Indian and/or Middle Eastern cookbooks?

[Clouds]

Hi all,

I would describe myself as a little-bit-more-than-a-beginner cook with a lot of enthusiasm.

Can anyone recommend any Indian, Pakistani, Turkish, Middle Eastern cookbooks? Hopefully ones that produce authentic results without too much fuss.

Thanks.

[kitchenelf]

Well, I wish I could but I can't, sorry. You might just do a search on the Internet - if I were wanting to cook something Turkish, I would type Turkish Recipies into Google - http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...urkish+Recipes

This is what came up.

[incredible edible]

Here's a suggestion...Clifford Wright's A Mediterranean Feast. It's got over 500 recipes that span the Mediterranean rim, from Spain, Provence, Italy, Greece, Lebanon, Syria, and down the south coast of the sea.

Wright does tend to obsess a bit over "authenticity" in his recipes, so I've found myself amending recipes at times, but I've found a number of good foundations for my own recipes in there. Plus, Wright offers a boatload of scholarship and history on the recipes he gives.

Available through Amazon.com

[Clouds]

Thanks for the suggestion.

I'll check it out.

[subfuscpersona]

authentic: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi, 1987. Complexity of recipies varies but you'll find something to interest you. Good explanations. Includes instructions on making ghee, panir, masala, flatbreads,etc in case you can't get these locally.

Also cookbooks by Julie Sahni (somewhat Americanized but a good introduction)

Devi's book is out of print but still available on Amazon as are Sahni's cookbooks.

[jpmcgrew]

:D Theres a small book called Curries without worries its a great Indian food cook book.Its very small but gets you going and the recipes are fantastic.

[Clouds]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Since I posted the original message, I have bought a book called 'Simply Indian' by Tahera Rawji and Hamida Suleman. I like it. It has all the favourites like butter chicken, shami kebab, chicken biriyani, rasmalai, and a whole host of others.

I've tried several of the recipes and while some have turned out good, others needed a few attempts to get right, while others I have not yet mastered (such as the shami kebab). Well as long as I follow the golden rule in cooking I should be right ie. "don't serve a dish to your guests that you are attempting for the first time" lol.

[marmalady]

I love all of Madhar Jaffrey's cookbooks; she has a couple of Indian, and a middle eastern also, I believe. Very easy to read and understand, and she does a great job of 'westernizing' recipes and breaking them down to our 'Western' way of cooking.

[Darkstream]

You can also try these if you can get hold of them:

Indian Cookery by E P Veerasawmy,
Arco Publications, London 1964 - my first
Indian cookbook, a good introduction, but perhaps a bit basic now - may not be in
print now but check for alternative publishers

Indian Cookery by Dharamjit Singh,
Penguin Books, 1984 - excellent, wide
coverage, may not be in print again

The Complete Asian Cookbook by Charmain Soloman,
Grubb Street, London 2002,
ISBN 1904010180 covers all Asia, but with sections on India and Pakistan, and Sri
Lanka (Ceylon) IN PRINT

A Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden,
Penguin Books, 1973 - the best
all around book on Arab and North African cooking ever - still in print but perhaps
not with Penquin

[scott123]

I have a question. Are you trying to recreate your favorite dishes from your favorite restaurants?