The Spice is Right: Easy Indian Cooking for Today [Paperback]

Monica's new cookbook presents traditional Indian Soul Food with a personal touch. She presents her recipes in a Menu Format. Since a combination of dishes are normally served, this is quite helpful for anyone who is new to this exotic cuisine.

"I believe that everything you eat evokes a memory of something. Many of these dishes remind me of Sunday mornings with my mother, when I was learning to cook." pg. 9

Monica Bhide has a lifelong passion for cooking. She is a caterer and home chef who specializes in Indian Cuisine and has taken formal cooking courses in her native India. She also loves to collect cookbooks, although she became frustrated with the lack of straightforward Indian cookbooks.

These recipes do not require involved cooking techniques. Monica has also included delicious little tidbits of information about a particular ingredient or gives a serving suggestion and cooking tip.

What is so great are her "Web Bites" that lead you to wonderful informational sites on the Internet so you can purchase the Indian ingredients you can't find in the stores. What an angel! Then, she worked with Shilpa Thakur, a senior nutritionist in North Delhi to provide a nutritional analysis for each recipe. That was also very impressive! Normally Indian cuisine is very rich and contains clarified butter, coconut milk, etc. Monica has tried to modify some of the recipes and has tried to avoid deep-frying in many recipes. She has tried to marinate ingredients in herbs and spices to increase the flavor instead of adding more butter or oil.

Aromatic Indian Cuisine can be Mild, Medium or HOT. As Monica says: "Mild (Translation: what is this doing in a spicy cookbook?)" There is also a funny explanation of how to "fan" potatoes which I found very amusing.

So, when making Shimp in Coconut Milk on pg. 24, you will see one asterisk which means the recipe is mild. Chicken 65 and Yogurt and Red Chile Curry have three asterisks. You could make these recipes mild by simply taking out some of the red chiles, so all the recipes are technically adaptable unless you decide to put in the full amount of chile powder.

Introduction - a lovely introduction to her recipes. She explains how her recipes evolved and also gives you tips on how to refashion recipes with out exotic ingredients.
Indian cuisine - she explains the philosophy of "athithi devo bhava."
The spice sack - a cute chapter that describes the typical Indian Pantry. Here you can read about curry leaves, garam masala, paneer, saffron, toor dal and asafetida.
Indian cooking techniques - learn the most important secrets in Indian cooking.
Basic Recipes - learn to make your own garam masala, ginger garlic paste and besan bundi.

The rest of the chapters are all organized in the same way. First a traditional Indian drink, then appetizers, "the real food/main course," side dishes, desert and then what to do with the leftovers. It is such a unique approach for an Indian cookbook and it makes complete sense.

At the start of each chapter, Monica gives a lovely short introduction to the dishes with a bit of history and a few cooking tips. Within the chapters you will find recipes in a great format. All the ingredients are listed in the order they are used, with recipe divisions clearly indicated by headings for marinades and spice rubs, etc.

The ingredients for each part of the recipes are organized together under a heading. The instructions are in a paragraph format, with little stars inbetween the steps so you can easily find the next step. There seems to be a variation on each recipe which will inspire your own creativity.

Here are the chapters and some recipes included in each. I won't type out all the recipes, but a few that are especially tempting:

