Healthy South Indian Cooking

by Patricia Marquardt and Alamelu Vairavan

Book Overview

150 mostly vegetarian recipes will allow home cooks to create fabulous exotic fare like potato-filled dosas with coconut chutney, 'Pearl Onion and Tomato Sambhar', and 'Eggplant Masala Curry' with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0781808677
• ISBN13: 9780781808675
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books
• Length: 348 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Vegetable magic!

I love to cook and have several shelves full of cookbooks, but this one is something very special: it transforms ordinary vegetables (green beans, spinach, cauliflower, etc.) into addictive, exotic, habit-forming dishes that will amaze you and your guests. One of the great frustrations of some types of `ethnic' cuisines is that it seems impossible to recapture the exotic flavors that can be enjoyed in a good restaurant. I used to think Indian food fit into this category; with Healthy South Indian Cooking, that's no longer the case. In fact, one dinner guest, expressing his surprise that my husband and I actually cooked the food we set before him, commented that we served far better food than any of the Indian restaurants in town! Not only is the food great, the recipes are easy to follow, and are straightforward to prepare. Once you have a few spices on hand, more or less any vegetable (or chicken or other meat) that catches your eye in the grocery store can be turned into something truly memorable with a minimum of fuss, bother, and time.

Excellent, userfriendly introduction to South Indian Cooking

A word ahead; I used to live on reheated chili, fatty pizza and store-bought muffins, in the dark ages. But it is never too late for conversion. "Healthy South Indian Cooking" is a perfect introduction to South Indian cuisine. Who would have imagined that familiar vegetables could be ennobled and transformed into irresistible dishes like this! The recipes are described step-by-step and easy to follow, and lend themselves to new variations and combinations. "Healthy South Indian Cooking" turns you loose and sets free your inner Indian. While various coffee table volumes on Indian cooking remain untouched on the shelf, my copy of "Healthy South Indian Cooking" is decorated with colorful stains, blots and other traces of repeated feast preparation. And all this extravagance remains budget-friendly; a starter kit of spices and dhals is all that is needed to turn apparently mundane ingredients into delicacies --- not by magic, but by the mere act of South Indian cooking. Very highly recommended.

Healthy , Delicious and Simple South Indian Cooking

I've had an interest in Indian cooking and have bought several books but had a hard time getting started. This book got me in gear! It includes a list upfront of what spices and ingredients are needed and suggestions for combining recipes and sample menus in the back. With the spices on hand, I have been able to quickly make delicious foods. The recipes are easy to follow and voila we have delicious meals in 20-30 minutes. Because I'm a registered dietitian I have wanted to know how to make Indian cooking in a lower fat, healthy manner. This book does that too by using tricks like using powdered coconut powder instead of higher fat coconut milk. The recipes also include a nutritional analysis. Don't let this put you off because there has been no sacrifice in taste to accomplish the healthy aspect of these recipes. The flavors are subtle and wonderful. I attended a cooking class with Alamelu and her love of cooking and good food are woven throughout this cookbook. Enjoy!

Beautiful, Fun and Healthy

I have several East Indian Cook books, but Healthy South Indian Cooking has fast become my favorite. The descriptions of the many spices, oils, herbs, and the multilingual glossary are a great help for this westerner when shopping for ingredients. The recipes are easy to follow and the instructions on when to add each spice ensure success and the utmost flavor. As one who loves to cook and make notes about recipes, it is a pleasure to finally have a book that allows space on the pages for just that without skimping on the type size or readability of the recipes. I took the book with me to my local international food store to show the owner, who was so pleased that she is ordering her own copy. Food should be beautiful to look at, fun to make and exciting and healthful to eat. Healthy South Indian Cooking does it all. Thank you to authors' Vairavan and Marquardt for this delightful addition to our joy of eating.

An Innovative Cookbook!

This book introduces the readers to the marvelous cuisineand cooking of South India. Most people in the west arenot familiar with the exquisite array of vegetarian andnon-vegetarian dishes from Southern India. One reason for this is that most of the Indian restaurants in the Westserve North Indian foods (which are also delicious, butare different.) Another reason is that most of the Indiancookbooks present North Indian foods. This new book bythe authors has the potential to change this. The recipes are clearly presented with useful nutritionalanalysis for each dish. Every dish I tried turned out verywell and was delicious. The authors have presented a greatdeal of introductory material that readers unfamilar withIndian cooking wil find very useful. I believe a mainstrength of the book is that it is oriented towards modern day cooks in a western kitchen while mostly maintaining theauthenticity of the cuisine. Another positive feature ofthe book is its success in demonstrating the richness ofthe variety of the vegetarian dishes in the South Indiancuisine. I have found that even people who dislike certainvegetables, such as broccoli, brussels sprouts or spinach,may be in for a pleasant surprise when they try the recipesdiscussed in this book!