Indian Cookbook Author Explores East-West Cuisine

Actress Madhur Jaffrey is the latest to leap onto the East-West bandwagon. Known for her expertise in Indian cookery, Jaffrey explores broader terrain in a new book that ranges from Thai to Tex-Mex and even includes a Jewish brunch. The title is “Madhur Jaffrey’s Cookbook: Easy East/West Menus for Family and Friends” (Harper & Row, $22.50).

Such earlier books as “An Invitation to Indian Cooking” and “A Taste of India” concentrated on authentic Indian dishes. Another, “Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery,” was a companion volume to a BBC television cooking show. Apart from cooking, she has appeared in such Indian-themed films as “Heat and Dust,” “The Assam Garden,” “Autobiography of a Princess” and “Shakespeare Wallah.”

In New York, where she lives, Jaffrey is food consultant to the Dawat Indian restaurant. There she is attempting to introduce a wider range of Indian food than is normally seen in the United States. The way Indian restaurants in this country confine themselves to the same few dishes “just irritates the life out of me,” she said.

But at home, Jaffrey casts purism aside to indulge in a freewheeling blend of cuisines. This, she says, is the way people will cook in the future, influenced by the variety of ethnic ingredients in markets today.

Jaffrey, who was raised in Delhi, even mixes up her native foods. For example, she might add curry leaves to impart South Indian flavor to dal (lentils) prepared North Indian style. This she confessed over an appropriately polyglot lunch of yellowtail sashimi, angel hair pasta with tomatoes and basil and a lemon tart. The occasion was the Los Angeles stop of a tour to promote her book.

“You learn so much as you travel,” said Jaffrey to explain her own far flung approach to food. She has recently traveled extensively in the Far East and Southeast Asia to prepare a new series for the BBC, “Madhur Jaffrey’s Far Eastern Cookery.” The series, which will have a companion cookbook, will show in England but has not yet been scheduled for the United States, she said.

Jaffrey’s East-West book includes a number of Anglo-Indian dishes. In India, the term Anglo-Indian refers to Indians with English ancestry, she said. To Westerners, the term means a blend of Indian and Anglo elements, as exemplified by the following recipes from the book.

GINGERY CHICKEN BREASTS

5 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed to pulp

2 teaspoons very finely grated ginger root

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar

6 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned

3 tablespoons olive or other oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped chives or parsley

Combine garlic, ginger, cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper and vinegar in small bowl. Mix well. Flatten chicken breasts until about 1/2 inch thick. Place in large bowl, pour marinade over and mix well. Pierce chicken pieces lightly with fork to allow marinade to penetrate. Handle gently to avoid breaking up meat. Let stand 30 minutes.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Pat chicken pieces with paper towels. Place as many as will fit in single layer in skillet. Cook chicken 2 to 3 minutes or until browned. Turn over and cook second side until brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Cook remaining chicken in same fashion, adding remaining 1 tablespoon oil if needed. Place on warm serving plate. Garnish with chives or parsley. Makes 6 servings.

RICE WITH PEAS AND CARROTS

2 cups long grain rice

3 tablespoons oil

3 whole cardamom pods

1 (1-inch) piece cinnamon stick

4 whole cloves

1/2 medium onion, finely sliced in half rings

2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

Salt

1 1/4 cups shelled peas or thawed frozen peas

Place rice in bowl and wash in several changes of water. Drain. Cover with fresh water and let soak 25 minutes or longer. Drain and leave in strainer set over bowl.

Heat oil in heavy pot over medium high heat. When hot, add cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Stir once or twice. Add onion and cook, stirring, until onion is lightly browned. Add carrots. Cook and stir 1 minute. Add rice and cook and stir 2 minutes, until rice is translucent and coated with oil. Turn heat down slightly if rice sticks to pot. Add broth and season with salt to taste. Bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook 20 minutes.

Add peas, cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes, or until peas are tender. Mix gently before serving. Makes 6 servings.

GREEN BEANS WITH 2 MUSTARDS

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon style mustard

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds

3 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into thin slivers

1 1/2 pounds green beans

Place lemon juice in small bowl. Add Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, black and cayenne peppers and mix. Heat oil in small iron skillet over medium heat. When hot, add mustard seeds. As soon as mustard seeds start to pop, add garlic. Stir until garlic slivers turn light brown. Remove skillet from heat and let oil cool slightly. Beat oil mixture into lemon juice mixture to make creamy dressing.

Trim ends from green beans. Bring large pot of well salted water to rolling boil. Add beans and boil vigorously 3 to 5 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender. Drain well. Place beans in large bowl. Beat dressing again and pour over beans. Toss. Cool, then cover and refrigerate, if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

PEARS POACHED IN SAFFRON SYRUP

1 cup sugar

2 cups water

6 whole cardamom pods

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

3 tablespoons lemon juice

4 firm pears

Combine sugar, water, cardamom pods, saffron and lemon juice in shallow wide pot. Bring to simmer and cook gently until sugar melts. Halve, peel and core pears. As pears are cut, add to syrup, cover and cook gently 25 minutes. Occasionally turn pears gently or spoon syrup over them. When pears are done, remove from liquid and arrange in serving dish in single layer, cut side down. Boil syrup until reduced to about 1 cup. Pour over pears and cool. Makes 4 to 8 servings.