Cafe Spice Cookbook: 84 Quick and Easy Indian Recipes for Everyday Meals

By Hari Nayak and Jack Turkel

This easy-to-follow Indian cookbook allows home chefs to recreate their favorite dishes with delicious results.

The Cafe Spice Cookbook presents delicious Indian recipes featuring all-natural ingredients that enable one to create delicious meals in minutes. It is inspired by the Cafe Spice line of "grab n' go" Indian meals found in Whole Foods and Costco, and now on college campuses across the U.S.A.

This Indian cooking book provides you with all the instructions you'll need to prepare healthy Indian food anywhere and anytime, using ingredients available at any supermarket or health food store. Tempting offerings like Chicken Tikka Masala and Shrimp & Mango Curry will thrill your friends and delight your family.

Favorite Indian recipes include:

• Shrimp Stuffed Pappadum
• Chickpea Curry with Sweet Potato
• Okra Masala
• Paneer with Creamed Spinach
• Lobster Khadai
• Tandoori Spiced Roasted Chicken
• Pork Vindaloo
• Tomato and Curry Leaf Quinoa
• Naan Bread
• Milk Dumplings in Saffron Syrup
• And many more!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Release date: Apr 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781462915170

Book preview

An Introduction to Indian Ingredients

The following is a description of some of the most commonly used Indian ingredients. Many of the ingredients and spices used in this book are found in well-stocked supermarkets. These include cumin, coriander, turmeric, mace, black pepper, ginger, paprika, cayenne pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom. Some others are carried in South Asian or Indian food markets or are available by mail and on the internet (see Shopping Guide, page 140).

Indian cuisine has always been very receptive to spices and ingredients from other cuisines and cultures. For example, in India and in Indian homes around the world, it is very common to use Sriracha chili sauce or soy sauce to jazz up Indian stir-fry dishes or dipping sauces that are inspired by other Asian cuisines. (See Spiced Crab Cakes, page 82, and Dried Bombay Beef, page 106.)

In this book I use some ingredients that are not used in a traditional Indian kitchen. Olive oil is one of them. Even though in most cases Indian recipes call for any neutral-flavored vegetable oil (for example, canola, safflower, or corn oil), olive oil is a healthier alternative. I use it often to drizzle over salads (Sweet Potato and Sprout Salad, page 44) and sometimes for lighter cooking and simple vegetable dishes.

Traditionally whole-milk yogurt is hung in a muslin cloth to drain out all the whey to create the creamy, thick yogurt known as hung curd that is ideal for many authentic Indian recipes—particularly to marinate chicken or meats and make creamy sauces and dips. Rather than take the time to hang plain yogurt at home, I use either sour cream or the increasingly available thick, Greek-style plain yogurt. Both are perfect alternatives for the Indian thick, creamy yogurt.

Storage Tips for Spices and Herbs

Ideally, it is best to buy all dry spices in their whole form. Whole spices will stay fresh generally five to six months longer than pre-ground spices. It’s a good habit to smell ground spices before using them; if their smell is very faint, it’s time to replace them or grind a fresh batch. Both whole and ground spices should be stored in a cool, dry, dark place in tightly covered jars. Freshly ground spices are not the same as pre-ground, store-bought spices. Freshly ground spices are far superior in flavor and aroma to pre-ground spices. Another difference is volume: Freshly ground spices have less density tablespoon for tablespoon and less volume ounce for ounce than pre-ground spices, which settle over time. You might think you would need to use more of the freshly ground spice to compensate for the greater weight of the settled, and therefore denser, pre-ground bottled spice. But because pre-ground spices are so much less potent than freshly ground, the difference in volume is not of consequence. If anything, you might need to add more of the pre-ground spice.

To prolong the life span of fresh herbs, such as fresh coriander (cilantro) and mint, wash the leaves and dry with a paper towel until the leaves are mostly, but not completely, dry. Store refrigerated, wrapped in a paper towel, inside a zip-lock bag.