Hari Nayak is a celebrity chef based in New York who has a degree in Hotel & Hospitality Management from Manipal, India. He graduated as an honor student from the Culinary Institute of America in 1998. He apprenticed under the famed Chef Daniel and Chef Alain Ducasse. He has been a consulting chef for world class restaurants like “Soul and Spice” in Kuwait and “Orissa” in Dobbsferry, New York. Hari Nayak has been featured in magazines and periodicals like Restaurant News, The New York Times, India Times, Hello Magazine, Travel and Leisure, and on many food blogs as well. He has appeared on ABC News and other popular TV channels. Hari Nayak pioneered the first Ice Cream Patisserie ‘Halo Fete’ which opened in Spring of ’05 in Princeton, New Jersey. He has sixteen years of diverse industry experience in pastry shops, restaurants, hotels and kitchen management. All of his books have been received very well starting with his first book, “Spice.” His second book which he co-authored with Master Chef Vikas Khanna is titled “Modern Indian Cooking” which was featured among LA best sellers. His latest book is ” My Indian Kitchen: Preparing Delicious Indian Meals without fear or fuss.”

I was very impressed when I visited the book’s site and read the reviews from connoisseurs and accomplished gourmets. Right from Emmy Award winning Top Chef Host Padma Lakshmi, to TV show host, celebrity author Martin Yan, to Indian chef Atul Kochar, India’s Heart throb chef Sanjeev Kapoor, movie star Akshay Kumar have all heaped praises on this book. So you may be wondering then what on earth it is that I am left to say. I do have a quite a bit to say in fact. I purchased the book from Barnes and Noble and leafed through it from cover to cover several times. I delved into the book, went through the details, picked a few recipes, made those dishes, blogged about it, went back and forth on the phone with Hari, and then finally took my time to pen my thoughts about this book.

Hari Nayak’s home town is Udupi, a small coastal town situated in Karnataka, India. He is the youngest of the three siblings. His sister is a doctor and brother is an engineer. Hari defied the odds by wanting to become a chef. His love for food started from his childhood as he keenly observed his ‘ajji’ or grandmother make delicious and fresh meals from scratch every day. He talks with passion about the fresh seafood that was available year round because of the ocean nearby. His book is a strong reflection of the very open and caring childhood he has been blessed with. We can find interesting stories of his fond memories of the monsoon rains or ‘stealing’ mangoes from neighbor’s backyard for those yummy pickles! Hari Nayak currently lives in New Jersey.

Experience the book here

I am fully aware that readers could accuse me of writing a biased review of “My Indian Kitchen” as the author Hari Nayak is a very good friend of mine. They need to know that I am also his worst or best critic. It is not a book review but a scientific round robin trial conducted by using the power of blogging. So many bloggers have tried these out based on my pick, tried it out and came with their free and independent opinion. I felt compelled to pen my thoughts after purchasing his book and then trying out several of his recipes which can be found on my blog. I would say that I’m putting on paper the views of a number of bloggers and their critical acclaim while I review Hari’s book. I enjoy reading his short stories followed by recipes that remind me of my own grandmother and the foods that I used to eat at home, an aunt’s place, or at the street vendors dotting the busy intersections of the city. The first time I opened the book, I fell in love with the pictures. There are over 200 very beautiful and appetizing pictures. I spent a lot of time just admiring them.

After getting over those amazing designs and pictorial display, I went back to look for recipes that I really wanted to try. I was curious to see if Hari had just written about food found in most of Americanized Indian restaurants all over the US or if he had something to share from his own family’s kitchen. I found a good mixture of both types of menus. In most Indian restaurants one can find Chicken Tikka , Channa , Rajmah Masala, Veg Jhalfrezi, Kadhai Paneer, Mango and Pistachio Kulfi, Samosas, Saffron Chicken Biryani, and the breads. The recipes are simple but that does not mean that they compromise on the taste. I have had some friends try the ‘restaurant’ style foods and have tasted it, the results were just delicious. These friends are people who have never made Indian food at home, ever. So the results were fabulous.

I was not very interested in making any of the restaurant style food. I just wanted to cook only those dishes which intrigued me or made me very curious. Some of them that I tried are Bengali Potates with spices, Split pea fritters, Panch Phoran, Avocado and Roasted Cumin Raita : Makhanphal aur Bhuna Jeera Ratia, Cauliflower with Ginger and Cumin: Adraki Gobhi, and Black-Eyed Peas Rice: Lobhiya Pulao. If you are aware of my style of cooking, I prefer it to be very simple and quick. As a busy mother, a student, a realtor, a blogger, and not to mention being the wife of a really cool guy, I don’t have the luxury of spending hours in the kitchen. Most of the meals I checked in the book were under fifteen minutes. The ingredients are something that can be found in a regular store, though a trip to an Indian grocery store may make it worthwhile. The recipes are nutritionally sound and sensible. It is a reflection of what my grandmother used to cook. I was very happy to note that there were a lot of recipes, probably over 110 in the book and I had not even heard of many of them. The Smoky Fire-Roasted Eggplant, Bengal Potatoes with Spices, Goan-style Squid, Stir-Fried Tellichery Mussels, Mangalore Fish Curry, Black-Eyed Peas Pulao, and Coconut Shrimp Biryani attracted me the most. I asked Hari for meat substitutes and he did give me some options. That will be another part of my adventure, recreating his meat dishes with vegetarian substitutes.