Seafood Sunday - Mango Juice, Mussels, Roasted Lentil Wafers, Baked Fish, Shrimp in Coconut Milk, Corn and Rice Pilaf, Onion Salad, Tapioca Clouds, Fish Sandwich (leftover idea), Onion Toast.
Let's try Indian - Honey Glazed chicken and Coriander Layered Potatoes.
An Indian Super Bowl Party - I'd suggest watching Lagaan with this meal after
reading the introduction. Imagine fresh fruit in a Mango Ginger Sauce for desert.
Happy Birthday to you - Finally a recipe for Mango Lassi and Trifle.
The boss is coming to dinner - Mushroom caps with Spinach Filling, Herb, Rice, and Chicken Bake (Biryani) and Tandoori Paratha (oven-baked Indian bread).
Hearty Sunday Brunch - Spinach and Corn Bake, Pumpkin with Whipped Yogurt Sauce and Rice Pudding.
A Picnic Basket - Watermelon Juice, Hummus with Pita Slices and Mango Cake for desert.
Delhi Fare for Four - Wines to serve with Indian Food, Tamarind Chutney (I have been looking for a recipe for this...forever!), Shallot Chicken with Coconut Curry, Saffron Fruit Custard.
An Intimate Dinner for Two - Red Lentil Curry and Sweet Bananas for desert.
Turkey Day - Kashmiri Cheese Kebabs, Tandoori Turkey, Cranberry Chutney, Pumpkin Halwa with Crepes.
Backyard Grilling - Lemonade, Lamb Kebabs, Chicken Tikka, Corn on the Cob with a Spicy Rub, Watermelon Drizzled with Honey, Kiwi Sorbet and for leftovers you can make a potato soup. (somehow we doubt there will be any leftovers!)
No-meat Fridays - Spice Chai Tea drink, Crab Curry, Chickpea Pancakes, Vermicelli in Sweet Cram Sauce.
Some like it HOT - Papaya Passion drink, Chile Cdorn, Yogurt and Red Chile Curry, Chicken Curry, Apricots and Cream.
Our Daily Bread - Learn to make Roti and Fenugreek Curry Bread.
The Chelsea Platter - Tandoori Naan, Indian Ice Cream (Kulfi) and Dal.

As you can see, this cookbook about covers everything you would ever feel adventurous enough to make. There are over 150 healthful versions of traditional Indian dishes as well as Western dishes with an Indian twist.

Shopping Sources - more websites and mail order catalogs. Most of the ingredients should be readily available. Some of the ingredients you will want to order include: mango powder (although she says you can substitute lemon juice), poppy seed paste, mango pulp, sambar powder, etc.

Index - Well organized and easy to find your favorite recipes.

This is a down-to-earth cookbook with non-intimidating recipes and a fun style. If you don't have a coffee grinder, you will need one to grind up the garam masala. Works like a charm.

Highly Recommended!

~The Rebecca Review

For a cookbook to really catch a reader, it's necessary to make it accessible. Interesting. Fun. When the cuisine in question is one as simultaneously intriguing- with its complexity of unfamiliar tastes, spices, and preparations- and potentially intimidating- for exactly the same reasons- as Indian food, accessibility is all the more important. On this as on many other scores, Monica Bhide's "The Spice Is Right: Easy Indian Cooking For Today" is a success.

Conveniently arranged into a series of menus, the book not only provides an overview of differing techniques and tastes, but chronicles its author's journey as a practitioner of Indian cookery in America, including applications of Indian cooking to such quintessentially American phenomena as Thanksgiving and Super Bowl parties. The "web bites" dotted throughout provide Internet resources for more information, recipes and Indian grocery shopping.

Such fresh takes and 21st-century asides make it clear this is not her grandmother's cookbook. But there's plenty of tradition here as well: how to temper spices in hot oil (tadka); how to make your own paneer (cottage cheese); instructions for whipping up essentials like garam masala and ginger-garlic paste from scratch. Not to mention recipes for old friends like vindaloo, biryani and chicken tikka. The innovation is nicely balanced against a respect, obviously derived from practice, for the source, and the book will reward the earnest novice as well as the seasoned practitioner.

The proof of any cookbook is, finally, in the eating. And the recipes in this one stand up to the test. I'm partial to vindaloo and enjoyed this version, but also found gems in recipes such as "Mussels in a Hat" and Crab Curry which were refreshing as well as tasty. I've yet to have time to cook everything I want out of this book- but I'm certainly looking forward to the attempt. The only difficulty I've had is in using the author's suggestions for leftovers- so far, there haven't been any.

I use this book often for several reasons. First and foremost, the recipes taste great! Secondly, and nearly as important, is that they don't require an inordinate amount of time to prepare -- the recipes are streamlined more than in other cookbooks. Third, I like the writing style and the author's practical serving suggestions and food combinations. I am not Indian and therefore I don't dare speak to the "authenticity" of the recipes, but frankly I don't think it matters, either. The point is that these recipes taste good and they'll remind you of your favorite Indian restaurant's cuisine, but they're do-able in your own home.

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