Recommend a good Indian cook book (ingredients, vegetarian, powder, cooker)

[Dayton Sux]

I have two Indian (Indian from India) groceries very close to my home, and was thinking of taking advantage of their proximity by learning Indian cooking and using them as a source for ingredients.

Could someone here give me a good basic Indian?/Pakistani cookbook recommendation, for novices to this type of cuisne? I am an absolute beginner to Indian and Pakistani food. I think Pakistani food would be similar?

[jesusitadelnorte]

I've gotten a lot of use from Madhur Jaffrey's From Curries to Kebabs: recipes from the Indian spice trail. It has great pictures and I love the historical background info. This book will definitely put to good use all of those great ingredients at your Indian grocer.

[netwit]

This lady has a very good website, including videos explaining how to prepare Indian food. I like her palak paneer in particular. Manjula's Kitchen | Indian Vegetarian Recipes

[smokingGun]

If you're just a beginner cook (like me) try "5 Spices, 50 Dishes" by Ruta Kahate. My only advise is that the aroma of frying spices is pungent & you may want to make the dishes outside on the side burner of your gas bbq if you don't want your kitchen to smell like Indian food for the next few days

[MRBookworm]

In my mind Madhur Jaffrey has the market cornered. I got started with South Asian cooking when my children gave me an Indian cooking kit - a variety of Indian spices and a small cookbook from MJ with descriptions of the flavors and uses in meats, vegetables etc. I now have 3 or 4 of her cookbooks.

Neeta Saluja has a cookbook out called Six Spices, that gives the user a much simpler approach than much of South Asian cooking. By way of an example a typical MJ recipe will call for 10-12 spices in 3 flights - a "tarka" which is whole spices fried in the cooking oil, then a second flight of seasonings added to the dish after the majority of ingredients have been added, then a 3rd flight added shortly before serving. Ms.Saluja's book makes this much simpler with no dish needing more than 6 herbs/spices or masalas (spice blends - curry powder would be an anglicised masala)
Start with your local library, so that you don't wind up spending $10 - $30 on a cookbook that you will only use a few times.

[Heidi60]

If you are still active on this string, give this site a try:

Famous Indian Chefs

Also, google any dishes you try and like at a restaurant to make at home. It has taken me many years but I think I'm finally started to develop my own voice when it comes to Indian cookery. Be patient.