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Curry on Cooking - WIN: a signed copy!
Curry on Cooking
I would be lying if I said that when I married my Muslim Indian husband it wasn’t a culture shock. Coming from a diverse background myself, with a culturally wide range of friends and a career working in race relations, I was surprised when confronted with a culture I was unfamiliar with. I found myself stumbling around uncertainly, and I am sure my in-laws experienced something similar. However, while we all found our footing with each other and built relationships, part of that process for me was to spend time with my mother-in-law on her turf, which was her kitchen. I began learning the ways of what she had absorbed from Indian, African and British influences during varied economic climates and, perhaps most importantly, what she herself had learnt from her own mother, aunties, sisters and peers.
My mother-in-law’s kitchen
During sessions in my mother-in-law’s kitchen, I observed and learnt from her mastery of combining spices for a variety of dishes using ingredients I had never seen, smelt or tasted before. Today I am still in awe of even how she cuts certain foods and how she makes all the basic ingredients herself – as so many women of her generation do – with ease and dedication to feed her family and provide enough for those who happen to drop in.
I always used to say that in a previous life I must have been an army cook as the most horrifying thing for me was that there wouldn’t be enough food – obviously something I picked up from the older generation. This has always held me in good stead and, of course, makes it possible to really enjoy any leftovers as, when it comes to curries; they always taste better the next day!
Developing my own recipes
No matter how much effort I made, my cooking never seemed to taste like my mother-in-law’s. However, over the years I took the knowledge gleaned from her kitchen along with the experience of dining at Indian restaurants – from the authentic and tasty eating places in Southall to fine dining restaurants around the world – and created my own style and taste. I developed dozens of my own recipes, which became increasingly popular with friends and family.
After fourteen years, it is still exciting and interesting to me to master an Indian dish and exciting and challenging to create a new dish and try it out on our friends. My husband has always been endlessly grateful for my cooking and never ceases to praise me. However, the true barometer of my curries has always been my brother in-law, who would often in the early days tease me about my ‘mean curry’. Much time and several cook-offs (between us we have four daughters who are always the judges) have passed since then. He suggested I write this cookbook. And so, because I have also been asked by many people for recipes, here it is!
I am certainly not a chef
…nor would ever claim to be – although I have always loved cooking and am happy to try my hand at almost anything. Embarking on an Indian culinary journey was interesting as I have always been addicted to spicy food, often chopping up chillies to sprinkle over western food. The new tastes were very attractive to me.
Several friends laugh at me when after a few vino’s I accidentally put the chicken in the meat sauce and the meat in the chicken sauce (they actually mimic my reaction). But it all comes out fine in the end. It is not slap-happy but rather understanding what is a good base and what combines to make an appetising dish. A chicken tikka and lamb balti can end up the other way around – no problem! Similarly, it is fine to substitute spices if you don’t have the necessary ingredients to hand.
I am not a cook who slaves in the kitchen all day before a dinner party or a gathering of twenty. It is known that in our house we eat rather late because, as a general rule, I never start cooking before 6pm. Often the evening’s focus is over the hob, but that is because people are genuinely interested in how easy it is to cook a few curries. Curries often make for more of a supper than a dinner and are traditionally served in Britain to finish the night, not start it. Unlike other cuisines, I have never prepared and served Indian cooking as a long drawn-out dinner party. My style is to end the evening with a feast.
Don’t be afraid to experiment
This cookbook is designed to demonstrate how simple it can be to cook a delicious Indian meal for two, ten or twenty people in a very short space of time, without complicated instructions and on a very good budget. There are tips along the way that will help..
These recipes will not teach you to cook intricate Indian cuisine, and will in no way compete with experts on such fine dining. But that is the point! The book aspires to teach the interested how to make a quick and tasty curry (and extras) enough for all on a relatively small budget as well as de-mystifying the process for those who long to cook the exotic foods of India.
Indian cooking can be easy and even some mistakes along the way can be rectified. Don’t be afraid to experiment and don’t be too worried about getting it right. It is about confidence, not arrogance, and it is essential you enjoy it!
WIN A COPY OF WENDY’S BOOK!
Curry on Cooking; Quick and Tasty Indian dishes on a budget is released this month (Dec 2010). The book is designed to de-mystify the Indian cooking experience and gives over 65 original recipes using ingredients available from all major supermarkets. It aims to teach enthusiastic cooks to prepare a delicious Indian meal for two, ten or twenty – quickly, simply and inexpensively. There is also a section on how to cook for 20 people in under 60 minutes and for less than £30. You can order your copy here.
Or, for your chance to win a signed copy simply .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with your username or register as a new member and you’ll automatically be entered. Winner will be ‘picked out the hat’ on December 20th 2010 – Good Luck!
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About the author
Name: Wendy Alidina
Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website: http://www.mayopress.co.uk
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