperation and a day's cooking. A taste before the feast.

Good Luck!

: )
lyra

I don't know where you are and your cultural background. If you are not near NYC, it may pay for you to take a trip here.

There is an area here called Jackson Heights, Queens. It is a large neighborhood that's almost 100% occupied by Indians. You will find authentic Indian restaurants, shops, stores, etc. It will make writing your book a lot easier.

http://0.tqn.com/d/queens/1/5/O/C/74th-street-zachk.jpg

http://www.desijacksonheights.com/images/desiwo3-jh.jpg

dcarch

If I were to buy a cookbook of any ethnic cuisine that's not already part of common American cooking, I'd absolutely be looking for a bit of narrative about the history of the dishes, variations by region, explanation of the use of less common (to me) ingredients, etc. I'd also be looking for great photography.

I would want a physical book that I can relax and read on my living room sofa.

Feel free to try some recipes on us! ;-)

I'm English so am very familiar with Indian cooking and my nephew is married to a Punjabi lady. What is the unique angle? I think Bunnyman has summed up many of the problems - Indian ladies spend a monumental time cooking.
My nephew's FIL has been known to eat in a restaurant and come home very dissatisfied then promptly sit down to another home-cooked meal in order to get, what he calls,a decent meal! LOL

I'd also be interested in trying out some recipes. My biggest problems are finding the ingredients, as Lyra said, and also protein. I like a lot of it in my meals, and so many Indian dishes are carbs on top of carbs. If someone could conquer those two problems (I like it when a cookbook author says 'this works best but this, this and this, make decent substitutes' I might consider buying. I'd definitely vote for kindle book or ebook.

Jessica, I'm not sure what you mean by "carbs on top of carbs" in Indian cooking. Indian food includes just about every meat and fish known to man, and even the vegetarian meals includes lots of pulses, or dairy products. Different religions preclude consumption of certain foods, for instance Hindus do not eat beef or dairy, but falling outside such categories you can eat almost exclusively protein in a myriad of ways if that is your wont.

For me, a cookbook must be much more than a collection of recipes. I need to have a clear concept of the result I'm trying to achieve. The best ethnic cookbook for me is one from which I can prepare a dish I have never had, know what to expect, and get it right. I want to know the "gist" of the cuisine.

Indian food has many differences from any other ethnic food I have experienced. Although I have eaten it many times, in restaurants, prepared by Indian friends, or even cooked by myself, I still am a bit lost as to what dishes go well together to make up a meal or what classifications the various dishes fall into. To learn a cuisine, I like to have recipes which are "typical" or "authentic" and with a few suggested variations.

So far, the best Indian cookbook I have found is Julie Sahni's "Classic Indian Cooking".

Jim

I mean, a veggie samosa is basically potatoes wrapped in dough. Lots of cooked curry-type dishes are full of potatoes and served on top of rice, especially the vegetarian ones. The most common paratha that I see is stuffed with potatoes.

The recipes I am attracted to are indeed the ones with meat or fish, and the other week I made a chickpea paratha that I really liked, although it wasn't authentic at all. I haven't explored the fish dishes, but would like to. My friend's mom tells me fish is very commonly used. Chicken tikka is protein heavy, but I'm not psychologically comfortable with the quantity of heavy cream. I guess I can always leave out the potatoes and add a protein, but overall, I'd like to expand my repertoire of protein-based Indian dishes (that are not extremely complicated and use the staple Indian spices rather than a bunch of obscure ingredients that I'd only use once)

"The most common paratha that I see is stuffed with potatoes."

I love the stuff!!! Flat bread stuffed with mashed potatoes prior to baking in a pan seemed like an impossibility until an Indian friend showed me how it wast done. I'm still amazed that it works.

Jim

It is quite good, isn't it? :-P My friend's mom told me to make chapati stuffed with cilantro, ginger, mashed potatoes, lime, chat masala, and salt. It sounded great but didn't sound terribly healthy :-)

I recommend that you ask your questions Another Subcontinent's food forum as well. I've met several of the forum members in Artesia (Little India) in SoCal.

I would like to see a contrast in the regions of India. In Artesia, most of the restaurant and shops are South Indian, whereas in L.A. they tend to be North Indian. I think it would be good to have recipes from both regions. I think it would also be good to demystify some of the traditional spices and talk about spice mixes that one could make ahead of time.

I prefer paper book over ebook. I don't use ebooks at all.

Lars

Here is a link that might be useful: Another Subcontinent, food forum

Any chance it's a South India cookbook? Those are much harder to find! I've resorted to some brought to me from India but of course the measurements are liters, grams, etc. which is a pain to "translate." Good luck on getting your book published!

Here the curries only have potatoes if they are made by a thrifty Westerner stretching the meat :-) Samosas can be vegetarian or meat filled... Cream in Chicken Tikka? Never heard of it until I saw the Allrecipes version. Couldn't find another version with cream- I've never made it with cream or eaten it creamy in a restaurant. Yoghurt is used as a marinating ingredient, but no cream. Not sure the recipes you are using are as authentic as you'd like them to be.

