i always feel very drawn toward the principles behind and the nutrition choices involved in indian food.
most indian food i have had, i have loved.
the aunts in oregon bought me a hare krishna vegetarian cookbook filled to the brim with vedic cooking techniques, explanations and recipes….and it is soooooo intimidating, even for all my love of cooking.
i think part of it is that indian food seems to be all about creating 3-4 dishes, chosen from the different “genres” to compliment one another. and i start to feel overwhelmed when i think about choosing and making meals that can a) feed an army (which isn’t practical on an everyday level) and b) feels so complicated due to the number of different dishes.
does anyone out there cook indian food regularly? are there tips for how to approach this so it feels less daunting? i am excited to learn some of the new techniques, such as browning spices before cooking with them, but there is just so much to absorb.
part of me wonders if it isn’t on the same level as cooking turkish food, which is really all about sucking it up and devoting a day to it. which is why i usually only cook turkish food for a large gathering once every few years 😉
the other kicker is that the boy may or may not be convinced to eat said food, so it may be more of a weekend-cooking, weekday-lunch-eating endeavor for me.
anyway, any advice is much appreciated!
Indian food is interesting. I dont cook it much, but my mother does. We’ve never worried about complimenting dishes and stuff like that, we just make what we like and make sure theres enough to fill us up. Usually this involves making something with lentils in it instead of chicken soup when I’m sick or making rice and a good curry sauce. And yeah a lot of it is designed to feed a large community because that’s how they live. But it’s easy enough to either scale down the portions or end up with leftovers for a week. 🙂
Next time we’re hanging out, I’ll make my coconut milk chicken curry for you. If you make it right, it’s a whole meal by itself. It will also feed and army and keep for a few days, but at least you only have to make one dish to get a complete meal. We can probably arrange is so Husband #1 can eat it. 🙂
You can look through my Complete Guide to Asian Cooking (or whatever it’s called). It has a section on Indian food that can get you up to speed pretty fast, and it where my recipe comes from. All the indians I’ve spoken to about cooking say it’s way easier than you think it is. Also, indian grand mothers often just use a good curry paste, so there’s no need to fret over what spices to throw in if you can find one of those.
The blog Quick Indian Cooking seems like it’d be a great resource, she has several recipes up on the first page that only serve 2-6, instead of 20. Her entire approach is good, quick recipes that fit into a busy modern lifestyle.
Hooked on Heat also has an Indian Cooking 101 guide designed to gently introduce you to Indian cooking by starting with the basics and working from there, including shortcuts.
I make curry sometimes and that’s pretty fast and easy. I just don’t do it often because I swear my apartment smells like curry for at least a week afterward.
There are many awesome Indian cookbooks out there.
If at all possible, buy spices from an Indian grocer. White people garam masala is usually just not as good.