An Invitation to Indian Cooking: A Cookbook

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Review “The final word on the subject . . . . Perhaps the best Indian cookbook available in English.” —Craig Claiborne, The New York Times   “A volume that had much to do with so many Indian dinner parties and countless curries being prepared in American and British kitchens. Something about [Jaffrey’s] recipes and writing style makes the cuisine seem exotic and enchanting while still entirely doable.” —Serious Eats   “Jaffrey’s graceful writing and fascinating content led me to trust her. . . . [An Invitation to Indian Cooking] invited and seduced me.” —Zanne Stewart, Gourmet About the Author Madhur Jaffrey is the author of many previous cookbooks—seven of which have won James Beard Awards—and was named to the Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America by the James Beard Foundation. She is the recipient of an honorary CBE from Queen Elizabeth II for her services to drama and promoting the appreciation of Indian food and culture. She is also an award-winning actress, having won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, with numerous major motion pictures to her credit. She lives in New York City. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Sweet Tomato Chutney Makes 2 1/2 cups I make this chutney with canned tomatoes. You could, if you like, use fresh tomatoes when they are in season and really tasty. To peel them, you will need to drop them in boiling vinegar. When the skin crinkles, life them out and peel. Then proceed with the recipe. When cooked, this chutney is sweet and sour, thick and garlicky. 1 whole head of garlic, peeled and coarsely choppedA piece of fresh ginger, about 2 inches long, 1 inch thick, and 1 inch wide, peeled and coarsely chopped1 1/2 cups wine vinegar1-pound 12-ounce can whole tomatoes (or 2 pounds fresh tomatoes prepared as suggested above)1 1/2 cups granulated sugar1 1/2 teaspoons salt1/8–1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper2 tablespoons golden raisins2 tablespoons blanched slivered almonds Put the chopped garlic, ginger, and 1/2 cup of the vinegar into the container of an electric blender and blend at high speed until smooth. In a 4-quart heavy-bottomed pot with nonmetallic finish, place the tomatoes and juice from the can, the rest of the vinegar, the sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper (or, if you prefer, add the cayenne at the end, a little at a time, stirring and tasting as you do so). Bring to a boil. Add purée from the blender. Lower heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until chutney becomes thick. (A film should cling to a spoon dipped in it.) Stir occasionally at first, and more frequently later as it thickens. You may need to lower the heat as the liquid diminishes. You should end up with about 2 1/2 cups of chutney, and it should be at least as thick as honey after it cools. If the canned tomatoes you use have a lot of liquid in them, a longer cooking time may be required, resulting in a little less chutney.Add the almonds and raisins. Simmer, stirring, another 5 minutes. Turn heat off and allow to cool. Bottle. Keep refriderated.To serve: Since this is one of my favorite sweet chutneys, I always spoon out a small bowl of it for all my dinner parties. It goes with almost all foods and is very popular. Store, bottled, in the refrigerator. It keeps for months.