Indian Cookbook Author Madhur Jaffrey: Bookshop Santa Cruz appearance and recipe review

Indian cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey appears at Bookshop Santa Cruz on October 25 to promote her newest cookbook, and I can personally vouch for two of the recipes.

“At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka” is a terrific cookbook with 190 recipes including Red Lentil Curry Soup and Salmon in a Bengali Mustard Sauce. Last night I used it to make two dishes, Stir-Fried Chettinad Chicken (a spicy entrée that requires 30-minute marinating but only 7 minutes of cooking) and Swiss Chard with Ginger and Garlic (I used chard purchased from the Aptos Farmers Market the day before, and the freshness really made the flavors come alive). They were simple recipes that produced delectable results, and the recipe ingredients are all easy to find. The ones that weren’t as common, urad dal and curry leaves, included an author’s note that yellow split peas and basil leaves could be substituted – which is what I used. I ate the two savory dishes with Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains because that’s my go-to healthy, easy couscous-orzo-quinoa side and goes well with a lot of entrees, but the chicken and chard would be well complemented by basmati or brown rice, with perhaps a little Greek-style yogurt to provide some cooling.

The author is known for making Indian cuisine very accessible to the novice home chef, and she once again delivers with this book. As Jaffrey writes in the introduction, the recipes “…are simple to being with…very often all you require is a little oil, a few whole spices, and the vegetable or fish. Saute and it is done.” Also, Jaffrey uses “…a smaller palette of spices” which makes the recipes even easier while not sacrificing any flavor. She has said of this book: “Whether you are cooking Indian Food for the first time or just looking for new ideas, this is the book that will show you how to do it with ease.” Jaffrey has written several cookbooks; six have won the James Beard Award – including her first book, “An Invitation to Indian Cooking” (1973), and “Madhur Jaffrey’s Taste of the Far East” (1993), voted Best International Cookbook and Book of the Year. She is a legendary chef, not to mention an award-winning actress with a new film coming out in November (“Today’s Special”). Her memoir, “Climbing the Mango Trees,” was published in 2006. Learn more about Jaffrey at her web site.

The Bookshop Santa Cruz event, at 7:30pm, includes samples of Jaffrey’s recipes prepared by store staff. I’ve gone to a few readings at Bookshop where staff members make food from author cookbooks, and they always do a terrific job. I recommend showing up quite early for this reading: Jaffrey is known for being a great storyteller and she has a huge following. The event is bound to be extremely crowded.

The Details

Monday, October 25, 2010

7:30pm

Cookbook Author Madhur Jaffrey

Bookshop Santa Cruz

1520 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz

831-423-0900

Please follow me on Twitter @santacruzfoodie.

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