Indian Home Cooking....,

Suvir Saran

★ ★ ★ ★

If you like modernized Indian food and are not adverse to time-consuming challenging recipes... you might like this cookbook. Although the recipes sound tempting, making Lemon Rice that uses EIGHTEEN (18) ingredients is not for me, oh no it is not!

The book itself is heavy due to the slick paper it is printed on and there are only photos every-24 pages and not necessarily of the dishes that are given in the recipes. The Recipe title is in large bold font, the explanation paragraph is a small grey bold font, the ingredients list in a medium black bold font, and the instruction are in a small plain black font, which I found amazingly easy to read.

Contents include: Foreword, Introduction, 13 sections of recipes, Glossary, Acknowledgements, Index, & Credits.

Recipe chapters include:

Soups include: Black pepper Rasam (Consomme) w/ tamarind; Pineapple Rasam w/ tamarind; Carrot & pea soup; Chilled yogurt soup w/ cucumber & mint; and My mother's tomato soup

Dals include: Simple lentil dal w/ cumin & dried red chilies; Empress dal; Simple Gujarati dal w/ three chilies; Yellow mung beans w/ spinach & Panchphoran; Sour chickpeas w/ garam masala & tomato cumin; Spicy squash,eggplant, & lentil stew; and Curried black-eyed peas

Vegetables include: Stir-fried green beans w/ coconut; Stir-friend carrots w/ cumin & lime; Cauliflower in a piquant tomato sauce; My sister's favorite corn curry; Smoked spiced eggplant; Crisp whole okra w/ fennel & coriander; Spicy peas w/ ginger; Plantains in curry; Crispy potatoes w/ cumin; Indian cheese in an herbed green sauce; sweet-sour butternut squash w/ ginger & chilies; and Stir-fried mushrooms w/ onions & tomatoes

Rice includes: Plain Basmati rice; Cumin-scented rice pilaf; Lemon rice (18 ingredients!); Sweet saffron pilaf w/ nuts & currants (This is what we serve at Armenian weddings); Chicken biryani w/ cream & garam masala; Coconut mint rice; Lamb biryani w/ orange & whole garam masala; and My grand-uncle's khitcheree

Poultry includes: Simple Lahori chicken curry w/ onion & tomato; Southern spiced Lahori chicken curry; Braised chicken in white sauce & garam masala; Butter chicken; Bombay chicken curry w/ coriander & coconut milk; Coconut chicken w/ cashews; Ground turkey w/ spinach & whole spices; and Tandoori roast Cornish game hens

Meats include: Simple lamb curry w/ coriander & garam masala; Parsi lamb curry; Pork vindaloo (the only pork dish); Lamb cooked Delhi style; Ground beef w/ spinach & fresh mint (the only beef dish); Ground lamb w/ almonds, cardamom, & coconut; and Mogul lamb 'filet' in a cream sauce w/ garam masala

Fish & Shellfish includes: Salmon curry; Halibut in a hot-sour sauce; Spicy friend salmon; Mangalore fried shrimp; and Tandoori prawns

Appetizers & Snacks include: Spinach, onion & potato pakoras; Puff pastry samosas w/ green peas; Ann's cheese toasts; Chickpea salad; Warm bread salad w/ mustard, cumin & tomatoes; and Papadum

Raitas (cold yogurt salads) include: Cucumber; Mint & onion; Pineapple; Eggplant; Grape; and Zucchini pachadi

The recipe chapters continue w/ Flatbreads & Crackers; Pickles & Chutneys; Sweets (a wonderful sounding Orange Flan); and Drinks.

Unless I was an avid fan of Indian food, which I am not, I would not pay the $32.50 for this book...... But if you are, and you are interested in this book, I'd first borrow it from the Library.