When I first saw the cover of this slick, well produced, full color, hard cover book with its foreword by legendary chef Daniel Boulud, I thought for sure it would be an haute cuisine cookbook. You know, the kind that's fun to look at and dream about cooking the dishes, but you never actually do get around to doing it (Thomas Keller's French Laundry Cookbook and Michael Mina's book Michael Mina come immediately to mind). But the old proverb about not judging a book by its cover proved true. The recipes in Modern Indian Cooking are all relatively simple and quick to prepare. Even more surprising is that they're made - for the most part - from ingredients easily found in any American supermarket.

When I looked further and read the cover jacket, these facts weren't so surprising after all. The authors, instead of presenting traditional Indian dishes, are going for a modern take that makes Indian cuisine more accessible to western cooks. If you're looking for authenticity, look elsewhere. While there are some classics, much of the food here is Indian in nature, but with a strong western accent.

While the authors claim to be "recreating classic Indian dishes with simplistic techniques along with ingredients available to us all," the results, in our opinion, are more like a completely new fusion dish rather than a faithful recreation. Which is not necessarily a negative, quite the contrary. Our staff found many recipes they intend to try. And those new to Indian flavors will find this an easy introduction that is less likely to shock the unadventurous and picky eaters in the family.

Chapters include: Seasonings; Appetizers; Soups and Salads; Vegetables; Beans and Legumes; Rice; Poultry; Meat; Seafood; Breads; Desserts; Drinks; Accompaniments.

Sample Recipes-- CHeck This Book Out!
See the Related Recipes section below for free sample Indian fusion recipes from this book.