It is important to realize the motivation for this cookbook. I have written it as part of a personal project to document all the recipes I cook on daily basis. These recipes are not meant to be precise or novel. They are simply a list of ingredients and basic cooking steps.
Ingredients
As an Indian, I primarily cook with Indian spices. You can buy most of these in a typical South Asian store or normal supermarket. If you don’t have something, just skip it and add an equivalent spice. So here’s the list of spices I have and use:
Essentials:
- chilli powder
- garlic powder
- ginger powder
- black pepper
- turmeric
- coriander powder
- cumin/cumin powder
- curry powder
- cloves
- garam masala
- parsley
Extra:
- chilli flakes (chilli powder)
- mustard seeds (skippable)
- cinnamon (skippable)
- cardamom (skippable)
- kasuri methi (parsley)
- asafoetida (skippable)
- dried mango powder (skippable)
- kitchen king (curry powder)
- tandoori masala (curry powder)
- chana masala (curry powder)
- chaat masala (curry powder)
Quantities
Measuring amount of ingredients have always produced better results for me. So I purchased a scale and set of measuring spoons. Sometimes I use cups measurement, it is not a US or british cup. It is a cup in my kitchen which contains 300ml water.
Actual cooking
My style of cooking is very easy. It almost always goes like this:
- Fry the onions in oil till they are translucent. Add salt
- Add ginger garlic or chilli powder like spices
- Add whatever I want to cook, for example chicken or peas
- Fry everything till it is cooked
- Add more spices and then tomatoes till everything is cooked for sure
- Add final round of spice mixes. Let it simmer for some time
Reader is adviced to modify the recipe to her comfort and feels. If you think that you should let it cook more. It is fine by me. If you think you should increase the amount of salt, it is also fine.