Cuisines of India: The Art and Tradition of Regional Indian Cooking [Hardcover]

Smita Chandra (Author), Sanjeev Chandra (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2001

For centuries Arab ships sailed to the southern coast of India for the spices that now add heavenly fragrance to an irresistible lamb curry from Tamil Nadu. The 17th-century English planted their gardens in Madras where vegetable korma delighted the eye and palate with a medley of colour and taste. From southern ports to northern mountains, Indian food conveys not only the flavours of a region but its rich history. This lush volume is destined to become the gold standard in Indian cookbooks. Recipes feature authentic, often unusual dishes and are accompanied by lyrical descriptions of locales, legends and history. Sure to please any connoisseur, this delightful cookbook celebrates a great world cuisine, one that is inseparable from its people and past.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

To many North Americans, Indian food consists primarily of curries, kebabs, and chutneys. But Indian food cannot be contained to such a small sampling. In The Cuisines of India: The Art and Traditions of Regional Indian Cooking, author Smita Chandra takes us on a flavorful journey across India. "En route," she says, "we will sample the dishes that are unique to each region and relive the history that shaped its cuisine."

The Cuisines of India is divided into six chapters, each of which explores a distinctive region and its cuisine. While the recipes are presented in a clear and enticing manner, it is the history that accompanies each dish that really grabs you. Once you know that Emperor Shah Jahan (builder of the Taj Mahal) enjoyed a leisurely lunch of Paneer Makhai Masala how can you not try cottage cheese, cashews, and mushrooms in a creamy, buttery tomato sauce? You, however, will probably not be surrounded by an adoring harem as you eat.

Try Murgh Kabab (chicken marinated in minced herbs, sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, eggs, and cream, grilled on skewers) with a side of Takari Thayir Sadam (yogurt rice with mixed vegetables). Vegetarianism is prevalent in many Indian regions, primarily for religious reasons, and has inspired the creation of many a simple but savory dish: Bhutte ki Biryani (rice layered and baked with a spicy corn curry), Gobhi Mussallam (spicy baked cauliflower topped with cottage cheese, bread crumbs, and nuts), and Vendakai Thengai Mudri Poriyal (okra cooked with cashews and coconut). The Cuisines of India reminds us that behind every dish is a long and fascinating history of how it came to the table. --Dana Van Nest

From Publishers Weekly

Geography, custom and religion along with neighboring and invading cultures have shaped contemporary Indian cuisine; Chandra (Indian Grill), who teaches cooking in Toronto, carefully traces its myriad influences, and adds her own touch to this fresh reappraisal of Indian cooking. Chandra introduces each of six regional chapters with anecdotes about ingredients, people, legends and conventions, and then goes into depth, making the book almost as much a detailed history and travelogue of the subcontinent as it is a cookbook. More than 120 recipes (vegetarian and meat-based) offer an enticing diversity. Chandra is a traditionalist, but she's no purist. Saadey Naan, for instance, is made with store-bought pizza dough. Akhroat Murgh, a chicken-based dish, includes portobello mushrooms, yogurt, powdered walnuts, mint and spices and is served in tortillas. Plenty of Chandra's recipes are more conventional, like Dhaniwal Roghan Josh (lamb with onions, yogurt, almonds and coriander) and Saag Kofte (spicy meatballs in spinach and yogurt sauce). Most ingredients are easy to find these days exceptions include beaten rice and dried fenugreek leaves. Chandra's care with history will convince those skeptical of her improvisations (as will an author tour, the book's selection as a fall alternate of the Good Cook Book Club and former Taste host David Rosengarten's blurb), while those new to Indian cuisine will find this a good beginner's guide. B&w illus. 20,000 first printing. Agent, Madeleine Morel.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ecco (July 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060935189
• ISBN-13: 978-0060935184
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,190,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars must own book, December 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Cuisines of India: The Art and Tradition of Regional Indian Cooking (Hardcover)

first off, although i think this is a must-own book, i would not recommend it as a first-buy indian cookbook. for someone completely new to indian cooking, one of the classics by sahni or jaffrey would be better as an introduction and basic resource. for instance, if you don't know what paneer is, the authors' unexplained use of the term "cottage cheese" when paneer is called for will be more than confusing. but, as a book to expand your repetoire of indian recipes, this is fabulous! anyone who has more than one or two indian cookbooks has probably noticed the surprising duplication, even between authors, of the same recipes, which is amazing, given the vastness of india and the incredible number of cultures in it. however, this book has more unduplicated recipes than any of my other indian cookbooks (and i have far too many), and i look forward to cooking all of them. but for me, the second, equally important reason to buy this book is the wonderful introductory paragraphs before each recipe. it seems that it is mandatory for indian cookbooks to inlude history as well as cooking instruction,which is no bad thing, given the ignorance of other cultures in this country. i have enjoyed and learned much from the texts of other indian cookbooks. however, the authors of this book write exceptionally well and amusingly, and the subjects not only include indian history, culinary and social, but even anecdotes about apicius, the roman credited with writing the first known european cookbook; a dishonest medieval english baker; elihu yale, for whom the college is named; and many other fascinating known and unknown people. there are quotes from the diaries and writings of european visitors to india from the 17th to the 19th centuries which are fascinating. (sample fascinating fact: poundicherry was a french colony for three centuries, and the cuisine reflects this.) there are stories of indian rajahs and the english raj. if fact, it might be difficult to keep your attention on the recipes while cooking, there is so much else that is interesting in this book. the line drawings are another plus. all in all, this is a superb book--tempting, wide-ranging recipes, entertaining reading and beatiful illustrations.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Greatly disappointed, October 12, 2002

By 

Georgina "tville" (san francisco, ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cuisines of India: The Art and Tradition of Regional Indian Cooking (Hardcover)

INdian is perhaps my favorite cuisine & I've been to allot of Indian restaurants and own several books. This one though was mediocre at best. Allot flash in the pan, nothing spectacular though it was nice to see the book divided into 6 chapters for the 6 regions of the subcon.
I think that the sisters tried to make the recipes harder & more complicated than they are in the name of authenicity. Most of these recipes were very elaborate with lots of steps.
I would recommend Lord Krishna's book, Julie Sahni's or one Madhur Jaffrey's early books instead.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very enjoyable cookbook!, October 24, 2001

By 

Stephanie Manley (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cuisines of India: The Art and Tradition of Regional Indian Cooking (Hardcover)

Being new to Indian cooking, I immediately appreciated this book for completely describing everything. The author writes with a very personal touch in the written passages before the recipes. What I really like is that she offers suggestions for substitutions, and where to get ingredients that I was not normally familiar with. Many of this dishes have ingredients that have been found in my kitchen for years. The book is broken down into various regions and the recipes have wonderful introductions to give a brief history on the recipe.
I would highly recommend this well written book to anyone interested in Indian cooking.