India
 Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts
Ammini Ramachandran
The subcontinent meets the west in a book the mixes history, Indian culinary flavours and western cooking methods. A native of Kerala who has lived in the United States for almost forty years, Ammini Ramachandran has created a charming book to appeal to both cooks and historians. A few black & white photos. Softcover, 347 pp, $32.95.
 Indian Food Made Easy
Anjum Anand
Simple to prepare and easy on the waistline, this is Indian food that relies on fresh seasonal produce rather than fat-rich sauces for its seductive flavour. The author of Indian Every Day, Anjum Anand hosts an Indian cooking show on the BBC and is an Indian cuisine consultant to the food industry. Softcover, 160 pp. $32.95.
 Modern Indian Cooking
Hari Nayak & Vikas Khanna
"Modern" in this book means applying the skill with which Indian cooks spice their food to dishes using ingredients readily available in North American markets and streamlined interpretations of traditional favourites. Fans of Vij's cookbook will find new ideas in this work by two professional chefs, Hari Nayak and Vikas Khanna. Hardcover, 191 pp. $32.95.
 American Masala
Suvir Saran
The author of Indian Home Cooking ($48.50) marries Indian spices with American techniques to give a spicy kick to familiar dishes like macaroni and cheese, corn salad, and meat loaf. Even desserts get the treatment. How about mixed-fruit cobbler spiked with peppercorns and cayenne? Donuts with yogurt, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon? Seductive colour photos give the book extra appeal. Hardcover, 264 pp. $48.50.
 Six Spices: A Simple Concept of Indian Cooking
Neeta Saluja
A useful guide to Indian cooking techniques with spices. Saluja introduces commonly used spices and provides tips on how to prepare and use them in traditional dishes such as lentils with spinach and rice pilaf. Recipes are carefully broken down into steps and the author also includes helpful tips and tricks to guide cooks in using spices and other ingredients in the Indian kitchen. Hardcover, 176 pp. $31.95.
 My Bombay Kitchen
Niloufer Ichaporia King
The cuisine of early Persia is alive and well in the cooking of India’s Parsi populace. Scholar Niloufer Ichaporia King captures the complexity created with its Indian and European influences. The first American-published book on Parsi cooking, the 165 recipes and menus introduce the ingredients techniques, and flavours that have evolved from ancient tradition. Dishes include corn, green mango, and coconut salad, pomegranate ice, and split chickpea stew. A few black and white family photos and line drawings. Hardcover, 338 pp. $33.50.
 The Calcutta Kitchen
Simon Parkes & Udit Sarkhel
This vibrant book covers the Bengali cuisine of Calcutta, an often overlooked aspect of western Indian cooking. Full of mustard (the seeds feature in all sorts of preparations, as does mustard oil) the food reflects the city's coastal location with lots of fish and seafood. Vegetables are also prominent, as are a variety of sweets, most made with milk in some format. This volume is also more than a cookbook, with interesting tidbits on Bengali life and fantastic colour photography. Hardcover, 192 pp. $36.95.
 Rice, Spice and All Things Nice
Reza Mahammad
Offspring of a restaurant family, star of Channel 4’s Delhi Belly, Reza Mahammad is determined to make Indian cooking as popular in the home kitchen as it is in restaurants. With its general cooking rules, ingredients glossary,and clearly organized recipes that include salmon with green mango, cashews in a rich coconut sauce, and tamarind rice,this is an inspired intro to Indian cooking. Written with a sense of humour and illustrated with vibrant photos of people, places, and food, Rice, Spice and All Things Nice is a delightful book even if it , and you, never enter the kitchen. Colour photos. Hardcover, 176 pp. $37.95.
 5 Spices, 50 Dishes
Ruta Kahate
Here is the perfect book for those who have not tried Indian cooking because of fear of all the ingredients in which one might have to invest. By stocking up on coriander, cumin and mustard seeds plus ground cayenne and turmeric, you have the key to 50 simple dishes that range from Goan shrimp curry with eggplant to basic chai. Kahate’s explanations and the recipe-per-page format make this a very user-friendly book. Colour photos. Paper, 131 pp. $25.95.
 The Festive Food of India and Pakistan
Louise Nicholson
Get acquainted with the diverse and fascinating festivals of India and Pakistan, and try some of the foods associated with them. Utterly unfamiliar to westerners (except the traditional, colonial Christmas) this mix of Hindu and Muslim holidays feature foods from the simple to the truly exotic. Similar titles are available for Italy, France, Thailand, China, and Spain. Colour photos. Hardcover, 92 pp. $12.95.
The New Curry Bible
Pat Chapman
Well-known for his series of Curry Club cookbooks (out of print), Pat Chapman organized the recipes in this book as they would be on a menu. However the book is more than recipes. It offers a guide to the main ingredients, spices, and utensils used in making curries. Chapman also describes the regional differences of curries within India and the types created in other countrues around the world. Colour photos. Softcover, 208 pp. $24.95.
 From Curries to Kebabs
Madhur Jaffrey
One of the great champions of Indian cuisine, Madhur Jaffrey has gathered the best curry recipes from around the globe, along with their history. From India to Guyana to the United Kingdom, from Myanmar to Kenya to the United States, these aromatic dishes have enchanted and evolved. To accompany the main event there are recipes, for breads, rice, soups, kebabs, and relishes. Colour photos. Hardcover, 352 pp. $45.00.
