One Spice, Two Spice: American Food, Indian Flavors (Hardcover)

by Floyd Cardoz (Author), Jane Daniels Lear (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In his debut cookbook, Cardoz, chef of the Danny Meyer–owned Indian fusion restaurant Tabla in Manhattan, successfully demystifies Indian cooking. He takes familiar foods like fish, meats and vegetables and adds a distinctly Indian touch, as in the Seared Scallops with Lime Jaggery Glaze. The collection of recipes is divided in 10 sections, which are organized by food type: e.g., soups, condiments (integral in Indian cooking), vegetables and chicken. With each recipe, Cardoz discusses his inspiration or the significance of the food in Indian culture. He explains that the recipe for Goan-Spiced Roast Pork Tenderloin, for instance, stems from the unique culture that was created when the Portuguese ruled Goa. Recipes reflect Cardoz's inimitable combinations, like the Duck with Black Pepper-Tamarind Jus and Venison Steaks with Coriander, yet most are surprisingly uncomplicated with accessible ingredients. The Roast Lamb with Mint–Black Pepper Sauce made with an aromatic spice rub and a sauce of tomatoes, mint, ginger and garlic is a standout as are such condiments as Boodie's Ketchup with cinnamon, vinegar and shallots and the Curry Leaf Lime Vinaigrette. One wishes only that Cardoz would have included desserts—it would have interesting to see how he applies his peerless cooking style to sweet endings. A 24-page color insert gives life to many of the creations. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"Recipes reflect Cardoz's inimitable combinations...yet most are surprisingly uncomplicated with accessible ingredients." (Publishers Weekly )

"Strongly recommended for most collections." (Library Journal )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks (October 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060735015
• ISBN-13: 978-0060735012
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #251,912 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #57 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Asian > Indian
  #93 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Herbs, Spices & Condiments

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Murder by publisher (who should know better), November 12, 2007

By	Claudia Summer (Puget Sound, USA) - See all my reviews

I love the title. I love the idea of cooking American food with Indian spices. However, this book seems dedicated to keeping its secrets from the public.

Amateur art direction gives us pages printed in brown and lime, with page numbers in unreadable screened lime. Squares of too-heavy lime green are plopped over the brown type lists of ingredients, making them totally unreadable. Throughout the book, the type lines are too long for the page width, leaving much information lost somewhere in the spine. None of this crowding is necessary, as there are plenty of white pages that could have been utilized. Nice crisp black type in a larger size might have saved this book from the Unreadable category in spite of the cheap paper its printed on and the smudgy looking color photos. But no. We're left to stand in our kitchens with magnifying glasses and flashlights. The joy of cooking it's not. If I were the author, I'd be seriously ticked. Seriously.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Far from Exquisite, July 20, 2007

By	Antigone Walsh - See all my reviews

I really wanted to love this book but found myself disappointed. On the positive side, the author, a chef at a New York eatery, Tabla, sounds like a very interesting person. His introductions to the recipes share both his personal story and a little history about the recipe. Unfortunately, none of the recipes I tried justified the time or expense and effort in securing some of the more exotic ingredients. This is not to say that they were bad, they were fair to good. The lamb and chicken recipes were acceptable as was the cucumber soup. The book is heavy on fish but again, the result did not justify the effort. I was disappointed that there were no dessert recipes.

The book contains photographs but they have that dated feel one gets from the promotional magazines they keep in hotels. They are okay but far from exquisite, which describes this book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars American Food with an Indian Kick!, January 22, 2007

By	Roshni Amin "food savvy" (Edison, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love the way this cookbook brings together two different cultures to produce amazing recipes. I actaully found this book easy to understand because of the full detailed glossary that explains all the indian spices (which not many indian cookbooks do!) My personal favorite recipe is the black pepper shrimp. I have tried this dish at the restaurant, Tabla, and would never think it is possible to make at home but it turns out that it's a really easy dish to prepare. If you want American food with an Indian kick I highly recommend this book!