Read The Café Spice Cookbook: 84 Quick and Easy Indian Recipes for Everyday Meals for Free Online

sauce is allowed to cook further until it is reduced and becomes thick. Sometimes cream, yogurt, coconut, or nut pastes such as those from almonds and cashews are added to Indian sauces to give a creamy texture.
    SIMPLE HOMESTYLE CURRY CHICKEN CURRY—1 lb (500 g) Cornish hen, or 2 breast fillets, or 4 thighs, or 6 drumsticks
    LAMB CURRY—10 oz (300 g) stewing diced lamb
    FISH CURRY—2 fillets of cod, about 8 oz, or 2 salmon steaks
    VEGETABLE CURRY—8 oz seasonal mixed diced vegetables
    4 tablespoons oil
    1 large onion (about 8 oz/250 g), minced
    1 tablespoon Ginger-Garlic Paste (page 22 )
    ½ teaspoon ground coriander
    ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
    ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
    ¼ teaspoon Café Spice Garam Masala (page 22 )
    1 teaspoon Asian red chili powder or cayenne pepper
    2 tomatoes (about 8 oz/250 g), chopped
    Salt, to taste
    2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
    Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 10–15 minutes or until deep brown (browning). Add the Ginger-Garlic Paste and fry for 1 minute. Add the ground coriander and stir for a further full minute. Then add the turmeric, cumin, garam masala, Asian red chili powder or cayenne powder, and sauté for 30 seconds ( bhunao ). Add 1 cup (250 ml) of water and cook for 10 minutes. Put in the tomatoes, stir well, and cook for 5 more minutes. Add salt, to taste.
    Add in the chicken, lamb, fish, or vegetables. Add 1½ cups of water for the chicken, 2½ cups (625 ml) for the lamb, 1 cup (250 ml) for the fish, and 2 cups (500 ml) for the vegetables. Cook until done. Sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves just before serving.
    CHEF’S TIPS
    •    Indian cooking tends to have many ingredients. Prepare all the ingredients before you begin to cook. Keep the spices handy by the stove.
    •    If cooking for a special event, you can cook the sauce, marinate the meat, cook the lentils ahead of time, and finish the dish before serving. Vegetables can be cut and set aside, a day in advance. Bread dough can be made a day ahead. Chutneys and accompaniments can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Curries of meat and chicken can be frozen. Cooked lentils, chickpeas, and vegetables freeze well.
    •    Always keep Ginger-Garlic Paste ready in your refrigerator; it will come in handy. Browned onions must be fried in batches and refrigerated or frozen.
    •    Most of the recipes call for fresh tomatoes. Canned tomato purée can sometimes replace fresh tomatoes, but the resulting curry’s color won’t be as vibrant.
    •    If onions burn while browning, remove the burnt bits, change the pot, and add a little fresh oil. If a burnt taste persists, you will have to start again.
    •    If the dish has become too spicy and contains tomatoes and/or whipped yogurt, or coconut milk, add an extra tomato or two. Also add ½-1 teaspoon of sugar. Adding sourness sometimes helps to cut down the heat. On the other hand if the dish is not spicy enough, fry some chopped green chili peppers in hot oil in a small saucepan and add it to the dish.
    •    If the curry has become too salty, add pieces of potato, which you must remove before serving. The potatoes will absorb the liquid and then you can top up with a cup of plain water to dilute the saltiness.
    •    If the sauce is too liquid, boil uncovered for a few extra minutes, until it reaches the desired consistency.

Chapter 2 CHUTNEYS AND ACCOMPANIMENTS
    Similar in preparation and usage to pickles, simple spiced chutneys, as they are referred to in India, can be dated as far back as 500 BCE. Originating in Northern Europe, this method of preserving food was subsequently adopted by the Romans and later by the British empire which exported this technique to its colonies, Australia and America. The first chutneys that arrived in India would have been sticky, fruit-based preserves. Chutneys add that little “something