 One
Spice, Two Spice
Floyd Cardoz
This new book, perhaps the first of its kind, is from the man responsible for
Tabla restaurant in New York. There, and here, he creates a new fusion of American
and Indian food that mixes the familiar with the foreign. The recipes focus on
seasoning American food with Indian flavours and introducing cooks to the unique
and complex tastes of the India, particularly those of Cardoz's Bombay and Goan
childhood. Hardcover, 304 pp. $44.95.
  Vij's
Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine
Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala
Indian by birth, European by culinary training, Vikram Vij fuses
the two cultures into addictively unique dishes. Seared striped bass with
sour cream curry, sautéed Brussels sprouts with red bell pepper,
paneer and cashews and beef short ribs in cinnamon and red-wine curry
are typical
creations. Colour photos. Softcover, 205 pp. $40.00.
The Indian Grocery Store Demystified
Linda Bladholm
An essential guide for finding your way through Indian grocery stores
this handy little book details ingredients from around the sub-continent.
Divided by type, chapters include spices and spice mixes, herbs and
aromatics, rice, bread, and snacks. A great help for those looking
to cook authentic recipes or craving exotic tastes. The Asian Grocery
Store Demystified is also available. Softcover, 270 pp. $24.95.
 The Indian Kitchen
Monisha Bharadwaj
A wonderful book of essential Indian spices and ingredients with comprehensive
descriptions plus tips on buying, storage, history and recipes for
each pantry ingredient or spice. Softcover, 240 pp. $27.95.
 A
Year of Cooking Like Mummyji
Vicky Bhogal
This is one of Nigella Lawson's favourite authors and we can see why. A fusion
of Asian, Indian, and British sounds rather ominous but Bhogal pulls it off amazingly.
Softcover, 176 pp, $35.95.
 50
Great Curries of India
Camellia Panjabi
Though more compact than the original 1994 edition, this version
still offers a wealth of information on curry-making techniques
along with 10 new recipes. Colour photos help in demonstrating the
differences in colour and texture between various curries. Softcover, 224
pp,
$19.95.
 Indian
Essence
Atul Kochhar
A recipient of a Michelin star while at London’s Tamarind restaurant,
Atul Kochhar now presides over Benares in Berkeley Square where lamb in
mango and
onion sauce, duck curry with orange and turnips with ginger and nigella seeds
seduce with their vibrant freshness. Colour photos. Paper, 160 pp, $29.95.
 Indian
Home Cooking
Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness
Indian food as cooked in American kitchens from New York- and Connecticut-based
writers. Colour photos. Hardcover, 262 pp, $48.50.
 Easy
Indian Cooking
Suneeta Vaswani
Enough choice to keep both vegetarians and meat eaters happy. Like many other
contemporary Indian books, this one features recipes preserving the essence of
the cuisine while using fewer ingredients and less fat. Colour photos. Paper,
190 pp, $19.95.
 Healthy
Indian Cooking
Shehzad Husain
From a consultant to both Marks & Spencer and British Airways, Indian
food that is heavy on vegetables and pulses, light on fat. Vegetable
and red kidney bean pulao and haleem (cracked wheat with chicken
strips) are
two delicious examples of this new cooking. Colour photo with each
recipe. Paper, 160 pp, $32.95.
 Indian
Every Day
Anjum Anand
Recipes such as Punjabi peasant lentil curry and spinach and mung
bean puree illustrate an Indian cuisine lower in meat and thus fat. The
author, a BBC regular is a London-based restaurateur. Colour photos. Hardcover,
224pp, $39.95.
 Cooking
Like Mummyji
Vicky Bhogal
Now in its second generation, the marriage of British cooking and
subcontinental cuisine has lead to dishes such as fried eggy bread,
very hot dogs (afire with chillies) and baked beans with spring onion
sabji. With its vivid verbal pictures of Indo-British family life,
Bhogal has
created a social history as well as a cookbook. B & w photos. Paper,
224 pp, $37.00.
 Meena
Pathak's Indian Cooking For Friends & Family
Meena
Pathak
Simple, yet innovative recipes, using readily available ingredients,
to share with family and friends for any occasion. Includes step-by-step
techniques and rich colour photos. Softcover, 128pp., $24.95.
 Brit Spice
Manju Malhi
The best of Brit-Indi cuisine! The new author has proven that fabulous Indian dishes
can be made in less time than ordering take-away. The Butter
Lentils (p. 95) are DIVINE and the family's handmade spice mix on page 3
is an instant classic! Hardcover, 192 pp., $37.99.
 The New
Tastes of India
Das Sreedharan
Delicious vegetarian creations from southern India, as imagined by
London (UK) chef Das Sreedharan. Gorgeous photos and easy-to-follow recipes,
including Rasa
Biryani and Spice Roasted Tomatoes. 160 pages, $34.95.
 The Spice is Right:
Easy Indian Cooking for Today
Monica Bhide
A cookbook that simplifies Indian cooking for the time-squeezed, health-conscious
home cook, with more than 150 simple and healthy versions of traditional Indian dishes
and Western dishes with an Indian twist. $24.95. Recipe: Potatoes
and Tomatoes in Coriander Ginger Sauce
 From Bengal to Punjab
Smita Chandra
A good introduction to the cuisines of India. This book is for anybody who loves
authentic Indian food. The recipes are not quick, but are easy to follow. The ingredients
are traditional Indian so you might need to shop around. There are menus included
if you're uncertain as to how to put together an authentic meal. $20.95.
Indian Grill
Smita Chandra
Author of From Bengal to Punjab, Smita Chandra serves up not only recipes
but eagle-eyed observations on Indian cuisine and culture informed both by growing
up there and by living in Canada for more than a decade. Hard cover. $37.00.
Back to top |
