Indian Spice Kitchen: Essential Ingredients and Over 200 Authentic Recipes [Hardcover]

Monisha Bharadwaj (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997

Presenting more than two hundred authentic Indian recipes, an illustrated cookbook explains how to use a wide range of herbs, nuts, spices, vinegars, and other special ingredients to create distinctive Indian dishes, including soups, breads, vegetable and meat dishes, desserts, and beverages. 25,000 first printing."

Editorial Reviews

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.

From Booklist

Most people recognize the indispensable role of spices to Indian cookery, but few realize just how vast an assortment of spices and herbs pervade the subcontinent's foods. Bharadwaj categorizes Indian seasonings and nonmeat foodstuffs into spices, spice mixtures, dried herbs, fruits and vegetables, nuts, dals and pulses, cereals and flours, and miscellaneous families. For each item, she provides a description, history, botanic classification, provenance, uses, and some typical Indian recipes featuring the seasoning. Full-color enlargements make each spice and herb easy to identify. Many herbs carry reasonably familiar names, excepting exotica such as edible silver foil. Bharadwaj's recipes require minimal experience with Indian cooking, but may frustrate those without access to fairly comprehensive Indian food markets. This volume's exhaustive pictorial tabulation of Indian foods makes it an important addition to any library cooking reference collection, especially those serving South Asian populations. Mark Knoblauch

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525943439
• ISBN-13: 978-0525943433
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #608,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exotic, ancient, rich cuisine!, May 8, 2000

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Indian Spice Kitchen: Essential Ingredients and Over 200 Authentic Recipes (Paperback)

The Indian Spice Kitchen is a lush, full-size Indian Cookbook with over 200 recipes to demonstrate the use of a complex variety of wonderful exotic Indian spices and foods. Each spice or food is headlined by name, displayed in vivid color photos, and amplified by brief categories of information including how it grows, appearance and taste, buying and storing, medicinal and other uses, and culinary uses. This is followed by a couple of easy to prepare recipes to demonstrate the spice, showcased by yet more breathtaking photo compositions of the prepared food. The Indian Spice Kitchen is a treat to the eye with multisensory appeal. You can almost smell the fragrances! All recipe photography is by Julie Dixon, and extensive photographic acknowledgements are given at the end of the book. The text is descriptive, educational and contains just the right amount of anecdote to add pungency to the mix. The recipes themselves are simple and wonderful. Some examples are Bharwan Tamater (Stuffed Tomatoes), Channa Pulao (white chickpeas and rice). Pavta Patties (Lima Bean Patties), Bombay Pudding, Komdi Vindaloo (Spicy Goan Chicken Curry), Mooli Ka Salaad (white radish salad), and Lucknow Murgi Biryani (chicken Biryani Lucknow style). Chapters cover spices, herbs, vegetables and fruits, nuts, breads and cereals, and lentils/legumes as well as occasional treats and miscellaneous ingredients such as pappadams (thin fried bread wafers), jaggery (a sugar cane by-product), and edible silver foil used to garnish Indian treats. From start to finish, The Indian Spice Kitchen is a feast for the senses. Its fragrances waft out, tempting readers to try their hand at this exotic, ancient, rich cuisine.

Nancy Lorraine Reviewer

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Introduction to Indian Cooking, May 5, 2004

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T. Hooper "thdizzy" (Osaka, Japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Indian Spice Kitchen: Essential Ingredients and Over 200 Authentic Recipes (Paperback)

The Indian Spice Kitchen is a good reference book for learning about the spices that are common in Indian cooking. The information is classified by spice or ingredient type. Each spice is given a two-page spread in which information is given about the taste, appearance, source, history, and cultural signifigance of the spice. Also two recipies are given which use the spice mentioned. The recipies are nice, but I think that the main function of this book is to introduce the spices common in the Indian kitchen. The book is filled with full-color pictures throughout, and it will please any serious foodlover. If you already know a lot about the spices used in Indian cooking and are more interested in recipies, perhaps you should look for a more focused cookbook. For beginners to Indian cooking, this is a perfect introduction.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Delicious, March 24, 2003

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P. verma (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Indian Spice Kitchen: Essential Ingredients and Over 200 Authentic Recipes (Paperback)

The recipe book is one of my favorites. I am Indian and well versed with how complicated Indian Recipes can be. Ms. Monisha has presented a diverse, delicious and interesting variety of recipes that are easy to follow and easy to make. These recipes form a majority of my "never failed" recipes. My favorites - Navratan Korma and Walnut Koftas.