NIRU GUPTA did not study to be a cook. Nor did she ever want to be an Indian cookery book author. But after marrying, when she tried her hand at cooking by referring to popular recipe books, she found that the process was most frustrating. "The way the ingredients were listed put me off and the procedures for the recipes were rather confusing," complains this Bombay woman who has now settled down in New Delhi. So, she decided to write her own books in a simple and straightforward manner for the convenience of the Indian housewife.

Today Niru's books are recognised as handy reference books that help the reader to get the recipe right in her first attempt at cooking. Even the novice cook will not be discouraged if, for example, she were to pick up one of Niru's books and attempt to make an elaborate and difficult dish like steamed chick-pea patties with a delicately-spiced yoghurt curry and lemon rice. "I want to help the young Indian housewife who has just set up home to do her own cooking without making frantic phone calls to her Mama," explains Niru.

So far, Niru has done four immensely popular and best-selling cookery books. These are Cook, My Dear, Everyday Indian, No Onion, No Garlic and Vrat Ka Khaana. She is working on two more, Cooking The UP Way and Microwave Indian Cooking. The secret of the successes of the books is their readability, says Niru. And this is because the books are all menu-based recipe books in which the sequence of work has been narrowed down finely, and in which you will never get stuck for any ingredients. Where need be, substitute ingredients are mentioned for ones that might be readily available. The recipes, she says, are all tried and tested and several have been collected from experts who specialise in regional Indian cooking.

As the sales of Niru's books began to go higher, there was a greater demand for her recipes. Friends and their friends began calling and pestering her to teach them how to cook. So Niru set up her own cookery classes at her Mathura Road home in New Delhi from where she teaches Indian and Continental menu-based recipes to people. "Each class is about four hours and I take six students at a time. I teach them how to prepare the menu for a complete Indian or Continental meal," she explains. There was more to follow. Zee TV asked her to do the first six months of their Khana Khazana cookery show which was later continued by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. "The show got very good response. I know, because I once goofed up on a Parsi recipe and was bombarded by letters and calls from indignant Zoroastrians!"

Although Niru's books are a healthy blend of vegetarian and non-vegetarian recipes, she admits that she was not much of a meat and fish eater at the very start. Now she has got over the initial shyness and is fond of non-vegetarian food and recommends it heartily. She cooks meat and fish at home too and when she entertains, can feed and satisfy upto 200 guests at a time with at least four gourmet dishes. Here, for UpperCrust, Niru Gupta pulls out four of her special vegetarian recipes from her book Everyday Indian.

SAUTEED AUBERGINE
Baingan Ka Bharta

Bharta implies mashing, hence the name of this spicy aubergine dish with a slightly mashed texture. I like the onions and tomato to be bite-like but I know other cooks that prefer to finely chop them so they are less obvious.

Ingredients:
2 aubergines, each 375 gm (12 oz)
250 gm (8 oz) onions
250 gm (8 oz) tomatoes
3 or 4 fresh green chillies
60 ml (2 fl oz) vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp finely chopped, peeled fresh root ginger
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
Chopped fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

Preparation:
Set the grill to high. Put the whole aubergines on the grill rack and grill, turning occasionally, until they are charred on all sides and the skins split. Put the aubergines in a bowl of cold water and leave to cool. When they are cool enough to handle, peel them, then remove stems and finely chop. Set aside. Meanwhile, coarsely chop the onions and chop the tomatoes the same size as the onions. Make a slit in each green chilli. Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan or wok over a high heat, then add the cumin seeds. When the seed splutter, add the onions and ginger and stir-fry until the onions look slightly fried. Stir in the tomatoes and the chillies and continue stir-frying until the mixture looks glossy. Stir in the salt, ground coriander, turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala, stirring until well blended together. Stir in the aubergines, then lower the heat and continue cooking, stirring often, for 8 to 10 minutes until the aubergines are cooked through and mixture is well blended. The onions and tomatoes should stay bite-like. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with coriander. Serve immediately.

STEAMED CHICK-PEA PATTIES
Muthia

On a rainy days, people love to eat something piping hot, preferably fried, with their cup of tea. This is one of the recipes I enjoy the most. On such a day, I like to fry the patties and add some chopped green chillies and coriander leaves to make them even spicier.

