Amazon.com Review
Indian cooks know how to infuse vegetables, legumes, and grain dishes with appealing, intense flavors. That's one reason Indian cooking is attractive when you want to emphasize these foods in your daily diet; however, unfamiliar ingredients and cooking techniques, too much fat and dairy, and time-consuming preparation can be drawbacks to preparing these dishes. Madhu Gadia, a registered dietician, addresses these issues in
Lite and Luscious Cuisine of India. Gadia's self-published book begins with a lesson in basic nutrition, and includes a nutritional breakdown for all 100-plus recipes. To help make Indian cooking more accessible, Gadia suggests when you can reduce preparation time by using frozen vegetables, and recommends ways to prepare and freeze key ingredients so that they will be on hand when you want them. You will recognize many dishes from restaurant menus, including Lamb Seekh Kebab and Chicken Khorma. Most interesting are the good selection of dals, rice, and vegetable dishes, all made using less fat than usual. To eliminate the stumbling block of getting the required ingredients for making many Indian dishes, the book includes an offer for ordering two kits, one that contains all the spices and seasoning blends called for in the book, and one that contains enough of the 15 beans and legumes used to make at least one recipe calling for each.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Bharadwaj's lavishly illustrated book is a guide to more than 100 ingredients basic to Indian cooking, from spices and spice mixtures to beans and grains; some will be unfamiliar even to those who do a lot of Indian cooking. Most are given a two-page spread, with color photographs of the ingredient and of a dish or two made from it. Scenes of India and its people are scattered throughout the text, and the accompanying recipes exemplify the diversity of India's regional cuisines. Bharadwaj's text is informative and well written, but, unfortunately, the recipe style is awkward, and there are a number of Britishisms. Nevertheless, this attractive volume should be an invaluable resource; for most collections. Gadia was born in India but now lives in the Midwest; a clinical dietitian, she also teaches Indian cooking. Her recipes for authentic Indian home cooking are easy to make and low in fat and calories. Despite the plethora of low-fat books published recently, there have not been many on Indian food; this may be the only Indian cookbook for diabetics (food exchanges as well as nutritional analyses are included with every recipe). Although the editing could have been more polished, Gadia's unintimidating style and simple recipes should appeal; for larger and special collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
