Murdoch Books - The Food of India

This book began my addiction to “from scratch” cooking. Being able to pull half a dozen spices out from your pantry and use them to create a meal is very rewarding, especially when you are entertaining. Nothing beats being able to tell your guests that you made it all yourself.

The Food of India does not require the use of store brought pastes or spice mixes. Before you buy this book, I recommend you locate your nearest Indian grocery store, because there are certain spices (e.g. e.g. black salt, ajowan and amchoor powder) that may not be able to be purchased from your local grocery store. It is well worth going out of your way to buy these spices, as the resulting meals are amazing.

Recipes in this book are plentiful, well written, and easy to follow. Being a novice cook, I am glad to see that there are photographs for each of the recipes showing the completed dishes. The author has included a brief overview of Indian cuisine, including its regions, influences, food myths and the way in which meals are served. There is also a generous glossary which includes alternative names for some of the ingredients should you have trouble locating them.The recipies are divided into the following sections:

• Tiffin
• Fish and Seafood
• Poultry and Meat
• Vegetables
• Pulses
• Rice and Grains
• Breads
• Accompaniments
• Sweets and Drinks
• Basics

Chicken with corriander and almonds,
chucumber, aloo chaat and rice

What I like most is that you can grab dishes from either of these sections and put them together to make an outstanding banquet. I use this book a lot when entertaining guests, especially foodies. According to our Indian friends, authenticity wise, this book is a winner.

Some of my favourite recipes from this book are lamb madras, naan bread, chana masala, aloo chaat and chucumber. The peanuts used in chucumber are lovely. I always make extra peanuts and serve them as a pre-dinner snack. They also make good homemade Christmas gifts, especially for the people who make a point to get as many peanuts as possible in their serving of chucumber.

If I were allowed only one Indian cookbook, The Food Of India, would be that book. It is suitable for all levels of cooking ranging from complete novice to experienced cook (this was my first cookbook!). I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves Indian food.

Sophie Gray - "Destitute Gourmet" Series

I first discovered the “Destitute Gourmet” series of cookbooks in late 2007. At the time, we were scrounging together enough money to move out of home. We had to buy everything, but more importantly, I had to learn to cook.

I wanted to learn how to cook properly, not just open a few jars, reheat, and serve. I wanted to learn how to stock a pantry and cook from scratch. Sophie’s books fit perfectly with what I was trying to achieve. Destitute Gourmet is centred around three principles: shop smart, eat healthy and in season, and make something luxurious go a long way.

When I found out that a male friend of mine was planning to leave home for the first time, the first gift I gave him was Delicious because I did not want him to fall into the trap of takeaway meals and microwave dinners.


When you go to a bookstore and browse the general cookery section, there is no shortage of novice cookbooks. I chose a Destitute Gourmet book because:

• it is educational. Each Destitute Gourmet book contains a few pages discussing the three core principles;
• the recipes are interesting, easy to follow, and work; and,
• most importantly, all of the ingredients used are easily obtainable at your local supermarket.

I was surprised to find that the Destitute Gourmet series is not available for purchase through Amazon.com , because The Destitute Gourmet message is universal.

I have learned a lot from these books. Initially, you will find that many of the tips Sophie incudes in her book are common sense, but it is not until you apply them that the message really starts to hits home.

If you want to get a feel for the Destitute Gourmet principles, and their style of cooking, I would recommend you visit the Destitute Gourmet website.

Unlike other recipe series, Destitute Gourmet does not re-hash old recipes. Each book contains new and interesting content. I would not hesitate to recommend these books to any number crunching, every day, sensible foodie.

Like many people, I am addicted to this series. I own five of the six Destitute Gourmet cookbooks and will be reviewing each one over the comming months. Hopefully it will not be long before I am able to review the sixth book: 100+ Tasty Ten Dollar Meals. If you have it, please leave a comment and let me know what you think.