Topic: Recipe Books

[livo]

If your anything like me you'll have heaps of them.  Firstly, this is in no way critical of Graeme for recommending a book to me.  I'm happy with it but that doesn't mean it isn't worthy of critical review.

It is mostly accepted that people usually make only a handful of recipes from any book containing hundreds. Even in doing just that, it is remarkable how often you find errors, omissions and just plain funny things in some.

Cut up an onion but don't use it is my favourite and it pops up quite often.  An opening section on basic principles and preparations that are not referred to anywhere else in the book is another.

I just spent yesterday afternoon meticulously trying to follow the instructions from a book to produce a Lamb Rogan Josh.  It turned out pretty good but I had to shake my head at the book from start to finish.

RJ is one of my favourite dishes and a good one is fantastic but a bad one is downright awful.  First of all the recipe is a 2 page spread with a full page glossy colour photograph of a delicious looking dryish curry, quite red in colour.  The title Rogan Josh (Rich Red Curry), followed by a description of the curry pictured.  Then the statement about the version you are about to make, ie not that dish, but something completely different.

First step is pretty straight forward about marinating.  Then the cooking.  We start with medium heat then increase to high, followed by decreasing to low. No problem yet.  Now we cover the pan and cook for 20 -25 minutes "until the liquid dries up".  This is a new technique for me and I must have done something wrong because after the correct time I had my pieces of lamb swimming in about 2 cups of liquid, which is exactly what I'd expected to occur.

Undeterred, I push ahead to the next step.  At least the chopped onions go into the pan in this one, along with some spice and G/G.  Now remember that the heat is at low but we are instructed to "reduce the heat to medium".

The lamb is already afloat but to this dry curry we are instructed to add another 350mls of water and further liquid in Tomato Puree.  I added the tomato but decided the water was a bad idea.  This was the first place where I varied away from the recipe as common sense just prevented me from being so foolish.

Heat setting back to low and simmer for a further 20 - 25.  Even without the extra water there was still a flood of thin, watery brown soup that looks about as appetising as a barker's nest biscuit, where we have a picture of a delicious dry red curry.  At this point you'd be thinking I must have missed something. Oh, that's right! We're not making the pictured dish at all. or anything remotely like it.

Dish saved by putting the whole lot into the pressure cooker and giving it 2 hours on slow cook mode followed by 15 - 20 minutes of reduction.  It turned out OK in the end but you have to wonder about book instructions.

Scores:
Recipe followed exactly from the book 1/10.  Rescued dish 6/10. (This is probably a bit hard, I did enjoy the finished dish after the extra treatment I had to perform on it.)

[livo]

The author emailed me a revised recipe for a Rogan Josh which is better but still has errors in it.  Nothing serious and I've done a cook of it.  See the Rogan Josh thread in Photographs section for details.