I have been using the recipes from Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking since 1980. I have a number of Indian cookbooks, but I consider hers one of the best.

Classic Indian Cooking

I have 660 Curries and while there is a lot in it I haven't cooked much from it. There are different chilies and masalas that I don't ever have on hand or want to mix up since I don't cook Indian food much.

Madhur Jaffrey's books are well liked. I was planning on buying one but then discovered Taste of India sauce packets in the grocery store. They taste great and for as often as I make Chicken Curry it's perfect. That and some homemade naan makes for a happy hubby.

I also agree, I love Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni. I think it’s one of my only Indian cookbooks!

Check out the Another Subcontinent Forum. You'll find recipes and recipe help there. I've met a few of the members from that forum on a field trip to Artesia (Little India) a few years ago. They are all very friendly and helpful.

Many years ago, when I was still living in NJ, I went to an Indian restaurant in Somerville at the very end of the lunch hour, around 2:30pm. I had been eating at this particular restaurant for several months and had befriended one of the servers. At my request, she took me into the kitchen and introduced me to the head chef... a Jamaican! Well, with my love of jerk and all things Jamaican an easy card to play, we had a great time together for around 3 hours. He let me watch and take notes as he cooked dinner and prepared all the different curries he would need that night. He even showed me how to bake naan!

I do make one or two of his curry recipes from memory 25+ years later, but the rest of what he showed me - samosas, the naan bread, and all the other curries - never hit my kitchen. The point I'm making is that if your niece really wants to get the right info, she should give this method a try. The worst case scenario - the chef says no.

For a few years I was a devotee of Manjula's Kitchen, http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/

She has great videos.

I try, but I can't seem to get the knack for Indian cooking. I miss living near an Indian restaurant so I can easily satisfy my cravings. SO and I find it is not our favorite (at least my versions) so I don't make it that much anymore. Inevitably my attempts are lackluster. These days I just buy it pre-made mostly.

My buddy travels the world, and often brings me something edible from her travels. When she was in India, she brought me "Taste of India sauce packets". Imagine my surprise when I found them at my local grocery store! I use that, and Madhur Jaffrey's recipe for naan if I am cooking. Otherwise, I prefer to eat at our local Indian restaurant.

Madhur Jaffrey has a couple of good cookbooks. I will have to look at Classic Indian Cooking for another take.

I really do want to make more Indian foods (recently I tried my hand at making cauliflower pakoras, the restaurant I had them at is over an hour away in a direction I seldom drive. On the third attempt, I got it right! - it's the temperature of the oil...!)

I'm happy with my chicken tandoori when I can use a grill. And there are a few other recipes I'm pleased with in that department - but I am still not quite there yet with something like saag paneer (sometimes called palak paneer), which is one of my favorite items to order at Indian restaurants. At least all the Indian restaurants appear to have this on their menu!

I also want to learn to make the rasam soup that was served at the restaurant where I had the pakoras. Unfortunately, there appears to be a variety of rasam soup styles.

Check out Weave A Thousand Flavors, a cooking blog by a woman from India now living in the US. While she's branched out into cooking foods from everywhere, scroll down the left sidebar on your computer, and you will find many recipes dedicated to various regions in India.

I don't have a cookbook suggestion for you but I do have another suggestion: Indian cooking requires a lot of ingredients that you may not normally have in your pantry. I received a $100 gift certificate for Christmas last year and spend all of it on Indian ingredients on Amazon. When I got interested in Indian cooking I just looked at YouTube videos. There is one I like called "grandma" who is a real Indian from India who cooks outside. I think she is filmed by her grandson. Love her videos!

I've had ClassicIndianCooking for years. Used on Amazon, good condition, for under 10 bucks. Guessing most people don't really go for it at home.

This is a good place to start without a grill. (the broiler does a decent job.)

chicken tikka masala

I would definitely learn Naan. Very easy to master.

And the spices. The only real investment.

easy garam masala

She could google image 'Chicago Indian food trucks' and find the exact truck. They all have websites where they post their menus. She could check for the names of the dishes she liked.

Thanks, sjerin! I will give this a go!

One other thing I have discovered that I love to make are savory uttapam pancakes -- I've served them up to others, and they've been a big hit.

