Indian food can be intimidating for the home cook. The list of ingredients can be long and the unfamiliar. 5 Spices, 50 dishes by Ruta Kahate breaks it down and makes cooking Indian food at home pretty easy. If you already know how to cook and want to explore a different cuisine, this is an excellent cookbook for you.
There really are only 5 spices used in the book: coriander seed, cumin seed, mustard seed, cayenne pepper and turmeric. And they are not all used in every recipe. What I love about this cookbook is how it makes Indian food an everyday thing. I grew up with a father who cooked (and still does) curry with some regularity and I have continued to do the same, particularly when I was vegetarian. However, I had always thought of Indian food as more complicated, and as something that you only do together. Since using 5 Spices, 50 dishes, I have realised that I now have some great side dishes in my repertoire.
The book is nicely laid out with photos for most recipes. The instructions and ingredients are usually all on one page. Kahate includes a header note with each recipe. Sometimes it includes personal background information, other times notes on how to serve the dish or its cultural background. The notes make the cookbook more personal.
Kahate has some basic cooking techniques, one of them is making a tadka. This method involves heating oil to a high heat and then adding your spices. Often it begins with the mustard seeds, which then pop and more flavor is released, then other spices and then other ingredients. It also is a fairly fast technique and many the recipes are quick to fix.
You can also make things as spicy as you like -- I have been leaving out the cayenne pepper when cooking meals for my kids. And in some of the recipes fresh chilies may be called for, which I do not add -- so you can adjust the heat to your liking, or your audience's preference. I found that some ways of presenting garlic can add to the heat. I loved the recipe for a Cabbage Stir-Fry but my daughter was dismayed to encounter a large piece of crushed garlic (I would have loved it, and hope she will in time). The Cabbage Stir-Fry is quite simple and quick to make and is a great way to serve cabbage as a side dish. Other sides I plan to try include Corn with Mustard Seeds and Sweet Potatoes with Ginger and Lemon.
The first recipes I made were the Lamb Chops with a Spicy Rub and Railway Potatoes. The kids loved the lamb chops (I omitted anything that had any heat to it). The adults loved the Railway Potatoes (the recipe is given below). My comment at dinner was: I could eat way to much of these. I have made the recipe more than once now. I was skeptical at first that the potatoes would cook in the time stated, but they did and I am a believer. You do need to slice them thinly an I, of course, did not use nearly as much oil as the recipe calls for. It also uses mustard seed which I was pleased to find recently at my local Hy-Vee store.
I also learned a great new technique when making an egg curry. After Easter we had some hard boiled eggs to use up and coincidentally had some curry sauce left so I combined the two to make a quick egg curry. I used Kahate's technique from the Onion and Yogurt Egg Curry (which I do plan to make someday) where you brown the halved hard-boiled eggs in a separate pan, yolk side down first, before adding to the curry. This helped to keep the egg yolk in the white, which can be a problem otherwise. Great technique.
This book really is about making Indian food accessible to all and at that it really excels. I will use, and have used, the recipes in everyday ways and not just as an Indian dinner menu. So, add some spice to you cooking life!
Railway Potatoes, Serves 4 (generously)
1 1/2 lbs medium red potatoes
5 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (omit if you don't want it spicy)
Slice the potatoes lengthwise into quarters. Then cut them crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices.
Make the tadka: Heat the oil in a large wok over high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add the mustard seeds, covering the pan with a lid or spatter screen. After the seeds stop sputtering, add the turmeric and stir for a second. Immediately add the onion, potatoes, salt and cayenne. Toss well, cover, and cook on medium heat until the potatoes are tender, tossing occasionally, about 10 minutes. Serve now or pack in an airtight container to take on a road trip.
