Customer Reviews

Mridula Baljekar's Real Balti Cookbook

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Last weekend, I pulled this book from my shelf and spent the ENTIRE day cooking from it. I can assure, after seeing the satisfied look on the face of my Indian husband, that the recipes in this book are the REAL thing. None of the recipes take long to prepare, and few of the ingredients are so exotic that you can't locate them in your supermarket. I tried the Karahi Chicken (which tastes just like what you'd find in your favorite curry shop!) Chicken Do Piaza (which is chicken braised with LOTS of onions - fabulous) Dahi Keema (ground lamb cooked in mint-spiced yougurt) and Palak Paneer. This last one requires the most exotic ingredients, dried fenugreek leaves and Indian cheese, called paneer. But if you can find these things, do make it - it's easy and I swear it tastes just like what you'd get in a restaurant.

I made all these in a non-stick wok, which I think is a must if you want to make sure the spices cook properly and don't burn, and the oil separates and floates to the top during cooking, which is an essential step in Indian cooking.

And I have a few quibbles about the order in which she adds ingredients: for example, I always saute the whole spices first, to perfume the cooking oil.

But this is one of the most authentic Indian cookbooks I have ever used, and one I will turn to constantly.

i am a gourmet and this book is a definate help for me.Its a book for anyone, who enjoys cooking indian food and like to have a "rich taste". The author also talks about the suitability for refrigeration, that i think is preety neat. 100% worth of money.