New Indian Home Cooking (Paperback)

~ (Author) "To me the cuisine of India is family meals, street vendors, the love of a mother and grandmother making special dishes just for me and..." (more)
Key Phrases: cook until the cumin seeds, fry until the cumin seeds, fry until the mustard seeds, United States, Fatog Saturated, Red Fort (more...)

Editorial Reviews

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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: HP Trade (August 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557883432
• ISBN-13: 978-1557883438
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #520,638 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, homestyle recipes..., October 29, 2001

By	Fanshawe (SC, USA) - See all my reviews

I found this book under its old title "Lite and Luscious Indian Cuisine" at the library. I am hoping that only the title has changed, because it's a great book! Ms. Gadia writes in a very conversational way... I feel as though she comes through as a "real person" rather than just an "author"...the recipes are really down to earth as is her writing style. Not many esoteric ingredients are called for (I have a problem sometimes with pantry overload from Indian/Asian cooking...I probably have more kinds of spices in my cupboard than the average Indian person!). It bothers me at times in certain cookbooks when a recipe calls for half a teaspoon of a particular hard to find spice, then doesn't call for that ingredient again in the rest of the book. One ends up with a real overload of spices if you are not cooking Indian every day (especially if you are not cooking for a large family to begin with). In this book some ingredients might be specialized, (asafetida, cardamom pods, etc.) but most of the recipes seem to utilize what is available on hand in your average town (Ms. Gadia lives and works in Ames, Iowa...not New York or Chicago). Those who are on specialized diets will appreciate her tables for food exchanges and nutritional info, too. All around, this seems truly to be "home cooking" and a labor of love!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best ever!, September 10, 2004

By	Andrea M. Pinto "Proud Chicago Mom" (Chicago) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am an American who cooks for my Indian husband, and I've tried several cookbooks. This is the best--easy, and uses the same basic 10 spices so you don't have to go out and buy all sorts of spices you've never heard of.

I wore out my first copy, and I seriously had to buy another!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good for the health-conscious, July 25, 2006

By	Mitch Baywatch (Brighton, NY) - See all my reviews

I probably wouldn't have bought this book if it had still been under its hardcover title "Lite and Luscious Indian Cuisine" (or something like that). I am suspicious of overtly health-conscious food (and cutesy misspelling), although Indian food tends to work pretty well even when low fat. It is pretty easy to adjust these recipes, though, by using full-fat yogurt, ghee, etc.

The strength of this book is that it provides many non-main course recipes, such as snacks, breads, drinks, etc. This is home cooking, not restaurant cooking.

There are a few drawbacks. The book barely has 100 recipes, so if you buy a big bag of toor dal, there are only a few things you can do with it. I would have preferred more recipes and less advice on healthy eating (but others may disagree). While the recipes are generally easy to make, this isn't a book that does much hand-holding. Other cookbooks provide step-by-step instructions; this does not. A few times I've wondered whether my dish was supposed to come out a certain way, but there are no pictures.

Some of the recipes worked for me, but some seem under-spiced.