A word from Madhur Jaffrey

I'm feeling uninspired because my mind is mostly occupied with preparing for this holiday, so I decided to resort to 'A Word from ...' But who to pick? I suppose it really should be somebody French, but then I thought of Madhur Jeffrey. Why? Well our first stop will be in Dubai and I know that we are planning an Indian meal at a lovely little restaurant just behind our hotel. And Madhur Jeffrey is one of my two main Indian gurus. She's not the first but possibly my main Indian guru. Though Charmaine Solomon is probably neck and neck with her.

I have several of Madhur Jaffrey's books but I have taken my 'words' from her book Madhur Jaffrey's Cookbook: Food for Family and Friends because it is less specifically Indian and theoretically at least, how she cooks at home, with, therefore, a rather more general introduction.

She is really quite an old lady now. Indian born, now, and for a long time, living in America, but she has travelled widely. She also began as an actress - I saw her in a few films way back then. I think she has or is it had? a restaurant in New York, but her main claim to fame, in my eyes is as a cookbook author. Some are specifically Indian, some are Asian, one is vegetarian and then there is this one. I love them all and have at least one, usually several, favourites from them all. In this one there's a chicken and dill recipe, some pork chops, a pork roast and various vegetable and rice dishes. Like Delia she likes to add a little twist to something you think you know. I love her books. Go buy one.

So over to her. Here she is writing about a planned evening with friends.

"It is already afternoon. What am I going to cook? I do not want the sense of summer ease to end. I do not want to drive myself to distraction. Yet, I do want the evening to be imbued with a certain degree of elegance and grace. I want the food to be superb - how could I be satisfied with anything else? - and the cooking to be easy. It can be done."

And isn't that all of we aspiring cooks feel about preparing a meal - whether it be for just us and our family or for friends as well?

On experience:

"The foods in this book are not just from India, where I was born, or from America, the land I have happily adopted. They are from wherever I have been in the past fifty years, wherever I have eaten. They are the sum of my experience, blending cooking techniques and seasonings from all over the world...

Today, when I go to the market and see, say, a pile of crisp, fresh green beans, dozens of possibilities start to buzz in my head. ... Sometimes I follow the specific regional style of a particular country and at other times I blend styles, making, say, a vinaigrette sauce with the addition of cumin and ginger. (And very good it is too.) ...

The spices and seasonings I have used throughout this book are easy to find in supermarkets and health food stores. I want the cooking to be easy. I do not want the shopping to be an impossible pain. Most spices here will be familiar to you. The way they are used may not."

So another lazy post. But I do hope that it will encourage you to explore a whole new world of cooking - for she is different to everyone else and a wonderful example of blending cultures in the food that we eat.