Friday, April 20, 2007

The Web Does Indian Food



Been on a real big into the Indian cooking kick lately. In search of new recipes I came across Manjula and her recipes on YouTube. The usefulness of the tube increases everyday. Also found a few good Indian cooking blogs:

http://indianthali.blogspot.com/
http://chaipani.blogspot.com/

Also recently read Curry: A tale of Cooks and Conquerors , which was a fascinating history of Indian food as it was impacted by the various invading groups, from the Moguls to the British. A few good little tidbits: Tea was brought to India by the British, not vice-versa. "Essential" Indian ingredients like chilis, potatoes, and tomatoes were actually late arriving imports from the new world. The book also takes a look at the transformation of Indian cooking outside of India. How local tastes and ingredients altered recipes into new standards such as Chicken Tikka Masala (didn't exist in India).