Make way for the kitchen essential

If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, then the test of a good cookbook is in the whipping up of recipes successfully by its target audience. Two MiD DAY staffers donned the toque, tried and tested the new edition of The Foolproof Cookbook and came out triumphant. We were there to share the spoils with them

Author and spiritual practitioner Rohini Singh's cookbook The Foolproof Cookbook for Brides, Bachelors & Those Who Hate Cookingu00a0 (first published in 1998) has a brand new 2011 avatar. Beautiful still life illustrations by graphic designer Kadambari Misra accompany each and every recipe in the book. But what hasn't changed is that fact that this cookbook is meant to give that boost to those who are clueless in the kitchen and get cold feet when asked to even boil an egg.

Meant for kitchen novices, the cookbook actually starts from basics like how to identify spices and dals to boiling, frying and scrambling eggs to making a slightly complex Greek Moussaka or the Kashmiri Yakhni Pulao. It's been helpfully divided into Breakfast Basics, Simple Everyday Cooking, Holiday Cooking, Cooking For Those Who Hate Cooking and Happy Endings. Tea Time Treats and Office Lunches are the new additions to this edition. The 53-year-old, Delhi-based Rohini's section on easy pressure cooker soups is also very handy. But what's a cookbook without some recipes being tried out.

While we did look vehemently for a new bride at the MiD DAY office, being a scribe hardly leaves you with time to get hitched, claimed the staffers. What we found instead was a bachelor who doesn't mind cooking: City Editor Aditya Anand and Senior Reporter Priyanjali Ghose, who screams blue murder at the thought of having to enter the kitchenu00a0 at any time.

After thumbing through the cookbook, Aditya chose the Dal Pachratan from the Simple Everyday Cooking section and Priyanjali went for the slightly ambitious Murgh Sabziyon ke Saath from the Cooking For Those Who Hate Cooking. Barring the editor's pressure cooker phobia, endless tears over chopping onions and the Senior Reporter's tendency to leave the stirring and monitoring of the chicken onto the guests, the two dishes emerged unscathed from the kitchen battle ground. We bring you the review from the horses' mouths literally.
u00a0
Fancy dal, editor's version
Aditya Anand
"This is one of the simplest cookbooks I have come across. Reading through the recipes instantly made me get rid of kitchen fear.u00a0 Though, I love the thought of cooking, the same never actually translated into making good food as I've never gone beyond making rice, a simple dal and the odd aloo or bhindi fry. This book surely changes that for me.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0


Aditya pours five kinds of dal in a pan for the Dal Pachratan.

The illustrations bring a lot of life to the book and portray the dishes as easy to make. The fact that the final dish is not shown (The Dal Pachratan did not have a picture of the final dish) actually allows the cook to play around with the look and texture of the dish.

For a person like me who stays alone, I found the book really easy to use. The section on desserts is rather interesting. I had good fun cooking the dal. While the fear of something going wrong was there initially, the book eased out the tension once I got on the job.u00a0

The only thing I would like to change and improvise on is the fact that I cooked the dal this time with ghee, I would like to use just oil and maybe add some chopped tomatoes, curry leaves and white butter along with coriander for garnish. This dish also has the potential to be turned into a good dal khichdi. The entire section on Simple Everyday Cooking is on my radar for future cooking.
u00a0
A kitchen hater gets tamed with a one-pot chicken dish
Priyanjali Ghose
A simple book that is perfect for those who want to cook fast and tasty food. The best thing is that it does not suggest any fancy dishes. For people who cannot distinguish one dal or spice from the other, the detailed illustrations for the pages dedicated to spices and cereals, makes it easier. The cookbook is useful for someone who doesn't like cooking because the author has made sure that ingredients mentioned are easily available.u00a0
I chose the Murgh Sabziyon ke Saath because it looked like a one-pot meal that didn't require too much of an effort. The dish could also be eaten as a leftover with bread the next day. Once I put together all the ingredients in the pan, the dish could be left alone on a low flame.


Priyanjali tries her hand at cooking with Murgh Sabziyon ke Saath.

I could have probably used red chilli powder instead of green chillies to make the dish slightly spicier. The only thing I would do is probably quicken the process and finish off the dish in a pressure cooker rather than cooking it on a low flame for close to half an hour. My colleagues tasted the dish and found it light and flavoursome with an aftertaste of the crunchy capsicum.


The Foolproof Cookbook for Brides, Bachelors & Those Who Hate Cooking by Rohini Singh. Illustrated by Kadambari Misra. Published by Hay House, exclusively represented by Penguin Books India for R 499. Available at leading bookstores