Time to make: about 10 minutes, plus resting
Time to cook: 15 to 20 minutes
Makes 12 to 15

Ingredients:
220 gm (7 oz) fresh fenugreek leaves
125 gm (4 oz) chick-pea flour
45 gm (1 1/2 oz) plain wholemeal flour
1 1/2 tsps salt
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsps vegetable oil

Preparation:
Finely chop the fenugreek leaves. Put the fenugreek leaves, chick-pea flour, wholemeal flour, salt, chilli powder and turmeric in a bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Stir in oil and mix together to form a dough. Lightly knead dough in a bowl until it is soft and smooth. Shape dough into a ball and place back in bowl. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rest for at least 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 to 15 walnut-size pieces and roll into smooth balls. Lightly press the balls between your palms to flatten. To steam, place the patties in a steamer over boiling water, cover and steam for 15 to 20 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Steam in batches if necessary. Transfer to a serving platter. Serve immediately.

DELICATELY SPICED YOGURT CURRY
Gujarati Kadhi

Typical of food from the Gujarat region, this is a thin curry made with yoghurt. It is so thin, in fact, that I sometimes like to drink it like a soup.

Time to make: 10 minutes
Time to cook: about 20 minutes
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
440 gm (14 oz) plain yoghurt
1/4 tsp citric acid
2 tbsps chick-pea flour
2 to 3 tbsps sugar, to taste
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp ground asafoetida
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsps vegetable oil
2 tsps mustard seeds
8 to 10 fresh curry leaves or 1tsp dried and crushed
3 or 4 whole dried red chillies
Chopped fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

Preparation:
Put the yoghurt and citric acid in a large bowl and beat until it is smooth. Add the chick-pea flour and stir until they are well blended together. Sir in the sugar, salt, chilli powder, ground asafoetida, ground cinnamon and 900 ml (32 fl. oz) water. Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan over a high heat, then add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chillies. When the seeds splutter, stir in the yoghurt mixture and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes until the yoghurt is about the consistency of whole milk. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with chopped coriander. Serve immediately.

POTATOES WITH SESAME SEEDS
Til Aloo

As children, my siblings and I looked forward to visiting our aunt, who always cooked this for us. The appearance was and still is quite intriguing. We used to love to eat these with plain yoghurt and pooris - and I still do!
Time to make: 5 minutes, plus cooking the potatoes
Time to cook: about 5 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
500gm (1 lb) potatoes
3 or 4 fresh green chillies
2 tbsps sesame oil
30gm (1 oz) black sesame seeds
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsps lime juice or
4 tbsps lemon juice
Chopped fresh mint or coriander leaves, to garnish

Preparation:
Put the potatoes in large pan of water and bring to the boil, then continue to boil for 10 to 15 minutes until they are tender. Drain well and leave to cool. Meanwhile, chop each of the green chillies. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them and cut them into 2.5 cm (1 in) cubes. Heat the oil a heavy-based saucepan or wok over a high heat, then add the sesame seeds and stir-fry until they look glossy and fried. Add the green chillies and stir 2 or 3 times, then stir in the salt and turmeric, stirring until well blended together. Add the potatoes and stir-fry until well coated with sesame seeds. Stir in lemon or lime juice. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with chopped mint or coriander. Serve immediately.

INDIAN ICE CREAM
Kulfi

This is a dessert few people make at home. I would never have thought about making it but about the time I bought a freezer, traditionally shaped kulfi moulds became readily available so I started experimenting. Now I realise how easy it is to have several batches with different flavours all made up. I find this is always appreciated because it is so unexpected.

Ingredients:
1.2 litres (2 pints) whole milk
125 gm (4 oz) sugar
4 or 5 green cardamom pods, seeds removed
12 to 15 blanched almonds
3 gm (1 oz) shelled pistachio nuts
Silver foil, to garnish, optional

Preparation:
Bring the milk to the boil in a heavy-based saucepan over a high heat. Lower the heat to medium and simmer the milk, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes until it is thickened and reduced to half the quantity, stirring occasionally so it does not scorch. The colour will change to a creamy beige and most of the bubbles will be in the centre. Stir in the sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Bring the milk to the boil again, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cardamom seeds, then remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool. Meanwhile, finely shred the blanched almonds and the pistachio nuts. When the thickened milk is cool, stir the almonds and pistachio nuts in, reserving a few of each for garnish. Pour the mixture into 8 traditional kulfi moulds and freeze until solid. It should take 3 to 4 hours. Remove the moulds or containers from the freezer and use a round-bladed knife to prise out the ice cream into bowls. Garnish with silver foil, if desired, and the remaining almonds and pistachio nuts.