# "From Mom with Love", by Pushpa Bhargava



## blackradish (Sep 14, 2008)

I'd like to recommend this book called "From Mom with Love", by Pushpa Bhargava, a Complete Guide to Indian Cooking and Entertaining. This book is an amazing resource, and yet is not too complicated for the average American cook. Color photographs (that look like the real deal....meaning I don't think they've been staged at all) accompany each and every recipe, so you know what the recipe will really look like when you're finished. 

Don't be put off by the long list of spices in the recipes. I went ahead and bought myself an Indian Masala Dabba - which is a a round stainless steel box with seven round compartments along with a small teaspoon measure which fits in the box. A good masala dabba will have a tight fitting lid in between the lid and the compartments of the box to ensure that the spices do not mix. Then fill it with the most common Indian spices - and you have them all at your fingertips. It makes the cooking so much quicker, and less daunting.

Also, if you're a pressure cooker fan - there are lots of ways to use yours in this book. But in most cases, alternate instructions are given if you don't have one. 

Another great feature of this book is the pre-cooked masala that is used in a lot of recipes. You basically can make a big batch of it and stick it in the freezer in 1 cup servings. I'm going to spend 20 minutes making this for my Indian clients, and it will make future personal chef cookdates go so much faster for me. 

This book is well written, easy to follow, and has traditional recipes that will impress your most discerning Indian client. Try the keema Matar for your low-carb or low-fat clients! 

If you really want to get crazy - there are recipes for snacks, sweets and every kind of bread integral to an Indian meal including Bati, Bhature, Kachori (stufffed poori...OMG these are SOOOOdelicious!!), Makki ki Roti (roasted corn flour bread), Naan, Alu Prantha (potato bread), Gobhi Parantha (bread made with shredded cauliflower!) and my absolute favorite - Paneer Parantha which is of course Fried Cheese Bread! There are more but I won't name them all. 

Anyway - just had time to share this with you - so I hope all of you who might be interested in Indian cooking will enjoy this book as much as I have.


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