The Cafe Spice Cookbook: 84 Quick and Easy Indian Recipes for Everyday Meals, (Paperback)

When I was younger, I was lucky enough to teach overseas, in a small country with a large population whose forebears were from southern India. Hospitality played a much larger part of the community than it does here in the U.S., so I was frequently invited to different homes for dinner. I loved the many foods they served — often several full-flavored dishes per meal — and although I couldn't tell you the dishes' names, then or now, I could tell each was lovingly prepared. So, I'm really enjoying this cookbook, which is from a growing food company, with an expanding number of restaurants across the country and a new frozen foods line. The lavish photography is well-suited to the delicious dishes presented here and I love browsing through it. I found several dishes that I remember from my teaching days, including Smoky FIre-Roasted Eggplant (Baingan Bharta), Scallops with Coconut and Ginger Curry (Fish Moilee), and his Easy Lamb Curry (Masala Gosht). All are amazing, and their rich flavors take me back many years — and across the world. There are new dishes here, too, like Huli Anna, or Lemon Rice with Peanuts, which are simple to make, yet incredibly delicious. I am loving going through this book, I can tell how much author/chef Hari Nayak deeply loves these household Indian dishes, and enjoys sharing the recipes, too.