The Curry Guy: Recreate Over 100 of the Best Indian Restaurant Recipes at Home

Toombs, founder of The Curry Guy blog, offers up his favorite dishes from nearly a decade of research and cooking in this confident, solid debut collection of more than 100 Indian recipes. Toombs started his blog in 2010 as he prepared and ate nothing but Indian food, three meals a day for two years. The flavors in his dishes reflect those found in British curry houses—Toombs is a California native now living in England—with inspiration drawn from Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi traditions. He first prepares readers with recipes for essential spice blends, pastes, and sauces before moving on to appetizers, entrees, and sides (which often involve lengthy ingredient lists). Metric and imperial measurements are provided, as are serving sizes, which are taken into account especially when a dish is part of a multicourse meal. There are classic appetizers, like samosas, and lesser-known small plates like Kashmiri lamb cutlets. Among the 18 wonderful lamb and chicken curries, Toombs offers chicken jalfrezi, a stir-fry seasoned with more than a dozen flavorings, and lamb madras, which derives its heat from Kashmiri red chiles and its sweetness from mango chutney. Toombs also includes recipes for salmon, as well as a lobster tandoori, which is beautifully captured by food photographer Kris Kirkham. Toombs certainly knows his curry, and he presents his recipes with clear instruction, insightful history, and a helpful serving of encouragement. (Apr.)