Really? I've never made it-- I'm talking about restaurant food. And I'm certain it was cream because they let me go back in the kitchen and described mixing the tomato gravy with heavy cream to make the sauce. I don't think I ate any Indian food while in Sydney, but here I've never eaten at an Indian restaurant where the food wasn't extremely potato-laden. And I've eaten in many Indian restaurants.

No cream in Indian cooking that I've ever heard of either. Restaurants will often cook a westernised version. The real thing is much lighter.
Much of what in the west is considered Indian cooking is really western inventions. Many "Curries" that we're used to don't really exist over there.

Northern Indians do use cream in their cooking. So yummy, but it makes the dish very rich.

Tomato gravy with cream sounds more like butter chicken, than chicken tikka. I can't recall having any curries here with potatoes, unless at a really cheap place or in someone's home.

What became of our original poster? Jug, are you still with us?

Isn't it a bit strange that he/she joined the same day this question was posted?

Did no one else notice that?

Rusty

I would say yes, but there's nothing being advertised, so I don't know what the point would be.

I don't know what the point would be, either.
Just thought it odd that that is the only post by that person.
I expected it to lead into something.
Don't know what, just something.

Rusty

It's not unusual for writers to use these forums for research. There have been several instances on the Vegetable Growing Forum. They ranged from students looking for help on a term paper (usually in a last minute panic) to professional journalists looking for quotes to include in an article. it is odd though, that the original poster has not followed up at all.

Jim

lots of potatoes in Indian cookery. Here's a list of recipes to look at. Aloo means potato.

Here is a link that might be useful: recipes

Yep. Lots of aloo dishes in Indian cooking. And not just to "stretch" the meat. Many of the dishes are vegetarian, so there is no meat to stretch.

Jim

Meat is not the only source of protein in this world. Lots of Indian dishes are very yummy, full of protein, but lack meat. This interests me, but probably NOT your typical westerner.
I'm interested in QUICK dishes. Also lower fat. Maybe something along the lines of "Nouveau Indian" lol! A lot of us are seeking to "lighten up" all the traditional cuisines.

I won't buy a cookbook that doesn't have pictures of all the dishes.

I love Indian food and just recently introduced my DH to it and he loved it too. In looking for a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala, all the recipes had heavy cream. Would anyone like to share one that doesn't?

I'd love to see a few things in an Indian recipe book, either e or otherwise.

I'd like to have substitutions such as "If you don't have this traditional ingredient, you can use this easy to find ingredient instead".

I like knowing more about the dish. Does in come from the north or south? Is it something that might not be on the typical restaurant menu?

I'd like to know if there are traditional or regional methods for preparation.

I'd also like to know if there are dishes that are not from India but are typical Indian meals from England or other countries. If that makes sense...like a meal that Indian immigrants living in another country have made into a new dish that one would not find in India. Like, if people living in India make chapati from buckwheat but Indians living in America make chapati from wheat.

Sounds like fun, I hope it works well!

J.

I hearing/reading that Indian foods are the next extremely popular cusine in the US.

Try this one using the yogurt.

Here is a link that might be useful: Recipe

I may try this one. I have liked evaporated skim milk in other capacities.

Here is a link that might be useful: Recipe

I lived in the Punjab, growing up. My parents lived in Pakistan from 1964-1979 -- I lived there for nearly 2 years 1964 & 65, then returned to the States to go to collge, and came home to Pakistan for the summers while in college.

Prior to 1947, the Punjab was the northern region across India -- Delhi is located there, as well as Lahore, Peshawar, Rawlpindi & Islamabad in present-day Pakistan. My family lived in Lahore, Pakistan.

And, we ate lots of regional food...which is pretty much the same across the Punjab, since it was a single country for thousands of years (except the Muslims don't eat pork, and Hindus don't eat beef). They cook with a lot of yogurt, and it's very good yogurt. But in the Punjab, they didn't cook with cream. While the yogurt was excellent, the dairy products were a bit different, as they were made from water buffalo milk. The butter was very different tasting from European or American butter, and not particularly enjoyable. And milk, also buffalo milk, was very different tasting --- not nearly as rich as American milk. It was OK for cooking, but one couldn't drink it plain. I don't recall ever seeing or tasting cream during my time in Pakistan. When my mother purchased milk from the buffalo wallah, she would immediately boil it to pasteurize it, because undulent fever was quite common.

But, this was decades ago -- geesh! Do I sound old! -- and times & technology have changed. So, perhaps today's Indian cuisine has cream, but in the "old" days, the Punjabi cooking did not have cream.