Tikka masala is Britain's favourite dish and was invented in Glasgow! Lol

A big thank you to everyone! My niece will be thrilled with all the advice!

l pinkmountain: thank you for providing that link to Manjula's videos! I've been watching non-stop lol

I have the Julie Sahni cookbook but I've found that I never use it. When I look up a recipe like Saag Paneer, it will include instructions like "first follow these steps to make your own Paneer" which will take about 48 hours, and then .....

Which is not very helpful when I'm looking for what to make for tonight.

I have devised and refined my own version of Saag Paneer, which while not "authentic" is relatively easy to make, and IMHO better than some I've had at restaurants.

CURRIED SPINACH WITH FETA CHEESE
MY INTERPRETATION OF THE INDIAN DISH: PALAK PANEER

Serves six to eight

16 oz frozen chopped spinach
1 cup water
4 tbsp Pataks mild curry paste
(or 2 tbsp curry paste, 2 tbsp mild curry powder)
1 stick butter
1 tbsp mint chutney
1 tbsp sweet mango chutney
4 oz feta cheese (cut into 3/4 inch cubes)

Put spinach and water in large pot, heat uncovered over medium heat
until spinach is thawed and simmering. Add curry paste, mint chutney and
mango chutney, continue to stir and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
Remove from heat, add feta cubes, stir thoroughly and serve with basmati
rice and/or lightly toasted pita bread.

If you cannot find the mint chutney you can substitute 2 tsp dried spearmint leaves.

---------------------------

If I can find the Julie Sahni cookbook, and if you are interested, I'll send it to you for the cost of shipping, since I virtually never use it, and not at all since moving a year and a half ago.

In my experience, Indian food is largely simple to make once you have your pantry stocked with the required ingredients and learn a few specific techniques. Reading through an authoritative cookbook with recipes from many regions will give you an idea of the different flavor profiles/ingredients that dominate those regions, as well as an understanding of techniques. I found Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries indispensable when I was learning to cook Indian food, and although I now feel confident enough with the spices and flavors to cook "off book," I still frequently refer to this book for inspiration and recipes.

Keep in mind that the food you get in Indian restaurants in America is not at all what most Indians are eating every day at home. There are also hundreds of recipes for any given dish, so the flavor of one cook's aloo gobi might be substantially different from another's. Cooking different versions of the same dish until you find the one you like best is another great way to learn about the cuisine and all of its subtleties.

I think that is my problem, I haven't found my ideal curry mixes, although I have had some delicious ones at restaurants. I have the same problem with Thai and Chinese, my versions are mostly mediocre. I'm not a huge fenugreek fan, which does limit me.

I love palak paneer but no way am I making my own paneer. I use goat cheese or mild feta, but definitely not the same dish.

I've made paneer many times, it's easy. I do make a couple of curries, also mango raitta, a friend and I are going to the only local Indian place next week, two things I really want to try that I've never had are samosas and pappadams.

One thing that helped me in cooking Indian food at home was that I was working with a lot of people who'd come to this country from India, and was thus able to ask them about some of the foods I worked on re-creating in my kitchen. I am retired now, so those culinary resources are now less available to me. (Although I remain in contact with a couple...)

Bob, I am afraid your version of saag paneer doesn't cut it for me. Even my failed attempts didn't come out as bland as yours sounds. I'm sorry. If you are happy with it, keep it, but I'm looking further.

Bob, did you mean to type 1 stick of butter?? Paneer is easy to make and I used to do so back in the day, but it does take some time. I don't think feta is a good substitute because paneer is very mild with no salt in it.

It's not an "easy or not easy" thing with me on paneer. I barely have time to eat, it's a time thing.

I agree with Biondanonima that Indian recipes vary from one cook to another, and I also saw that families make curry to their own taste, which is what I do. I generally reduce the amount of cinnamon because I do not like a strong cinnamon flavor (except in sweet recipes), and I adjust other spices to what I like. I buy naan instead of make it, since it is so easy to find. I do not make anything that I consider completely authentic, but then that is not my goal. A friend at work is from Sri Lanka, and he used to have a Sri Lankan restaurant, but that is different from Indian. He occasionally gives me samples of food that he makes.