Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking

by Raghavan Iyer

This unique cookbook teaches you how to prepare delicious,
satisfying, authentic Indian food at home, as well as gives you insight
into the culture of exotic India. In Betty Crocker's signature style,
this book demystifies Indian cooking for the American home kitchen. Betty
Crocker has worked in collaboration with a noted Indian culinary expert to
develop recipes for Indian cooking that will be foolproof for the American
kitchen. This book shows that Indian food is much more than just "curry"
it's a cuisine with lots of variety and exciting flavors.
The majority of recipes in this book use ingredients that are familiar to all Americans like spinach, potatoes, lentils, shrimp and rice - but with an Indian
twist that spices up the table. Besides great recipes, this book gives a
wide-ranging look at the culture and people of India through fascinating
photos and information about traditions and lifestyle. Included are
recipes that will be familiar to anyone who has dined at an Indian
restaurant in America, mainly from northern India. In addition, there are
more specialized regional recipes for dishes from south, east and west
India.

There are more than 180 foolproof recipes and over 70 gorgeous
four-color photos in the book.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food

336 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2001

About the author

Bombay-native Raghavan Iyer, a Certified Culinary Professional, and a member of The International Association of Culinary Professionals, has acquired degrees in Chemistry (Bombay University), Hotel, and Restaurant Management (Michigan State University). Raghavan and his Mother He is a cookbook author, culinary educator, spokesperson, and consultant to numerous national and international clients including General Mills, Bon Appetit Management Company, Target, and Canola. He helped launch an Indian Meals program for Bon Appétit Management Company and trained all their chefs across the United States in Indian cuisine. He helped design a shelf-stable, Indian, ready-to-eat meals for Target’s Archer Farms brand. Most recently, he was named a 2008 Sustainable Seafood Ambassador for the prestigious Monterey Bay Aquarium.

He most recently finished a commercial project as the consulting Executive Chef for an upscale/casual Indian-themed restaurant called OM that opened September 2009 in downtown Minneapolis to rave reviews.

Iyer is co-founder of the Asian Culinary Arts Institutes, Ltd., an organization dedicated to the preservation, understanding, and enjoyment of the culinary arts of Asia.

An accomplished and prolific culinary instructor at many international, national, and local venues, including the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ Annual Conferences in Phoenix, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Montreal, Dallas, Seattle, and Chicago. With over 24 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Iyer is also fluent in more than six languages. Annually, he leads food and cultural tours to India.

He has appeared in numerous radio and television shows across the United States and Canada including Martha Stewart Radio, The Splendid Table (national public radio show with Lynne Rossetto Kasper), A Chef’s Table with Jim Coleman (WHYY Philadelphia - NPR affiliate), WGN Morning News (WGN Chicago), Good Day Atlanta (WAGA TV - Fox Affiliate), Good Day Tampa (Fox Affiliate Tampa), The Morning Show (KARE 11 - NBC Affiliate in Minneapolis/St. Paul), and the Vicki Gabereau Show (national Canadian television talk show).

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this cookbook!! We got it as a wedding gift and I have used it a lot. It's become a tradition to have Indian food for New Year's Eve dinner. There are a bunch of recipes that I make pretty frequently. The recipes are easy to follow and they taste really good, just make sure that you have all the spices they call for. And, have everything chopped and measured out before you start because a lot of them go fast (saute the spices for 1 min, then add something and saute for a couple min., then do another thing for a min., etc.). It can get frantic when I'm making 3 or 4 recipes at once!!

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know that Betty Crocker would be the last publisher/company you would think of to get a really great Indian cookbook from but they have hired a great cook and come up with a really great set of recipes with this book. It has become our standard Indian cookbook by which all other cookbooks are judged. We are constantly going back to recipes in this one because they are just so good.

[Katie Scherrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know, I know...Betty Crocker? But seriously, this cookbook is fantastic. Make the red onion chutney and lentil fritters and you'll see what I'm talking about!

[AJ LeBlanc]

This isn't vegetarian, but there are vegan and veg recipes.

I've recently fallen in love with Indian food because there are so many vegan options and not everything is spicy. I am a baby when it comes to heat, so I've avoided Indian for most of my life. I'm learning to ask more questions and try different offerings and have been eating it a lot at work.

I'm not giving this a rating because I don't think I'll ever cook Indian food for myself. Having it accessible and fairly cheap on campus, it doesn't make sense to me to buy the ingredients and put the time in myself.

This is a great starter book. It doesn't assume you know what everything is, how it tastes, and how to cook it. It's just not a good fit for me.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had I not sampled dishes made by the author/chef, Raghavan Iyer, and met him myself at a book signing I doubt this would be one of my favorite cook books, for Betty Crocker and General Mills are the last place I would look to for a recipe. Tried and true favorite dishes appear in this well documented introduction to Indian cooking. The major regions of the country are covered each by dozens of recipes, so one can sample a bit of what India has to offer the culinary world. Having been there myself I know this book covers but the tip of the iceberg of Indian cuisine. Release your need for store-bought curry and make it yourself.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this cook book.
everyone should own it (given they like Indian food and slaving over a stove for days).

[Janice Chisholm McQuaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a surprisingly excellent cookbook. While it is from Betty Crocker, it is written to introduce non-Indian cooks to real Indian food.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The "Betty Crocker" label doesn't necessarily shout authentic and sophisticated, but this is an excellent cookbook with consistently fantastic recipes, interesting commentary and information, and beautiful pictures. It's one of the small handful of cookbooks I use regularly.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do not let the Betty Crocker label fool you; there is no better place to start learning to cook Indian food than here. And the little chat columns make you feel like you have an old friend helping you along the way.

[Susan Howson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually a really great Indian cookbook. Ignore the Betty Crocker part of it, they just paid for the guy to write it. Beautiful pictures, authentic recipes, hot tips by SRK (just kidding).

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than you'd expect from Betty Crocker.

[Nupur Vanderlick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! All the ingredients and recipes are very well explained and taste marvelous! I want to own this book!

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to make everything in this book!

[Susan O'brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely cookbook. Lots of the recipes look completely doable. I have a few marked to try this weekend.