1,000 Indian Recipes (40 page)

Copyright © 2002 by Neelam Batra

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., New York, NY

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Batra, Neelam.
1,000 Indian recipes / Neelam Batra.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-1972-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Cookery, Indic. I. Title.
TX724.5.I4 B3597 2002
641.5954—dc21 2002008124

Publisher: Natalie Chapman
Executive Editor: Anne Ficklen
Senior Editor: Linda Ingroia
Production Editor: Helen Chin
Cover Design: Edwin Kuo
Interior Design: Holly Wittenberg
Manufacturing Buyer: Kevin Watt
Cover Illustration: Elizabeth Traynor

Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8

First Edition

Praise for 1,000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra

“This is the definitive book on Indian cuisine. The recipes are authentic, delicious, and accessible.”

—Hans Rockenwagner, chef and proprietor of Rockenwagner and Ballona restaurants (Los Angeles)

“Collections of Indian recipes seem to run effortlessly into the hundreds, and here are a thousand recipes! Yet Neelam Batra has succeeded in making a new compilation that is completely intriguing, filled with many recipes I’ve never seen before. I can’t wait to sample her many recipes for paneer, her salads and flatbreads, and of course, the chutneys and curries. In short, the whole book looks terrific. Make room for Neelam Batra’s book on your kitchen bookshelf!”

—Deborah Madison, author of Local Flavors, Cooking and Eating From America’s Farmers’ Markets and Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

“Neelam’s perfect translations of Indian street foods had us wanting to get into the kitchen and cook. Neelam captures all the flavor and complexity of this amazing cuisine and makes it accessible to the home cook.”

—Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, chefs and owners of Border Grill and Ciudad

“Neelam’s passion and knowledge of her homeland’s cuisine and history shine through on every page. Both experts and novices alike will find this encyclopedic compendium of Indian dishes refreshing and insightful.”

—Nancy Silverton, executive pastry chef of Campanile and owner of Campanile and La Brea Bakery (Los Angeles)

“In all of my travels in over 30 years, I have found no comparison to a great Indian meal, and what Neelam Batra has given us is the amazing variety of Indian foods that we can enjoy. 1,000 Indian Recipes is a magnificent book on anything and everything you may want to know on Indian cuisine and recipes.”

—Vijay Amritraj, international tennis star, actor, entrepreneur, and United Nations Messenger of Peace

Dedication

To my father who showers blessings from the heavens above

To my mother for being the silent force behind me and what I am

To my mother-in-law for loving and believing in me

To my husband for making all my dreams come true

To my son-in-law Monti, you're the son I never had

To my daughters Sumita and Supriya for telling me, "because you're Mumma"

I love you all

Acknowledgements

I am overwhelmed by the love and inspiration I get from my family and my friends, having them right by my side sharing my experiences. Their words of encouragement and creative comments, and their enthusiastic support every time I raised my hand, means everything. This book is as much theirs as it is mine. I will always remain thankful for all the ideas, insight, special tips, and authentic recipes that have made this book so complete.

Many thanks to my mother, Rani Bhatla, and my mother-in-law, Prakash Batra, for guiding me with their encyclopedic knowledge. Thanks to my dear husband, Pradeep, who made this book possible by making me sign on the dotted line, and for his unflagging confidence in me. That's what really kept me going! And thanks to my darling daughters, Sumita and Surpiya, and my son-in-law, Monti, who continued to encourage my intense work over the four-year period it took to create this book!

Thanks to my brothers and sisters, Rakesh and Renu Bhatla, Veena and Sushil Dua, Raj and Asha Puri, Amita Batra, Virender and Reita Bhalla, Pushpa and Giri Khatod, and to Sanjokta Bhanji for their ideas and recipes and the numerous cups of tea to keep me going.

Special thanks to Sunil and Anita Vora and to Bharti and Ashwani Dhalwala for being my advisors and culinary pillars of support. A warm thanks also to Vivek Bhaman for running to my side everytime I had a computer panic attack. Am I glad they had all the answers!

