Modern Indian Cooking Cookbook Review
We gathered in my kitchen and around my table to share what we had learned while visiting our local spice markets and working through the pages of Modern Indian Cooking written by Hari Nayak and Vikas Khanna. A common sentiment was that this is a beautifully designed and photographed book full of so many recipes that it was difficult to choose which to make.
Once we began to peel the layers, we discovered that while the book is beautiful, there are some flaws. First was the lack of headnotes. The headnote is a vital part of a recipe – it can offer insight, additional information about an ingredient, a personal anecdote that makes the cook feel connected with the author, so many things that tie the book together and give it a soul. The headnotes were sadly missed. Second, with the abundance of unique spices it would have been helpful to have a glossary in the back or a section in the front that educated the reader about the spices that were widely found in the recipes. We found that the front matter about “Seasonings” wasn’t as comprehensive or as detailed as we would have liked it to be. And finally, with sections of recipes for sides, rice, breads, and accompaniments, each recipe would have been well served to have some “serve with” ideas that cross-referenced other recipes.
As far as our cooking endeavors, recipes from most sections of the book were represented. We started with the Tangerine Carrot Cooler (p.167) then flowed into soup where two people made Curry Corn Chowder with Roasted Poblanos (p.40) with two different results – both tasty, one with a lot more heat from the poblanos than the other. Next was Ginger and Lemon Grilled Chicken (p.18) that won raves around the table. The salads we made included Carrot and Cucumber Salad with Spiced Mustard Dressing (p.33) – this recipe was given a complete overhaul and ended up a winner despite it self! And Radish Salad with Peanuts (p.32) – crunchy texture meets salty, nutty, bitter flavor resulting in a sensory treat. 
In the Vegetable chapter, we tasted Aromatic Butternut Squash & Coconut (p.48) which was made by two people with different flavors, colors, and recipe challenges – very interesting.
The yield from the Beans and Legumes Chapter included Yellow Lentils with Baby Spinach (p.74) and Hot and Sour Chickpeas (p.67) where we learned about the quest for dried mango powder. No one cooked from the Rice chapter although we all commented that several of the recipes looked good and a few of us had tried them while we were working through the book. The Poultry chapter was also passed over. Coincidentally, the two recipes from the Meat section were both meatballs – different meatballs but meatballs nonetheless. Kashmiri Lamb Meatball Paprikash (p.113) made my mouth water when looking at the picture but ended up being the biggest disaster of the night. The meatballs didn’t stick together, the broth had issues, needed more liquid, and wasn’t as tomatoey as one would have expected from the photo, and when sampled, had a slimy lamb mush mouthfeel. It was really sad. On the flip side, the Cashew Coconut Meatballs (p.114) held their shape and had a good flavor and texture.
The Bread section was represented with Toasted Cumin Chapatis with Orange (p.140). We learned that the difference between chapatis and naan is that chipatis is made with out yeast and is a flat bread while naan has yeast and is puffy. Someone gave Rosemary Naan (p.138) two tries – both unsuccessful – and there was no naan at the table but an accounting of the experience.
After all of the above it was finally time for dessert – and with 3 professionally trained bakers, dessert at MKMT never disappoints. We started with two people making Chai Crème Brûlée (p.158), once again there were two different textures, flavors, and colors – one thick and the other more viscous, one tasted more like a chai latte and the other like smoky tea leaves, one a darker brown and the other like milky coffee. We decided that mixed together, they would be perfect although my preference leaned toward the lighter chai latte one. The Valrhona Chocolate Burfi with Toasted Coconut (p.156) received the big thumbs up and won the prize for the most expensive dish of the night between the 1 lb of almond paste and 1 cup of Valrhona chocolate there were big $$$$ spent on this recipe. We decided it was worth it but the next time, a different type of chocolate may be substituted. Pink Peppercorn Chocolate Truffles (p.162) were a hit and a sensation between the lips – most everyone ended up with a peppercorn in the middle of theirs which elicited a reaction of surprise followed by a small choke or gulp and finished with a “WOW”. That chocolate/pepper combo is powerful!
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Our final dessert Spiced Almond Cookies (p.151) were an afterthought and looked as if they’d be a no-brainer to make. I am still not sure what happened but the little “teaspoon-size balls” that the recipe told me to make never flattened out like the picture, they remained little teaspoon-size balls and weren’t very pretty. They tasted good and the group seemed to like them. In fact, the second batch were pressed flat to resemble the picture but they dried out and weren’t as good as the balls.
In the end we were all glad that we had tried the book in spite of some of the recipes that didn’t work very well and the lack of headnotes. We sampled 19 recipes, quite a variety, with something from most chapters. It is fair to say that we all found recipes that we’d try for ourselves and make again and even recommend to friends. I also think that some of us will dig deeper into the book and cook from it some more.
Stay tuned over the next couple weeks while MKMT posts some of the winners so you can try them at your kitchen table.
Modern Indian Cooking
Copyright 2007 © Hari Nayak
Published by Silverback Books
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