I adore food from the Punjab -- including Afghani food -- but I wouldn't dream of making it because it requires special spices and is very labor intensive. Except for chicken tikka...easy to do and very yummy. And I'm wild about naan.....and would never dream of making that at home, because it really does require the special clay oven for firing...which in the Punjab was fueld with cow patties....trees being so scarce and all.

My mouth is watering thinking of all the great food I've eaten in that sub-continent!

I feel I should clarify, since I seem to have been misunderstood: I didn't mean that potatoes are not used at all in Indian cookery, or even that they are not extensively used, but that in general, curried _meat_ dishes tend not to contain potatoes as well but are usually just the meat in some kind of sauce.

Yes, you were misunderstood, Colleen. Sorry.

Jim

Yep-- when you say "I can't recall having any curries here with potatoes, unless at a really cheap place or in someone's home," people tend to assume that you're saying that you haven't had curries with potatoes, unless at a really cheap place or in someone's home. While I can't speak to what you've personally eaten, there certainly are curries with potatoes and meat-- like Vindaloo.

The point I was trying to make is that I think there is a market for healthy Indian recipes. When I browse, I find a lot of recipes that I wouldn't make because they're either high in saturated fat or have what I consider to be far more than a good serving of carbs. I don't claim to have any kind of comprehensive understanding of Indian cuisine-- and neither do a lot of other home cooks-- which is why I would consider it a valid service for someone to dig through and find healthy recipes and bring them to my attention.

Colleen, I'm glad to see you back, even if I don't know one darned thing about Indian cooking other than I've never eaten a curry I've cared for.

So, you're back from your last trip, was that to China? I think.....

Where are you going next?

Annie

India is such a huge country, with such a diversity of cultures, races, ethnic origins, available ingredients, outside influences, historical events...basically such a diversity of everything, that the term "Indian Cuisine" shouldn't even be used, except in the broadest sense.

To know that the British held sway in India for as long as they did, one can't really credit that cream was not adapted as a culinary ingredient. Even if it had been completely unknown prior to that era, which can hardly be the case in any culture where milk is utilized, it surely would have worked it's way into usage by now.

Yogurt is much more common (which isn't surprising, considering the lack of refrigeration in a primarily warm country)of course, but I have seen quite a few recipes calling for cream. And, though considering the antiquity represented by the cuisines of India, I am but the merest novice (I've only been playing with it for about 10 years), I think I can trust myself to recognize recipes that have been re-written for the non-Indian cook.

Potatoes are quite the popular ingredient, used by many of the Indian peoples, both in meat dishes, vegetable dishes, and alone. In fact, one of the things I love about the use of the potato in India, is that with the creative and judicious use of spices, herbs and other vegetables, the potato as cooked by an Indian housewife can be the nutritious, healthy food that it so often isn't in Western cooking, by the time we lace it with butter, cream, or cheese as is so often our wont.

Jessica, Indian cooking can be very healthy indeed! (Leaving out the tendency toward deep fried snack foods!) While many recipes call for ghee (a form of toasty, clarified butter), you needn't add it with a lavish hand as the flavor is quite rich and distinctive. In many recipes, you can substitute olive oil quite easily, if you prefer. The use of so many spices and herbs, and the various methods in which they are used lends such flavor to meats, vegetables and grains that the addition of copious amounts of fats or yet salt, becomes unnecessary.

Naturally, there are those curries that include fatty coconut milk, but then, if you eat the way a person in India eats, you won't be eating a big bowl of it, but a small portion along with vegetables, legumes and grains.

My love affair with the cuisines of India began with Dal. The lowly lentil, which was to my knowledge just something one made a pot of soup with sometimes, has been transformed into a magical food ingredient by the hands of Indian cooks.

I have read that it is a rare meal in India that does not include some version of legume. What we classify as lentils, peas and beans are all, "dal." Dal can be served in soups, porridge, breads, crackers, chips, snack nibbles, fritters, used as a base for thick sauces, toasted into crunchy bits to add texture, as a base for curries and stews...gosh, I'm sure I've left some uses out.

And they are so good for us! High in fiber, satisfyingly filling, cheap sources of protein, minerals and vitamins.

Okay, enough of my raptures...:D

Earlier in the thread, someone mentioned wanting a Southern Indian cook book?

I've a wonderful book that introduced me to the Vegetarian cuisine of Southern India, a style of eating quite different from much of what we Westerners think of when we think Indian foods. The recipes are mostly excellent but I must caution that the use of hot chilies is quite lavish. I have been accused of having an "asbestos mouth" by friends, but still I cut back quite a bit on the number of green, hot chilies and dried peppers the recipes call for. I figure, I can always add some hot sauce at table if needs be.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dakshin-vegetarian cuisine from south India

Rachelellen--it was I who asked about the southern Indian cooking and I will definitely look into that book. I thought I'd seen them all, but this isn't familiar to me. Thank you!

Rachelellen,

I didn't see your message when it was first posted. I'm glad it got bumped up because you lent some very good perspective to this topic.

Jim