Introduction to Indian Cooking - Softcover

Sahni, Julie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0898159768 ISBN 13: 9780898159769

Publisher: Ten Speed Press, 1998

Synopsis

Offers a variety of Indian recipes, including fish, chicken, meat, vegetables, breads, soups, salads, and desserts

About this title

Review

Julie Sahni's Introduction to Indian Cooking makes the exquisitely spiced food of her native land accessible to nearly anyone. All the exotic ingredients, including thyme-like ajowan (ajwain) and tart tamarind, are explained, but most recipes call only for items available at most supermarkets.

Sahni, who loves to teach, here uses authentic food to illustrate an important point: in India, the spicing is complex but cooking techniques and equipment are simple. She proves this with well over 100 recipes that can be comfortably made by an average cook. The tandoori dishes, mostly kabobs, call for simple marinades. Ten pilafs range from plain and foolproof boiled basmati rice to a voluptuously peach-studded dish. Malabar Coconut Shrimp (a quick sauté); cumin-coated, seared and boiled potatoes; and New Delhi Spiced Lentils are all dishes one could turn out on a weeknight in about 30 minutes.

Sahni tells how Indians use spices medicinally (as well as for seasoning), how an Indian meal differs from a Western one, and how you can eat Indian style. The chapter on breads alone is a great introduction to this fascinating accompaniment to most Indian meals.

This is a perfect first Indian cookbook. It provides a sampling of the vivid flavors of a range of regional Indian dishes. More experienced cooks will want it as a source for Indian dishes simple enough to cook on a weeknight. There are 16 pages of color photos. -- Dana Jacobi

From Library Journal

Sahni (Savoring Spices and Herbs, LJ 4/15/96) has already written the introduction to Indian cooking, her authoritative Classic Indian Cooking (1980). In her new book, however, which might be considered the "light" version of the earlier one, she presents simpler, more casual dishes in an effort to make Indian food seem unintimidating even to the novice cook. The recipes are uncomplicated?most have only three steps?and the headnotes are informative but very user-friendly. Recommended for most libraries Prasad's book, on the other hand, written with more or less the same goal in mind?to make Indian vegetarian cooking accessible to busy family cooks?is rather disappointing. Some of the dishes don't seem particularly Indian, while many of the others can be found in any basic Indian cookbook, and the bland, "generic" headnotes don't add much ("Black pepper lends a special flavor to this okra dish"). Neelan Batra's The Indian Vegetarian (LJ 6/15/94) does a far more interesting job of combining Indian and American tastes and flavors.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ten Speed Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0898159768
• ISBN 13: 9780898159769
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 240