Cookbook Profile: The Spice Is Right

The Spice Is Right
Easy Indian Cooking for Today

by Monica Bhide

The Spice Is Right

"Indian food has become wildly popular in America."
   —Barnes & Noble
   Cooking e-newsletter

"There's still room for more cookbooks that simplify Indian cooking."
   —Publishers Weekly

Everything Indian is new again. This vast and varied continent is once more influencing fashion, exercise, music, travel, and spirituality, not to mention the pleasures of the palate. Indeed aromatic Indian cuisine has become "all the raj"across North America, especially among the 20-something set. Yet when home cooks want to try cooking Indian, they often face intimidating "old-school" cookbooks with complicated recipes, long ingredient lists, and an emphasis on rich sauces and deep-frying.

So how do Indian food fans—especially the young and culinary-challenged—cook Indian at home and keep it healthful? The Spice Is Right: Easy Indian Cooking for Today features 150 simple, calorie-conscious Indian dishes as well as Western dishes with an Indian twist. Recipes are easy to follow, have short ingredient lists, use readily available ingredients, and don't require complicated cooking methods. What's more, the book is organized into 15 menus with familiar Western themes, which takes the guesswork out of planning an Indian meal. Each menu features drinks, appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, and desserts. For the busy cook, there is an express menu suggestion in each chapter to help you zero in on three or four key dishes.

Whatever the occasion, The Spice Is Right offers something for all tastes. Why not plan a backyard barbecue of Indian Lemonade, Chicken Tikka, Corn on the Cob with Spicy Rub, Pickled Onions, and Watermelon Drizzled with Honey? When fall rolls around, treat your family to a Thanksgiving feast of Tandoori Turkey with Cranberry Chutney, Indian Green Beans with Coconut, and Pumpkin Halwa with Crêpes. Other recipes include Shrimp in Coconut Milk, Lentil Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce, Funky Pink Spice Rice, Indian Coleslaw, Coriander Layered Potatoes, Indian Flat Bread, Mango and Cucumber Salad, and Saffron Fruit Custard.

Perfect for newcomers to Indian cooking, The Spice Is Right includes:
* invaluable cooking tips, leftover suggestions, and recipe variations for most dishes
* information about Indian spices, legumes, and other basic pantry staples
* basic cooking techniques, such as dry roasting spices
* basic recipes for home cooks who like to cook from scratch, including hung yogurt, paneer (Indian cottage cheese), and garam masala

For fans of the Internet, The Spice Is Right includes "web bites" that highlight interesting websites related to the recipe or a particular ingredient.

Whether you're preparing a lavish Indian feast for twelve or a cozy dinner for two, The Spice Is Right will help you expand your culinary horizons and convince you that cooking healthful Indian food at home is now within your reach.

Buy the Book!

The Spice Is Right
Easy Indian Cooking for Today
by Monica Bhide
Callawind Publications
$18.95/trade paperback
Publication date: February 2002
ISBN: 1-896511-17-1
Information provided by the publisher.