A wonderful single-subject cookbook about roti!
One for lovers of detailed single-subject cookbooks!
"Roti kha kar jaana- if asked for a phrase that encapsulates the era I grew up in, I would quote this one. Unpretentious, earthy and direct, as an invitation to"stay and eat with us", it captures the warm sociability of a time when hospitality resided in homes, gracious homes-big and small", writes Anuradha Ravindranath. Roti is, she says, the cornerstone of Indian meals, usually made from simple, humble ingredients that (perhaps) we take for granted. But they are superstars, or at least they are to me, someone who has never made anything other than very basic yoghurt-based flatbreads but would dearly love to change this sorry state of affairs.
Technical instructions are woven into a personal memoir in the introductory chapter; I love this. Getting the Right Ingredients, The Process of Kneading, Resting and Rolling, and The Warmth of the Fire are its evocative subheadings. Ravindranath guides you through all the different flours, the equipment used, what you might eat with your roti, and provides pictorial guides to making your own white butter, ghee, yoghurt, and paneer. This is skilled teaching. It makes me feel more confident.
Recipes are organised by chapter based on the cooking method: roast on tava, roast on tava with ghee, bake in the oven, and fry in the kadhai. And what recipes! Makki ki roti with sarson ka saag (rotis served with mustard greens, coriander, and chillies, tempered with ginger and aesfoetida - infused ghee), Anda paratha filled with savoury egg, Pudina naan flavoured with white sesame, mango, mint and ginger (WOW), deep fried Methi ki Puri, Roth (an almond, poppyseed and raisin sweetbread from Kashmir), and Gur ki roti sweetened with melted jaggery and fennel. You'll find all your familiar favourites too. It's comprehensive - 90 recipes!
Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!
Anuradha Ravindranath, the Delhi-based food expert, has previously written The Rice Cookbook, published by Penguin India in 2009. Her first book was the definitive Tandoor: The Great Indian Barbeque.
Roti: 90 simple recipes for the Indian bread and its accompaniments by Anuradha Ravindranath is published by DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley).
I have followed the author’s capitalisation when listing her recipes.