My heartfelt thanks to my cousins and friends who shared their recipes, knowledge, and part of themselves: Sunita and Romesh Chopra, Billoo and Poonam Bhatla, Mini and Rajan Aneja, Upma and Vikram Budhraja, Poonam and Lalit Pant, Neelam and Raghu Rai, Kiran and Ashok Malik, Ranjana and Ranbir Wasu, Raj and Baljit Ahluwalia, and Madhu and Anoop Sharma, Naina and Madhukar Kapadia, Chitra and Sudesh Arora, Dimple and Raju Patel, Yasmin and Hadi AliKhan, Rosita and Ajit Dighe, Anu and Ravi Khatod, Falguni and Ajay Jalota, Neelam and Naresh Malhotra, Anju and Ashok Khanna, Madhu and Harish Seth, Shahina and Balinder Bhalla, Rita Bhalla, Kanta Kaytee, Shanti Aneja, Nimmi Sawhney, Rita Sawhney, Khushnoor Chugh, Prabha Chauhan, Amita Molloy, Jaywanti Thakar, Bharti Mahendra, Promella Dhar, Sushi Mysoor, Manju Bansal, Nirmala Bhavnani, Moyne Puri, Rama Srinivasan, Raghu Nanjappa and his family in Coorg, and Apurva Chandra.

Many thanks to Sanjay Bargotra, Steve Edwards, Akshay Dhalwala, Nitin Bhatla for all your technical support, from setting up my computer to making sure I knew how to use it. Sohini Baliga, thanks for helping with the writing during the initial stages of the book.

My thanks also, of course, go to Maureen Lasher, my agent. And last but not the least, many thanks to Linda Ingroia, my editor and my friend at Wiley, for making my dream a reality. Linda, your queries and comments have made all the difference. Thanks also go to the diligent and creative team that whipped this book into shape: Erin Connell, assistant editor; Helen Chin, production editor; Holly Wittenberg, designer; Kristi Hart, managing editor; Beth Adelman, copy editor; and Edwin Kuo, art director.

Introduction

Indian cuisine offers an astounding variety—from simply spiced salads and yogurt dishes (
raitas
) to complex curries, breads, and layered rice dishes (
biryanis
). These dishes, with their unique flavors, aromas, and textures, represent the culinary creativity of one of the earliest and most complicated melting pots of the world—India.

While north India excels in flatbreads, south India has an entire genre of food based on rice in various forms. Both coasts are famous for their seafood preparations, which vary depending on where you are on the coasts. The ways in which Bengalis, from the eastern state of Bengal, prepare fish—with mustard and turmeric—differ radically from how the people from the southwestern state of Kerala do it, with coconut and more coconut. And in the central parts of India, where people are mostly vegetarian, they have created culinary wonders with their primary sources of protein—grains, and beans, lentils, and peas—most commonly referred to as
dal
.

There was a time when all roads led to India—whether it was a stop on the way to equally exotic China, or a final destination. The Greeks, Huns, Persians, Chinese, Jews, Zoroastrians (now Parsis from Iran) French, Dutch, and finally, the British, all traveled through or to India. Some came to visit, some sought refuge, some came to trade, and some to conquer.

They brought their cultures and traditions along with them, some of which influenced India's local cuisines. Add to this India's size and its complex mix of communities based on religion, language, geography, and economic and social status, and the result is a truly multicultural cuisine.

Evidence of the cuisine's variety is only touched upon in America's Indian restaurants. Indian food is not limited to what's served in these restaurants—from the many fast food joints that dot Venice Boulevard in West Los Angeles to the delicious but intricate and elaborate preparations taking gourmands in New York by surprise. But as more Indians come to the United States, bringing their food customs with them, and as more restaurant chefs experiment with varied Indian ways of cooking, this fascinating realm of food is slowly being explored.

In
1,000 Indian Recipes
, I've bridged the gap, capturing recipes from all over the country. Even 1,000 recipes doesn't cover all the wealth I discovered in my travels and in preparing recipes in my kitchen, but you have in this book a wonderful collection of recipes that will make Indian home cooking a pleasure. The average Indian meal is delicious, and, contrary to popular belief, not at all complicated or difficult to make. If you can cook at all, you can cook Indian food. It just takes practice and having the right ingredients.