ROUND-UP: The Interpreter of Maladies-Inspired Creations for #thebookclubcookbookCC

Remember we kicked off our year-long journey to cook - and read - for #thebookclubcookbookCC. Here's my invitation for the inaugural event: Interpreter of Maladies.*

I invited bloggers to make an egg curry or drink a lassi...or get creative with their favorite Indian recipes. The mango lassi seems to be the most popular choice with variations that included a parfait and a cocktail. Love the creativity!

photos used with permission from participating bloggers

But we did have a few wonderful entrees as well! Only Shannon braved the egg curry which Judy had cautioned was an acquired taste.

photos used with permission from participating bloggers

Here's what the hosting bloggers shared...
Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm posted her recipe for Chingri Paturi, Steamed Mustard Shrimp. Wendy was inspired by A Real Durwan. “The woman tells the story of how she was once very wealthy and lived in the lap of luxury.  Nobody knows if these are truths or fallacies but Boori Ma's stories never change.  One of her stories is how they ate Prawns steamed in Banana Leaves.  This sounded delicious to me and my recipe was decided.” I agree and can’t wait to try Wendy’s version.

Andrea of Adventures in All Things Food went the Mango Lassi for her selection. She special ordered the mango pulp and left out the rosewater which is definitely a polarizing ingredient. The verdict: “Mango Lassi is an easy recipe with few ingredients. The results though is perfection! (Okay, minus the rosewater...).”

Ashley of Cheesecurd in Paradise whipped up a Simple Mango Lassi. She reports: “I opted to use a very simple recipe for a mango lassi: milk, yogurt, mango and honey. So simple and so easy. Traditionally, recipes might require a bit of rose water, but I do not use it in my recipe.  I made think drink for my family for an after dinner treat and they slurped it down like there was no tomorrow!” A hit! Love when that happens.

Emily from Life on Food also made a Mango Lassi because she admits: "I am all for a good curry but one of my favorite treats when eating in Indian restaurants is a Mango Lassi." Ours, too. It's like a drink and a dessert all rolled in to one delicious glass.

Danielle from Mostly Food and Crafts made Curried Lentil Stew with Vegetables. She queried: “The flavors in this dish were strong and delicious.  I had it on the stove for a while simmering away and every time someone came to the door, they commented on how delicious it smelled in the house.  If I could turn this into a candle I would...would you buy my garlic, ginger, curry and cumin candles?” Yes, I would!

Sarah, The Pajama Chef, shared her Indian-Style Chicken Curry with Chickpeas and Raisins over Spiced Couscous. She wrote: “This is one of my very favorite curry recipes, and actually is the one that made me love Indian food! Ben and I have made this recipe a handful time over the past few years… it is absolutely delightful each time! Every bite is rich and flavorful, and your kitchen will smell absolutely wonderful while you’re cooking. Ginger! Garlic! Garam masala! Mmm, mmm, mmm.” 

Renee from Tortillas and Honey offered up her Mango Lassi Parfait. She decided to make a somewhat deconstructed mango lassi instead by making it into a parfait! She shared: “I guess this dish is somewhat fitting of the book for this month because this is an even further Americanized version of a mango lassi, but I think it captures the flavors.”

Erin of The Spiffy Cookie went a grown-up direction by making a Mango Lassi Cocktail. Erin suggests that we mix with rum or vodka based on preference and top with crushed pistachios for extra flair. Cheers!  But I have to ask – What is Thirsty Thursday? And why haven’t I heard of it before?!?!

Sarah from Things I Make (for Dinner) whipped up some Chicken Tikka Kebabs. Sarah took inspiration from When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine, admitting, “I had already started to toy with what to make, and when I saw the phrase ‘platters of kebabs’, I knew what I was going to do.” I would love some platters of kebabs in my life, too. I am certainly bookmarking this post.

Shannon of ZooeySuff braved the Egg Curry. Gold star, my friend, many gold stars! Shannon researched “egg curry” and learned that there is no one recipe for it. She warns: “In fact, it varies from household to household. It is however considered to be both a resourceful empty-pantry dish and a true comfort food. The recipe I chose to use includes a significant amount of grated ginger and potatoes. As ginger is one of my favorite flavors and the Irish in me can’t imagine a comfort food without potatoes (unless it’s beer. or pad thai. or a burger. or—), I decided to use the website recipe instead of the cook book recipe.”

A visual link-up...
In future months, I hope to have other bloggers join the fun. You'll find their recipes included in this section.

An InLinkz Link-up

I was foiled...
Earlier in the month I hosted an entire dinner around the Interpreter of Maladies, making everything from baked samosas to beef biriyani and egg curry to mango lassi. It was delicious and beautiful. But just before I left for a 10-day vacation, my laptop went kaput. Dead as a doornail. And with its demise went all of my photos. Boo. And, sadly, the news from my computer guy read like this - "Your hard drive has a fatal error. No data is recoverable on it because it cannot be read." Great. Just great.

So, I thought I would have nothing to share this month without scrambling to recreate all of those dishes. And. I. Just. Couldn't. Do. It. But we had had a great Indian feast at a restaurant in Mountain View, at the end of our camping trip and I was inspired to make a quick Kachumber Salad. This easy, crisp salad paired nicely with Indian-spiced roasted chicken thighs. So, I have an offering to share after all.

Kachumber Salad

Ingredients

• 2 heirloom tomatoes, chopped
• 4 Persian cucumbers, chopped
• 6 mint leaves, chopped
• ¼ C dill, chopped (traditional is cilantro leaves, but I had dill)
• juice from 1 organic Meyer lemon
• ½ t ground cumin
• ¼ t red chili flakes
• salt to taste

Procedure
Toss all of the ingredients so that they are evenly mixed. Check seasoning and adjust as needed. Serve the kachumber salad immediately.

Click for my Indian-Spiced Roasted Chicken Thighs recipe. It was tasty, too.

Giveaway

And to kick-off the event, enter to win a copy of the cookbook so you can join us in future months, if you wish! You still have a couple of days to win. Giveaway ends on July 31st.

One of our lucky readers - US and Canada only! - can enter to win a copy of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, courtesy of Tarcher-Penguin. Giveaway runs from July 1st till July 31st at 6 o'clock PM, Pacific time. Please see terms and conditions in the rafflecopter widget below. Many thanks to Tarcher Books. You may find Tarcher: on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Pinterest.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp to use in this year-long project plus the opportunity to give a copy away. Opinions are my own. I received no further compensation for my post.

Next Month

Andrea of Adventures in All Things Food will be the host next month. Keep an eye out for her invitation, but rumor has it we'll be cooking from (and - totally optional! - reading) A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson.

*I've included an affiliate link below for this month's selection and next month's...if you would like to read them. If you are uncomfortable using the link, feel free to go to amazon and search on your own!