Food of India (Food Of Series) [Paperback]

Priya Wickramasinghe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2010 | Series: Food Of Series

Winner, gold award, Best Hard Cover Recipe Book 2002-2003, Jacob's Creek World Food Media Awards, Adelaide, Australia

The Food of India captures the spirit of one of the world's great cuisines. It includes myriad exciting recipes for the vast array of dishes that are India's modern cuisine, from traditional Moghul dishes, such as korma and kofta, to a selection of breads, dals, and fragrant basmati rice dishes, including pulao and biryani. Stunning color photographs allow readers to explore the country's beauty and rich diversity: snack-sellers on the beaches of Mumbai, rossogolla-makers of Kolkata; the tea gardens of Assam and Munnar.

About The Food of... series
A culinary journey around the world.

Each title in The Food of... series is a comprehensive introduction to one of the world's great cuisines. The books feature more than 100 delicious recipes highlighting the country's culinary treasures. Instructive color photographs of each dish in preparation identify the local ingredients, from vegetables and flavorings fresh from the market to street snacks, sweets, and colorful exotic fruits. Full-color feature sections explore the essence of each individual culture's food and cooking techniques.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A definitive guide to the vast array of Indian food found in this exotic country. Where dishes vary not only from region to region but suburb to suburb, the range and scope of local specialities is endless: Moghul kormas, Assam teas and Delhi sweets being just a few. The research team behind this book travelled the length and breadth of India, talking to chefs, tasting the dishes and visiting local food producers, giving the reader an honest, insider view of the country's culinary delights and history. The photographs of Jason Lowe capture all the vibrancy and colour associated with the East, reflected in the colourful dishes whose recipes accompany them. Special open-out photographic sections illustrate the diversity of Indian herbs and spices, sweets and teas making the book extra special with their freshness and attractiveness. A must for any lover of India or Indian food. - Lucy Watson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Priya Wickramasinghe is a chef and author originally from Sri Lanka whose previous titles include Spicy and Delicious and Leith's Indian and Sri Lankan Cookery.

Carol Selva Rajah is a chef, author, teacher, and television presenter. She has written 12 cookbooks including Makan-Lah!: The True Taste of Malaysia. She also writes frequently for Australian Gourmet Traveller and many other publications.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Whitecap Books Ltd. (January 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155285678X
• ISBN-13: 978-1552856789
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #678,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, January 20, 2004

By 

liat2768 "liat2768" (dallas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Food of India (Hardcover)

This gorgeous oversized hardcover (yes amazon has the wrong picture . . .) first gave me the impression that the authors' priority would be pretty pictures and recipes would come second. I was very pleased to find that I was wrong. The book has lovely and accurate recipes for everything an Indian Kitchen should have including how to make panner (indian home made cheese) chenna (cheese used to make desserts) yoghurt, obscure indian vegetables and the main staple recipes of most indian cookbooks. I do have two complaints - the recipes are given without possible western substitutions for indian ingredients . . E.G wrapping things in bananna leaves and cooking them. Sounds great but my indian store doesn't tend to carry bananna leaves. Would foil work?? I don't know. It usually helps if a recipe is tweaked to accomodate a western supermarket. Julie Sahni's book Savoring India does that wonderfully.
Also, ocassionally there are fold out pages with little blurbs and pictures of things like street foods or snacks without a recipe for them. Nice to see but no way to cook them is provided.
I would also like to make a comment about the growing size of the cookbooks nowadays. I hated the teensy weensy pocket paperbacks but these huge SUV's of the kitchen take up the entire counter space above a cabinet and are way to long and heavy for a standard cook book holder. about six inches shorter would have worked fine although some of the pretty decor would have had to go.
All in all, a nice book for indian cooking

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious recipes and photography, December 4, 2006

By 

SJK (Georgetown, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Food of India (Food Of Series) (Paperback)

When I decided to purchase an Indian cookbook, I looked extensively through the recipes in many different ones before buying this one. Yes, the pictures alone make this a coffee table book worth having, but the recipes were also very well laid out and looked acheivable.

For a point of reference, I am a fairly experienced home cook, but not a pro by any stretch (except possibly a pro at cookbook collecting). This past Saturday night, I had a few friends over and made the following recipes (making them for the first time, I might add) - Butter Chicken, Lamb Korma, Matar Paneer, Raita, Carrot Halva (plus some spiced basmati rice). It was unbelievably scrumptious - with the added bonus of very straightforward, foolproof recipes. I hope to make my way through some more of them very soon. :)

Ditto to several other reviewers' comments that you will need some special spices/ingredients if you don't already have a kitchen stocked for Indian cooking, but nothing that I was unable to find (in the Salt Lake City area). I highly recommend this cookbook.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, June 4, 2003

By 

"kaycekay" (tamil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Food of India (Hardcover)

though the cover picture is wrong but the recepies aren't- i am a professional chef with quite a good expertise in indian cuisine and in pursue to sharpen my skills in south indian- i find the recipes easy and also authentic in every aspect- the author may be a srilankan national( a wild guess by her name) but the work and the dedication has made her a authentic indian to her work. It is very appreciable hats off to the author priya. I have tried a few reciepes which are perfect and the pictures in the book are extrodinary to the western eyes bringing the streets of indian market to them..
I with no doubt give 5 star rating to this book