Book review

A brilliant selection of curry recipes from every corner of the Indian subcontinent

‘The curry goes international with a vengeance in this wide-ranging collection of recipes, not a few of them originals. Beginning with curried soups (starting, inevitably, with that hoary Raj relic, mulligatawny), Rai goes on to give a good selection of vegetable, meat, fish, chicken, and rice-based curries. A bonus to those who find curry-making too time consuming are three basic sauces: Persian, Mughal and Madras, which can be fridge-stored to make an “instant” curry. Another boon to the harried cook is the clarity with which Rai sets out his recipes—measurements are provided in metric, British and American systems and each curry progresses from “singlefry” (Rai’s term for that tricky process of bhunao) masala, through “follow-up” and “during cooking” masalas to “finishing” masala and “garnish” masala... With sections on raitas, accompaniments, this is a tempting medley of curried concoctions, with not only “heart”, but plenty of soul.’
—Indian Express

‘Though the concept of curries is common to most Indians, one is surprised at the amazing variety Rai has been able to present.’
—The Hindustan Times

‘From a wide-ranging collection, Rai, a gastrophile by disposition, a gourmet cook by choice and a businessman by profession, has culled for this book some of the better-known recipes, some from his personal repertoire, some interesting innovations and some rare ones he went to great lenghts to procure.’
—The Economic Times