The Spice Tree: Indian Cooking Made Beautifully Simple

Tolles Buch, um Verständnis für den Aufbau der indischen Küche zu entwickeln.Kapitelweise wird auf die Verarbeitung/ Würzung von Lebensmitteln (Gemüse, Hülsenfrüchte, Fisch, Fleisch) eingegangen. Dabei trennt die Autorin jedes grobe Thema wie Gemüse sogar in einzelne Unterkategorien: grünes Gemüse, Wurzelgemüse, Kürbisse usw. auf und erklärt die Besonderheiten in der Zubereitung.Absulot empfehlenswert daher auch für Vegetarier!Zu jedem Thema gibt es eine schematische "Tree"-Abbildung, an der man sich sofort orientieren kann. Dies ermöglicht auch das freie Experimentieren, dass die Autorin als ausdrücklich wünschenwert lobt. Die Rezepte sind gut umsetzbar und absolut köstlich!

This is one of the rare books for Beginners that successfully imparts the knowledge of the mysterious world of spices applied in Indian food, in an amazingly simple and grasping manner. For beginners it is a perfect takeoff, for those with intermediate knowledge it provides a confirmation and a fresh new way to look into the spice world, for the experts it is a great refresher.Making the spice world ridiculously simple - the books scores on many fronts#1 - Structure. Giving us the big picture right at the get go, opening up with the "Spice Tree" format and then deep diving into each step of using the spices, Next quickly visiting each spice - their use, how to apply them and what ifs, before moving into recipes to solidify the "method" and application of spices taught earlier. The best thing that comes out is the "hand-holding" that happens for the reader throughout the book#2 - Simplification. Not all knowledgeable experts possess the gift of brilliantly teaching the expertise they possess. The author, here is one of those rare teachers, that teaches the complex subject with the required deftness. Ridiculously simplifying the spice journey by providing (a) the overall picture - (the spice tree) (b) the spice combinations used - before, during and after the preparation (c) pouring into each spice (d) and answering the why and what if's through the journey, it makes the education for the beginner very easy and quickly provides the confidence to enter the kitchen and whip up a spice dish.#3 - Hand-holding. Most books and even live classes fail is providing, is the "hand holding" in education a new subject or a complex topic. Here's where the books score big points. By the time one has completed a few chapters, one starts getting the confidence and the "itch" to quickly prepare a dish using the author's laid out foundationsHighly recommend to the beginners and those who have had a brief knowledge of spices, have been blindly following Indian recipes but never knew the why and what ifs, the brief science behind the application of spices. This book will open the doors to all that and I firmly believe make the reader a very creative in kitchenThe one negative about this book is the lack of a bigger image of the SPICE Tree in the Kindly edition - it is hard to read the small print in the spice tree image and trying to print the spice tree to stick on your refrigerator leave us with a diagram that is hard, if not impossible to read.

If this book accurately reflects real South Asian cooking, then many of us, including the authors of numerous curry books, have often been doing it wrong over the years. Nisha Katona's "The Spice Tree" is divided into numerous categories - various types of vegetables, pulses, fish, meat, and also into geographical regions, giving consideration to the spice combinations used with these ingredients in those localities.There are numerous informational diagrams - the 'spice trees' of the title - displaying 'roots' (a choice of various combinations of spices to be introduced at the first stage of cooking), 'trunk' (ingredients for all dishes) and 'branches' (more choice of finishing spices - it's not entirely obvious here whether each branch is intended to indicate a mutually exclusive group of spices, but I think from the text the implication is that any combination of these can be used, though perhaps it could have been clearer as to which combinations of these might work best together - you probably don't want to use both lemon and tamarind in the same dish for example, as that would make it very sour indeed). By use of these you can design your own curry, rather than slavishly adhere to a recipe.There is much here which is unexpected and against received wisdom - for example, the onion-garlic-ginger trio only applies to meat curries and these ingredients are hardly used with vegetables; garam masala is likewise a meat-only spicing; asafoetida has a wider use than just in lentil dishes; chiili powder and turmeric, plus salt and sugar to taste, go in all dishes (these being the 'trunk' of the spice tree).Throughout the book there are many sample recipes - the majority being vegetarian, reflecting real South Asian cuisine, which is also welcome for those like me wanting to cut down on meat consumption - plus there's a sizable general introduction on spices and flavours and their use. At the front is a quick reference simplified spice tree, either for beginning purposes or should you wish to not rummage deeper into the book on any particular occasion. This is a different and much needed curry book, and I can see myself returning to this again and again.

I was unaware that Nisha Katona is behind the Mowgli restaurant brand and having read an article about her recently, I was intrigued by her background as a barrister and her parents coming to the UK in the 1969s as GPs. Her story is fascinating and when I saw this book on offer as a 99p ebook, I snapped it up to take a peek at some of her recipes.Her approach is inspirational. She’s devised a ‘tree’ of spices and by following some basic steps and using a handful of spices, it’s possible to create some truly tasty meals. Many Indian recipes require large numbers of different spices, not always easy to obtain and long or complicated cooking. I’m not generally in favour of ‘quick’ food; I think meals should be prepared with love and care, not slapped together in a hurry. The recipes here are considered but can be made by anyone, regardless of skill and don’t require lengthy preparation.There’s something for everyone here, meat or vegan, hot and spicy or mild and full of flavour. I have this on iPad and kindle and on the iPad, the pictures really stand out. It works well as an ebook and based on this taster, I shall be looking for paper copies of some of her other books to add to my collection. She writes with enthusiasm and I like the stories attached to the food.

Excellent explanations why these or that spices are used in a dish. Recipes are quite simple and easy to follow, and the result is so yummy! Highly recommended