Bal's Spice Kitchen by Bal Arneson

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons

gggg

Indian food. I love it, but I don't get it often and I'm far from an expert at making it. It doesn't help that all the specialty ingredients aren't the easiest to find around here, but I was looking forward to cooking from this book.

Many of the recipes were beyond me as I simply couldn't find the ingredients around here (I'm still finding all the specialty shops in this area), but I was over the moon to find a recipe for Gulab Jamun. About 20 years ago I attended a Festival of India in Texas. Among the dishes I tried was these delectable, syrup-soaked Indian donuts. I fell in love, but every Indian cookbook I tried didn't have the recipe. I couldn't wait to get make them myself. Warning!! These are highly addictive!! They were relatively easy to make (once I sourced the ingredients. I had no idea how hard it would be to find green cardamom, and I never did find ground anise seeds. I finally had to grind my own.), and just as delicious as I remembered. The syrup recipe makes way more than you need for the donuts, but it is awesome on pancakes!

I haven't made a huge amount out of this book so far, but the book is filled with so many delightful recipes. To be honest, it is worth it just for the Gulab Jamun! Give it a try tonight. You won't be sorry!

I received a copy of this book from Whitecap Books for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.