Curry Compendium is the most amazing book on cooking curry's from scratch that I have ever come across! I have to admit that the serious curry eaters in my home are my husband and teenage son, whilst I enjoy an occasional mild curry. The book is beautifully illustrated and the style of writing is engaging, taking the reader from the basics to more involved recipes in a no-nonsense practical style. I particularly enjoyed the hints and tips which the author shares with the reader throughout, gained from his many years mastering the cuisine. It contains chapters on starters, classic curries, special dishes, extra hot curries, vegeatable curries, side dishes, rice and breads and sundries, not to mention a selection of mouthwatering street food and specialities. Add a second 75ml of base sauce. Stir and scrape the pan once, then leave it for a further 45 seconds or so, allowing the sauce to reduce and crater again.

Curry in the UK is massive business, contributing billions of pounds to the British economy, with most British towns having at least one Indian restaurant (although curry dishes in the UK are generally Indian dishes modified for British tastes). Now you can create your own BIR (British Indian Restaurant) style curries in the comfort of your own home with Misty Richardo’s Curry Compendium by Richard Sayce (aka Misty Ricardo). My teenage son was very impressed by the layout of the recipes, and by the addition of the QR codes, which allow you to watch YouTube videos for many of the recipes before you start to cook. Misty Ricardo's Curry Compendium is perfect for anyone who wants to start cooking BIR style food at home and is unsure of where to start. Everything is described in fantastic detail, from the basic ingredients and spices, to cookware, how to make the perfect base gravy, upscaling ingredients and techniques to make the dishes as authentic as possible.

Curry Compendium includes starters, side dishes, curries, rice and bread, along with a generous portion of traditional and street food style recipes. Readers benefit from supporting YouTube tutorials for the majority of recipes, each with a QR code to scan with a smartphone/tablet to watch online instantly. Everything is explained what is best for what dish you are creating. A great guide to recreating British Indian Restaurant favourites from the comfort of your own home! and you can recreate superb British Indian Restaurant food at home with the works of Misty Ricardo's Curry Kitchen" This beautiful cookbook will educate everyone – from beginners to seasoned cooks – on the basics of British Indian Restaurant Curry (BIR) including spices, pantry supplies, and most importantly, step by step photographs to making perfect curry every time. Sayce has included a chapter on making premixed spices at home so they can be at the ready whenever someone craves curry, and also how to precook the meats for curries. No need to use jarred sauces (which really aren’t very good anyway). Once a few recipes are followed in this book, having to go out for curry will be a thing of the past. There are also recipes for traditional accompaniments, such as Onion Bhaji, pakoras, and samosas. This cookbook also includes gorgeous photographs. Richard Sayce, the man behind the Misty Ricardo’s Curry Kitchen, has many years of experience in the world of Indian food. To date his two Gourmand award-winning books, Indian Restaurant Curry at Home Volumes 1 & 2 have sold 50,000 physical copies. The word in the title "compendium" really applies here. This is a comprehensive volume, built up meticulously from beginning information, ingredients, tools, supplies, and the fundamentals, through to finished dishes with sides and accessories. The chapters are arranged thematically: intro and fundamentals, how to start, and beginning tutorials, through cooking methods and equipment, premade ingredients (masalas, pastes, and bases), starters, classic curries, special dishes, extra hot curries, vegetarian curries, side dishes, rice & bread, sundries, street food (!!), and scaling up recipes to feed more people.

I would highly advise reading the beginning of this book before diving straight into the individual recipes. I learnt a lot about base gravy and other things by doing so which I think made cooking the recipes easier and gave me some context as to why I was doing what I was doing. It’s also really interesting. From escaping to the Lakes and taking in the majestic mountains and a trip across Ullswater on the famous Steamers, to destination dining at one of the Michelin-starred restaurants in the North, it’s time to regain our senses; smell freedom in the air and taste good food and drink once more. For those that love a good Indian restaurant style takeaway in their own home, this would make an excellent gift this year for the curry-loving family member. They will be able to save themselves a fortune on takeaways and hopefully, with a little bit of practice, do a good job of recreating great tasting British Indian Restaurant style meals. Oh my gosh! I’m so excited by this cookbook! Rating: 5/5. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC. I am hoping to get a hard copy of this wonderful book! The descriptions and beautiful pictures will have you drooling with anticipation.

This book is brilliant and I highly recommend this new curry book. 5 Big stars from me and a happy Hubby!!!

Fry for a further 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently to stop the spices catching and burning. Add a little more water to help with this. WoW..............This new Book "Curry Compendium" by Richard Sayce was a breath of fresh air........ Everyone I know Loves a good take away curry whether it's a meat, fish or vegetable curry. So, this book was a great find for me especially as I love to learn how to cook a good curry from scratch - Plus, to know what ingredient that has been added and how it was prepared and cooked.My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this cookbook in exchange for an honest review.

So, most of it didn't make much sense, although it suggested solid knowledge and valuable tips were being imparted. I really like the inclusion of QR codes in the text that allow readers to jump directly to YouTube videos by the author. The book is both informative and inspirational. I enjoyed the author’s own recollections of his first encounters with Indian food (similar to my own and many others I am sure) and how he overcome his own reticence to cook such delicious dishes that comprise the British Indian Restaurant style which the book focuses on. This new book offers 99 fully detailed recipes, covering starters, mains, sides, rice, accompaniments, and traditional Indian & streetfood. With just under 100 mouth-watering, easy to follow recipes to try out and delight your tastebuds, any curry lover will just love this recipe book! Thank you to NetGalley, Misty Ricardo’s Curry Kitchen, and Richard Sayce for an Advanced Copy of this book as well as letting me participate in this book tour. All opinions in this review are my own.

Most of the recipes featured in the book are for generous single size Indian takeaway servings (unless stated otherwise) as this is the best way to bring out all of the flavours, especially when cooking in a home kitchen. As a lot of people will also be cooking for other family members or friends at the same time and won’t want to cook several individual potions there are instructions on how to make larger portions correctly (scaling up), not just multiplying the ingredients by number of people. Now add a third 75ml of base sauce and the fresh tomato quarters. Stir and scrape once again, then leave to cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes. As a reader in the US I'm not familiar with the culture around British Indian Restaurants, which this book focuses on. Sayce notes that most BIRs are owned by Bangladeshi families, which explains part of why the recipes are so different than what I was expecting for Indian food. Unlike Southern or Northern Indian food we see at restaurants in the US, there are all kinds of Indian recipes in this book with a British twist as well as Kashmiri recipes.