Cookbook: 660 Curries

the appetizer:

Learn the basics of Indian food and curries with 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer, including primers on Cooking Rice and how to make Ghee, or Clarified Butter; and a recipe for Stewed Pineapple with Raisins and Chiles (Anaras Ambol).

Cookbook

660 Curries

by Raghavan Iyer

Click to buy 660 Curries

curry, n. — any dish that consists of either meat, fish, poultry, legumes, vegetables, or fruits, simmered in or covered with a sauce, gravy, or other liquid that is redolent with any number of freshly ground and very fragrant spices and/or herbs.

Curry is Salmon with Garlic and Turmeric. Curry is Grilled Chicken with Cashew-Tomato Sauce. Curry is Asparagus with Tomato and Crumbled Paneer. Curry is Lamb with Yellow Split Peas, Chunky Potatoes with Spinach, Tamarind Shrimp with Coconut Milk, Baby Back Ribs with a Sweet-Sour Glaze and Vinegar Sauce, Basmati Rice with Fragrant Curry Leaves. Curry is vivid flavors, seasonal ingredients, a kaleidoscope of spices and unexpected combinations. And 660 Curries is the gateway to the world of Indian cooking, demystifying one of the world's great cuisines.

Presented by the IACP's 2004 Cooking Teacher of the Year, Raghavan Iyer, 660 Curries is a joyous food-lover's extravaganza. Mr. Iyer first grounds us in the building blocks of Indian flavors—the interplay of sour (like tomatoes or yogurt), salty, sweet, pungent (peppercorns, chiles), bitter, and the quality of umami (seeds, coconuts, and the like). Then, from this basic palette, he unveils an infinite art.

There are appetizers—Spinach Fritters, Lentil Dumplings in a Buttermilk Coconut Sauce—and main courses—Chicken with Lemongrass and Kaffir-Lime Leaves, Lamb Loin Chops with an Apricot Sauce. Cheese dishes—Pan-Fried Cheese with Cauliflower and Cilantro; bean dishes—Lentil Stew with Cumin and Cayenne. And hundreds of vegetable dishes—Sweet Corn with Cumin and Chiles, Chunky Potatoes with Golden Raisins, Baby Eggplant Stuffed with Cashew Nuts and Spices. There are traditional, regional curries from around the subcontinent and contemporary curries. Plus all the extras: biryanis, breads, rice dishes, raitas, spice pastes and blends, and rubs.

About the Author

Raghavan Iyer is the author of Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking and The Turmeric Trail: Recipes and Memories from an Indian Childhood. In 2004, he won the IACP Award of Excellence for Cooking Teacher of the Year. Mr. Iyer teaches, cooks, writes, and lives with his family in Minneapolis, Minnesota.