Hindu Soul Recipes

Although small, this cookbook is far more than a collection of recipes. Authentic and interesting, it explains traditional Indian foods and philosophy. Like many other cultures, Indian culture has a tradition of preparing foods that are in season--that is, what can be harvested at the time. The Ayurvedic tradition in India also holds that people have certain qualities that can be defined as vata, pitta, or kapha (or combinations). In the Ayurvedic tradition, different foods are thought to help balance those qualities. All of these concepts are briefly explained at the front of this book. About the recipes: For each recipe, the author provides a bit of lore, sometimes discussing their season (i.e., when you should prepare them), or their Ayurvedic qualities, or the ingredients, and so on. The author is also careful to provide both the more commonly known English names for ingredients as well as the Indian ones (for example, black gram is also known as urad dal). The quantities are provided in both English and metric. Each recipe is gorgeously illustrated with a full-color photograph of the finished product. Throughout the book, sidebars provide additional insights on individual ingredients or on Hindi customs and beliefs. There are two reasons I gave this book four stars instead of five. (1) Many of the ingredients are going to be hard to get in most of America. Although it is possible that you can find some of the ingredients online, it adds an obstacle to cooking these recipes. (2) The index is not at all helpful, since it simply repeats the titles of the recipes in the order in which they appear in the book. However, it is still well worth owning, especially if you like to have unusual and hard-to-find recipes in your collection.