The Curry Secret: Indian Restaurant Cookery at Home (Right Way S.) [Paperback]

Kris Dhillon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Right Way S. | Publication Date: October 2000

Most chefs guard closely the secret of their basic curry sauce, but in this book, Kris Dhillon reveals all, and offers you the opportunity to reproduce that elusive taste, in your own kitchen. Learn how to create chicken, lamb, fish and vegetable curries of mouth-watering quality as well as a wide variety of other Indian dishes.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kris Dhillon writes with the authority of an accomplished Indian restaurateur. With many years of experience and thousands of satisfied customers she is still flattered by the popularity of her recipes and by the volume of interest and debate they continue to provoke. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Elliot Right Way Books; 3rd edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0716020548
• ISBN-13: 978-0716020547
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kris Dhillon was born in the Punjab, the region known as 'the food basket' of India.At the age of five, she emigrated with her family to the UK. During visits to her grandmother and aunts, she developed a love of fresh Indian food and learnt how to create all the traditional Indian dishes. Kris's passion for good food later inspired her to open her own Indian restaurant.Realizing that people wanted to make Indian restaurant-style dishes at home, she wrote The Curry Secret and revealed for the first time the secrets that Indian chefs had kept to themselves since the first Indian restaurant opened.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TRUE Indian Restaurant cooking! Yum!, January 30, 2002

By 

Micheal O Mealoid - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curry Secret: Indian Restaurant Cookery at Home (Right Way S.) (Paperback)

This is a cookery book which allows you to re-create what you get in an Indian restaurant, rather than attempting to make authentic Indian food as they eat it in India! Most Indian recipe books that I have DO attempt to make authentic Indian dishes, and the result is often disappointing.

The trouble is that we here in the West obviously have only one place where we can experience Indian cooking, and that's in a restaurant. So when you cook at home, you expect to be able to reproduce just that. And at last, this book enables you to do it! I've been making Indian food for years, and, until now, never quite got it right. That was then, but this is now!

So, what's the secret? The secret is a special curry sauce, the making of which is described in detail in the book, and which is used as a base for most of the curry dishes. It's made of onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and oil - the spices come later - but the exact method, which is vital to the sauce, is a matter for you to buy the book for! Apparently all Indian restaurants have a big pot of this stuff on the go at all times. It explians how they're able to make a wide range of curries at a moment's notice.

So, to make a particular curry, you cook your meat and/or vegetables(depending on the dish), add your basic curry sauce, add a teaspoon here and there of various spices (again, depending on the dish), cook it for ten minutes and, hey presto!, there is your genuine Indian Restaurant dish. And it really works! I've tried it out, and the resulting meal was delicious, and exactly what you'd expect if you went out to a good place.

This book goes into all the usual detail in describing utensils, spices, methods, and so on. All the usual restaurant dishes are done, along with some starters, naan breads, desserts, etc. But I've yet to try these out (to be honest, I buy the naans - much less trouble).

For anyone who likes Indian food, and who likes to cook at home, this book is a must, and so reasonably priced too! Forget the big, glossy, hardback cookbooks with lots of pictures that cost a fortune! This book is all you need.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the few TRUE restaurant cookbooks., November 24, 2000

By 

"bobwalker1000" (Australia.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curry Secret: Indian Restaurant Cookery at Home (Right Way S.) (Paperback)

An avid fan of indian cuisine, I have many cookbooks. All of them,including some that claim to be 'restaurant cookbooks', fail. They all tend to give the usual classical recipes with small variations. This book is different. It gives the secrets away and the results are impressive. I found that in a short while I was able to produce authentic restaurant style currys etc in approx 10-15 minutes. Interestingly, this style of cooking can produce curries that have more flavour than the more elaborate styles. The author claims to be a chef in England which I can believe. He demonstrates knowledge, and exposes tips that it took me over 15 years of trial and error to learn. I wish I had this book earlier!

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the secret is in the sauce, and the measurements are correct, March 29, 2004

By 

Dr Veit U B Schenk "Business Performance Coach" (Mullheim, D) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curry Secret: Indian Restaurant Cookery at Home (Right Way S.) (Paperback)

excellent book on curries as they are served in *British* curry houses. I think this is where the confusion with the measurements arise. Someone before mentioned that the measures do not add up: they do add up if you are using British pints (550ml) and read the book carefully (the author mentions at the beginning that a cup is 'approximately a quarter pint or 5 fluid ounces'. If you use these measurements then 3/4pint (412ml), 425ml or 3 cups (3*1/4pint) add up quite well.