Monica Bhide, author of The Spice is Right: Easy Indian Cooking for Today as well as this new book, was born in India and moved to the United States in 1991. She is an established home chef and successful caterer who has been cooking Indian cuisine for over twenty years. She currently resides in the Washington, DC area with her husband, Sameer, and young son, Jai.

About the Cookbook

When my husband recently returned from a business trip to India, instead of running to the first burger joint he could find (like many of his colleagues have done), he came home craving more Indian food! I was fortunate enough to have several good cookbooks to use as references and The Everything Indian Cookbook was the newest in my collection. Part of the "Everything Series", this recently-published cookbook follows a tried and true format that has been used throughout the series. Of course, what mattered most to me were the recipes!

Having just returned from Hyderabad, I was a bit apprehensive about preparing Indian dishes for my husband. After all, he'd just been enjoying the "real thing" for a couple of weeks! I was thrilled, though, when I put together dishes like Bengali Jhal Muri (Puffed Rice Mix), Murgh Tikka Masala (Chicken Tikka Masala), Nimbu Wale Chawal (Lemon Rice) and Aloo Ka Parathas (Stuffed Bread with Potato Filling) and both my husband and I swooned! The recipes were easy to follow and additional tips and hints allowed me to tweak recipes when I felt more adventurous. I even tackled Aamraas (Mango Cream) when I decided that I needn't rely on our nearby Indian restaurants when the craving for this dreamy dessert hit again. It's a truly delicious treat that I've enjoyed over slightly softened vanilla ice cream or on its own. I think I shall soon be making the Aam Ki Kulfi (Mango Ice Cream) as the natural successor to the Mango Cream I've become addicted to!

Here is a list of the chapters in the Table of Contents to give you some ideas about the type of themes included in The Everything Indian Cookbook:

1. Basics of Indian Cooking
2. Basic Recipes (Mool Vidhi)
3. Starters and Snacks (Shurat)
4. Drinks, Teas, and Soups (Sharbats, Chai, Aur Shorbas)
5. Salads (Salaads)
6. From the Vegetable Market (Subzi Mandi Se)
7. Chicken and Egg (Murgh Aur Ande)
8. Meat Dishes (Gosht)
9. From the Gisherman's Net (Machwari Ke Jal Se)
10. Rice Dishes (Chawal)
11. Lentil and Yogurt Dishes (Dal Aur Kadhi)
12. Bread Basket (Roti Ki Tori)
13. Chutney, Pickles, and Papads (Kuch Saath Me)
14. Sweet Talk (Meeti Meeti Batien)
15. A Royal Feast (Raj Khana)

While the 300 recipes are easy to follow and use techniques that will be familiar to most, there are some unusual ingredients called for and putting together a traditional Indian menu can be challenging to those unfamiliar with the cuisine. Therefore, the author - Monica Bhide - provides a glossary that explains unique items, an extensive list of resources for providing those items, and a suggested list of ten appropriate menus for different occasions that a great many cooks using the cookbook will be grateful for!

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