When we first saw the cover of this slick, well produced, full color, hard cover book with its foreword by legendary chef Daniel Boulud, we thought for sure it would be an haute cuisine cookbook. You know, the kind that’s fun to look at and dream about cooking the dishes, but you never actually do get around to doing it (Thomas Keller’s French Laundry Cookbook and Michael Mina’s book Michael Mina come immediately to mind). But the old proverb about not judging a book by its cover proved true. The recipes in Modern Indian Cooking are all relatively simple and quick to prepare. Even more surprising is that they’re made – for the most part – from ingredients easily found in any American supermarket.

This Indian corn chowder is filled with exotic flavors and spices.

Preheat the grill or a broiler. Grill or broil the chiles until the skin begins to blacken, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let steam until the skin loosens, about 10 minutes. Peel the chiles and chop coarsely. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, add the potatoes and enough water to cover and cook until tender. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil, cumin, onion, celery, and pepper and sauté until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add salt and corn and cook for 3 to 4 minutes longer. Stir in the roasted chiles, potatoes, stock, cream, curry powder, and 1 tablespoon cilantro and simmer until the soup thicken, 20 to 25 minutes.