Omnivore - Best cookbooks 2008: 660 Curries

My brother was in India last year for a month, and he came back smelling different and with a serious curry addiction. A year later, nothing has come close to curing his longing - that is until we came across 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer (Workman, $32.50). The book is so exhaustive, there are  25 eggplant-based curries, and 3 that have eggplant and potato as their primary ingredients.

The book also covers Indian breads, a few relishes and pickles, and many stories, tips and observations that make for a good read.

We decided on this cold and misty Atlanta afternoon to make Jairam’s Potatoes and Eggplant with a Garlic-Chile Sauce. Like many of the recipes in the book, the curry relies entirely on whole and fresh spices rather than blends. The resulting dish was spicy, hearty and incredibly comforting. The book said this recipe serves 6, but my brother and I ate up the whole pot for lunch. I see this is a bit of a trend this week, so the problem may not be the recipes but more that I’m a glutton.