Manju Malhi's India With Passion

By JULIETTE ROSSANT A stunning new cookbook arrived by mail, and I can't wait to try some recipes. The author is Manju Malhi, who had a cooking show on the short-lived Taste Network called Simply Indian back in 2001. Following the show came a first book, Brit Spice (London: Penguin, 2002), which announced her "Brit-Indie" style (according to her publicist Mary Jones). India with Passion (London: Mitchell Beazley, 2004), the book which now graces my home, is full of stunning pictures of the ingredients, the dishes, and the people of India. The Times of London wrote, "This book takes you all over India, sampling regional delicacies... The recipes are temptingly simple, though you will need to stock up with the most important spices. Malhi is not an obsessive purist, and will allow you to use cheddar instead of Indian cheese, and butter instead of ghee..." Top British food photographer Jason Lowe added visions not only of enchanting food but also the magic of India, even at its poorest. The book covers all points of India, North, South, East and West, identifying the main culinary influences of each area. It is a great primer for those of us who think that Indian food is all the same over the whole Subcontinent. I am off to find the Indian ingredients I need for the recipes at Grand Mart in Gaithersburg, Maryland, recommended by India's cookbook queen, Madhur Jaffrey. Previous articles: Madhur Jaffrey: Our Lady of India, CBE Book Links: Publisher Amazon.com Technorati Tags: chefs restaurants food cookbooks biography branding -> back to superchefblog