The Udupi Kitchen – Cookbook Review - Sihi Kumbalkai Raita

   Cookbooks were my favorite . I am having a bookshelf full of cookbooks and I should say I spend my leisure time with my cookbook collection.

   This was the first time I am posting a review about the cookbook . I thank Westland Limited for sending me this wonderful cookbook The Udupi Kitchen by  Malati Srinivasan  and Geetha Rao.

               

About the Publisher :

 Westland  Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Trent Limited , the retail arm of the Tata group , the large diversified industrial group in India.

 They have a huge array of books in every category.

 

About the Authors :

  The Authors of this book are Malati Srinivasan and her daughter , Geetha Roa.

I should mention here the famous Indian cook  Madhur Jaffrey’s words on the authors  “ Both mother and daughter are wonderful cooks. They have the ability to explain udupi cookery with clarity and depth.

About the Book :

 As the title itself reveals , the book is about the udupi cuisine. Yes, it is a book with wonderful recipes of udupi cuisine.

  Though I had heard about udupi  ( a coastal town in Karnataka ) which is famous for its LORD KRISHNA Temple. The cuisine  being vegetarian as the cuisine belongs to the Madhwa Brahmins.

  The front page of the book depicts the picture of  Hayagreeva with a sprig of  Tulsi ( holy basil ) – a famous sweet offering to god.  It was so divine and wonderful  as we Indians start our meal  after offering to god.

    The first few pages were for both author’s notes about how they learnt cooking and their culinary journey. Next , three pages explains about the udupi cuisine. Another two pages for Handy tips. I  am sharing few tips here…..

 

1.     unsalted butter makes the savoury snacks crisper.

2.     Store the homemade masalas filled  in Zip lock packs in the freezer.

 

 The contents of the book were split into 12 sections……

1.    Masala Pudi ( spice powders)

2.   Anna ( Rice)

3.    Beles ( Lentils )

4.   Gojjus ( vegetables in sweet , sour and spicy gravies )

5.    Palyas ( Dry vegetables )

6.   Raitas and yogurt Gravies

7.    Kosambaris ( salads ) and chutneys

8.    Tiffin

9.   Thindi ( savoury snacks )

10.Desserts Payasas

11. Halwas

12.         Sihi Thindi ( confections )

 

Before each section , all the recipes in the section were mentioned in a page.

Few of the recipes from the book  I want to mention here were

 Gojju pudi – Spice powder for Gojju

Bisi Bele Hulianna – Famous rice recipe of Karnataka

Sandige Huli – Red gram Dumplings in spicy gravy

Drakshi Gojju -  Raisins in spicy gravy

Matwade Palya – Fenugreek leaves and lentil crumble

Dindu Raita – yogurt with banana stem

Akki Rotti – Rice flour flatbread

Appe Payasa – milk pudding with fried semolina fritters

Hayagreeva – Bengal  Gram Halwa

 

I will be sharing a recipe from the book which I made on the same day I received

 

                        

 

Overall , the book is worth the price  and a must for those who want to explore various cuisine…….

  You can buy from the Westland publishing’s site directly

www .westlandbooks.in

 or through other online bookstores and in leading bookstores around the world.