Complete Book of Indian Cooking: 350 Recipes from the Regions of India

by Suneeta Vaswani

Classic recipes from the many regions of a diverse and culturally rich nation.

Indian cuisine is widely revered for its distinctive tastes and ingredients. The sheer size of India, combined with its history and religious diversity, is reflected in the country's cuisine. Complete Book of Indian Cooking provides hundreds of user-friendly and great-tasting recipes from all regions and cultures of this extraordinary country.

Local/regional ingredients deliver unusual flavors that satisfy the search for new tastes. Each recipe includes background information that helps the home cook become more knowledgeable about -- and comfortable with -- Indian food.

Here are examples of the hundreds of exotic, yet easy,

Starters like fenugreek and spinach fritters (methi palak pakoras), and steamed corn bread (corn dhoklas) Bengali shrimp and long squash (lau chingri); fried dumplings with yogurt and chutney (pahi pakodi chaat) Kerala lamb biriyani; assamese roast chicken (poora kukura); Coory egg and potato curry Vegetarian delights like curried spinach and cheese (saag panir), and chickpea flour dumplings (besan ke gatte) Refreshing desserts like baked bananas with coconut and jaggery. In addition to all the regional foods, the book features chaat the crunchy, sweet and wildly popular street food of India. The chapter on Indian meal traditions and customs rounds out this comprehensive handbook on Indian cuisine.

(20070926)

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

480 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

About the author

Suneeta Vaswani is an accomplished culinary educator and author known for her contributions to Indian cuisine in the United States and beyond. Born in Mumbai, she moved to the U.S. in 1977 and quickly became a prominent figure in the Houston culinary scene. Shifting from a background in Bonsai and Ikebana, she began teaching Indian cooking and went on to conduct classes across the U.S., New Zealand, and Mexico. She taught at institutions like The Methodist Hospital’s Institute of Preventive Medicine and led cooking demonstrations at high-profile stores and events.
Suneeta's passion for Indian cuisine led to the publication of two successful cookbooks: Easy Indian Cooking (2004), which remains a favorite for beginners, and The Complete Book of Indian Cooking (2007), an insightful guide into regional Indian food. Her work has been featured in Bon Appétit, The Washington Post, Fine Cooking, and many local publications. She served as President of the Houston Culinary Guild and was a long-standing member of IACP.
In addition to teaching and writing, she developed specialty Indian food products, consulted for gourmet markets, and contributed to major cultural events in Houston. After returning to Mumbai in 2011, she continued to explore India’s evolving food scene, noting the increasing global influences and adaptation to Indian tastes. Currently, she is updating Easy Indian Cooking with new, accessible recipes. With a career spanning over three decades, Suneeta remains a celebrated advocate of approachable, authentic Indian cooking for both novice and seasoned cooks alike.

Reviews

[Sandra Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t had a huge amount of exposure to Indian cooking, but I have liked everything I’ve tried so far. 350 recipes? Yes, thank you! My daughters were thrilled to find Naan again (one of their all time favorite breads!), but I was very disappointed not to find Gulab Jamoon. I had this delectable dessert at an Indian festival in Texas of all places and fell in love. Unfortunately, I haven’t had them since. I was really hoping for a recipe for them in this book, but it didn’t happen. There are, however, some lovely desserts included, so all is not lost!

There is a nice section on common ingredients in the front of the book that explains about many of the ingredients you will find often in the recipes and is followed by Spices, Spice Blends and Herbs. Recipes are included for four of the spice blends, which is nice. Mail order sources are at the end of the book before the index.

The book is laid out according to type of dish (Appetizers, Chat, Beans and Lentils, Rice Cereal and Breads, Eggs Chicken and Meat, Fish and Seafood, Vegetables, Salads Raitas and Chutneys, Sweets and Beverages), but then each section is divided into regions and these are color coded: red for the Northern regions, orange for East, green for South and blue for West. This is particularly handy for finding dishes from certain regions.

This is a great book for people who love Indian cooking or just want to try something new. It’s easy to follow, so I would even recommend it to novice cooks.

I received a copy of this book from Robert Rose for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a water burner, so I don't know how well I'd do with recipes such as these containing unfamiliar and unpredictable ingredients. That being said, I love Indian food and I really like this book. It's beautifully constructed, comprehensive, and each recipe has a key that depicts which region it is from, which I found enlightening.

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many delicious foods, so little time. The hunt for ingredients will be hard for me but I saved a few of the recipes anyway - just in case I can find the ingredients and taste them.