Modern Spice: Inspired Indian Flavors for the Contemporary Kitchen

With the holiday rush approaching, we thought we would spend some weekday time cooking from Monica Bhide’s cookbook, Modern Spice: Inspired Indian Flavors for the Contemporary Kitchen. The book was passed on to us by a good friend and at first glance, appears to be a mix of traditional Indian flavors and techniques for busy home cooks.

“The secret to great Indian food is to understand the spices“. Bhide spends an entire chapter walking through the essentials of a modern Indian pantry, highlighting some of the pre-made products available at the market. With a store-bought chaat masala in the pantry, this chutney was made in less than 5 minutes and uses fresh pomegranates in season now and available at the grocery store. It can be drizzled over grilled pork chops or chicken for weekday eating or perhaps made as a spicy dish to serve with turkey at your Thanksgiving meal.

Recipe: Pomegranate Chutney