Pat Chapman

Pat Chapman started The Curry Club in the early 1980s and it is still going - see www.patchapman.co.uk, publishing books, restaurant reviews, a magazine and running occasional cookery courses and even gourmet tours of India. Many of his books unashamedly promote Indian restaurant food, rather than authentic Indian home cooking. This book makes some tasty curries do-able in reasonable time. A practical book to add a bit of spice to life - although I find the recipes need thinking about and adjusting. Sheek Kebabs are made with beef (why not lamb?), with dried onion (why not fresh?) and meat put through food processor (which will end up in a revolting paste unless done extremely carefully). The Balti recipes work well, though.… (more)

I've tried a couple of these recipes now. All have come out very well. The directions are straight forward, the ingrediants easily sourceable (hence probably not totally authentic) and the variety of styles cover a large range.

Some of the dishes require quite a bit of preparation which isn't always obvious (ie. use some sauce from pg 60 - which is 2 hrs prep)

There are interesting notes to each dish as well, not too many photos - this is a cookbook not a coffee table masquerade.

Overal - tasty dishes well presented.

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