"Best of Indian Cuisines", authored by Lakshmi Arasu, contains vegetarian and non-vegetarian recipes for the generation that likes everything at the click of the mouse.
Tidily divided into region-wise cuisine, Mughlai, idli-dosa, microwave, desserts, kababs, snacks, dal / rasam, raitha / chutney, Indian breads, sea food, lamb dishes, chicken, egg curries, soups, and veg dishes, contains over 36 sections, each section with up to 25 recipes. In all totaling more than 700 mouth watering recipes.
And, within these recipes, the author has smartly packed in as much assortment as possible. For instance, the Kerala segment includes the quintessential theeyal, avial, olan, erissery, pulissery, thoran and pachadi, in addition to a host of non-veg curries.
Of course, half the recipes are on expected lines because of its target audience. So, you have everything from roti dough, idli batter, fish cutlets, chicken 65, omelette, cream tomato soup, to masal vada, onion sambhar and tomato rice.
But, where it scores is in the not-so-common ones. Each category has a smattering of unusual delicacies. Sample these: Coriander walnut raitha, potato rice, cucumber dosa, cabbage payasam, banana poori, apple chutney and pineapple rasam.
The author keeps the recipes snappy without compromising on the details. The peanut burfi recipe runs to just eight lines! The large fonts and the colourful pictures of the dishes deserve a special mention.
The best part is saved for the last: glossary, which also includes a translation of ingredients in English, Hindi, Tamil and Kannada; over 50 pertinent cooking tips; and calorific information on dishes. A MUST BUY for all those interested in Home Cooking of Indian Recipes."
