Murdoch Books - "Food of" Series

 

The "Food of Series" is a fascinating seven book series, each of which is dedicated to one particular cuisine. The seven cuisines covered in this series are Indian, French, Italian, Thai, Chinese, Spanish, and Moroccan.

I first came across these books when my cousin gave me "The Food of India" as a Christmas present in 2007. This book had me hooked on the series. What I loved most about this book and the others in this series, is the use of raw ingredients i.e. I was not required to buy readymade pastes from the supermarket.

Making each dish from scratch can be time consuming, however, it allows you to get a true appreciation for the cuisine, and later adapt the dishes to suit your or your guest’s, individual tastes.

I later found "The Food of Italy" and "The Food of Morocco" at a book sale near work. Like its Indian sibling, these books exhibited all the characteristics required to make it a "must buy now" item. Each recipe was easy to follow, beautifully illustrated and the ingredients were relatively easy to find.

These books do an excellent job at demystifying each cuisine. For example, the food of Italy taught me how to make pasta and gnocchi. I remember hearing people tell me how hard it was to make pasta and gnocchi. To be honest, it is not that hard as long as you dust your dough with plenty of flour while you are working with it.

Each book includes a brief overview of the cuisine including a discussion of the regional variations, influences, and food myths. There is also a discussion on the eating style, so that you are able to create a realistic eating experience.

I have since purchased The Food of France, The Food of Thailand, and The Food of China. I am waiting eagerly for them to arrive. I will add individual reviews for each of the books in time and include pictures from my favourite recipes.

Now all I need to buy is the food of Spain and my collection will be complete!

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.