The book is divided into Nine Clever sections. The first section is about Indian spice mixes and it features ‘Indian Grilling and Roasting Rub’ which used to be sold in gourmet stores like Williams Sonoma. This is Hari Nayak’s special spice mix and he never revealed the secret recipe until now. I have purchased this blend of spice from his website and used it to grill Tofu, and we loved it. I’m just so happy to see the ‘secret recipe’ here in this book. I made the Indian Five Spice Mix as I was intrigued by it. Hari recommends using one tablespoon of Fenugreek Seeds. If you are familiar with Fenugreek, then you know that it adds bitterness to any dish even when a little extra is used. A half tablespoon does the job beautifully. I did not realize that and made the coarse powder exactly as listed in the recipe. Nothing disastrous happened and all was well, but that may be because my Fenugreek seeds may have ‘lost’ their power sitting there idly in the pantry for ages! As a vegetarian, I’m very happy with variety of dishes listed in the book.

The real test was cooking the food from his book. The ingredients list was simple, the prep and cooking time was very reasonable, and there were pictures to let me know how my food was supposed to look after I cooked it. Everything was made from scratch, and fortunately every single dish turned out perfectly. The food reminded me of flavors I had forgotten from my childhood. It reminded me of food that I had eaten at local restaurants in Bangalore, or from aunt Vimala’s kitchen, or at somebody’s wedding. The experience of making and tasting the food was really fabulous and took me down memory lane where I tried to place the taste with my childhood experience. I am glad that I have so many more exciting and original recipes to try. I’m looking forward to exploring this book. On page 12, there is a section about “Planning your Indian meal.” I found that to be very helpful in prepping for parties or plan my meals in general when I just go blank wondering what else to cook now. The section on pairing wines with Indian food turned out to be a big help for me. I have successfully served some good Indian meals with some of the recommended wines and received complements for it.

I wish someone gifted me this book as a part of my wedding presents. It would have helped me a lot when I was a novice cook.The simple cooking techniques took me a quite some time to understand and master. I highly recommend going through this section even if you are an expert cook. It just helps to pick up some neat tips and tricks. The pictures as usual are very helpful. If you are new to Indian cooking, then the section on tools required will be of immense help. One of the most important sections in the book is about ‘Indian Ingredients’ and how to store them. The information in these pages is very comprehensive and having these ingredients on hand means incredibly delicious Indian meals, fast.

There are a few ‘modern’ dishes featured in this book that are very interesting. Pistachio Biscotti, Shrimp Bruschetta, Spicy Lamb Burgers, Chai Crème Brulée are not traditional Indian fare. But as an Indian living in the US, I really appreciate such dishes. I have not tried them yet (with vegetarian substitutes), but I’m definitely curious. And as my previous experiments all turned out to be highly successful, I’m sure I’m going to enjoy these dishes very well too. Using local produce available in the US like Avocados and Broccoli is really delightful. I loved the Avocado Raita, and am waiting to try the Broccoli soup with Walnuts. Another feature of this book that I appreciate and value is meticulous measurements. I’m guilty of not providing proper measurements on my own blog, but when it comes to me cooking from a book, I’m particular about these things. I know, kick me!

Buy this book right now in India. Ships for free

Hari Nayak has come up with a highly simple, practical and sensible Indian cook book. The food was not oily and it did not require me to use any ‘processed’ foods. I have a lot of options and varieties to choose from and make incredible meals quickly.
Every single recipe that I tried in this book passed the taste test of my Hubby and my children who are not that easily pleased when it comes to food tasting. I am happy that I bought this book. This book is perfect for anybody wanting to make some ‘real’ home made Indian food. It’d be the perfect gift for novices and new brides that so want to impress their families.

The book has been very beautifully illustrated. They are hard bound and filled with glossy pages, beautiful pictures, and are just perfect to be set on the coffee table. They’d be perfect gifts for Diwali or Christmas, probably it’s a great idea to order them right away. “My Indian Kitchen” is a practical and useful book for everyday Indian cooking. The author suggests which dish goes very well with what and hence takes out most of the guess work. With a little advanced preparation, a variety of meals can be served for weeks to come without ever getting repetitive or boring. The flavor of one dish is totally different from the flavor of the others thus enticing the taste buds. The book truly is what is says, preparing delicious Indian meals without fear or fuss. Would I recommend you to buy this book? Absolutely YES, its worth all the time and investment! Your meals will be Quick, Easy, and seriously flavorful! So get ready to sit back and enjoy the complements. Nobody ever has to know source!

Book Give Away:

Hari Nayak, author of “My Indian Kitchen” has agreed to give away a signed copy to the lucky winner. The copy will be shipped to the winner anywhere in the world.  Please follow these simple  rules to qualify:

1) Become Hari Nayak’s friend on Face Book here:

https://www.facebook.com/hari.nayak

2) Like Hari Nayak’s Page here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hari-Nayak/105619702804385

3) Join Hari on Twitter here:

http://twitter.com/#!/chefhari and finally,

4) Write in your own words why you should win a copy of Chef Hari’s “My Indian Kitchen.” We will pick one winner and ship a signed copy of the book .

Happy Cooking!!!