Recipes With a Spice: Indian Cuisine for Balanced Nutrition

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Summary: A True Guide to Indian Cuisine and Healthful Living
Review: For some time now, I have been quite interested in learning about Indian Cuisine. I love Indian food and the wonderful spices that are used in Indian dishes. I had no idea where to start when I wanted to learn about the spices and methods used in this cuisine. I found this book, Recipes With a Spice, and after reading it and experimenting with the many recipes within the book, I can honestly say that I am confident about my abilities to cook using these methods, even for individuals who were brought up eating these foods. The reason I am so confident, is because this book is completely thorough in explaining cooking methods, ingredients and nutritional values. Kusum Gupta takes time to explain the MANY different ingredients that are common in Indian cuisine, and she goes into great detail telling what each ingredient is, how it is used, and what effect ingredients have in dishes. She even gives you the alternative names for the ingredients, and some great information about the health benefits of each ingredient!
Then the book goes on to teach you about the different preparation techniques, which was a GREAT deal of help guiding me through the different recipes. I have always had so many questions about different cooking methods, and this book really goes into great detail about many of them such as deep-frying, kneading dough, cooking dry beans, drying herbs, making Paneer (fresh cheese), roasting spices and nuts, and more. So not only did I find a wonderful book full of delicious recipes, but I also found a book that really helped me learn about this cuisine and taught me a lot about eating healthy.
The telling moment of my learning experience was when I invited a few Indian friends over for a buffet-style dinner one evening. I decided to surprise them with a meal made up of appetizers, main dishes and desserts all from this book. I started out with some mango punch in the early evening. For appetizers I served vegetable cutlets with mint-coriander chutney as suggested, Samosas, and vegetable Pakoras.
For supper we had Tandoori Chicken (which is probably one of the most fantastic recipes in this book!!!),Egg Curry, Alu Bhaji, Saffron Rice, and some Nan by popular request! Everyone was shocked and amazed when they saw everything I had prepared (and with helpful suggestions from Kusum Gupta, I was able to make some things ahead of time!).
For dessert, I made Falooda and Kulfi,...and by this time I think I won over the hearts of all of my guests!!! Later after dessert, I offered my guests some hot cider, another recipe from the book, and all relaxed and enjoyed this drink after a big meal!
The meal went over VERY well...and everyone was amazed, considering I only started learning about Indian Cuisine about 5 months ago.
I read this entire book as if it was a mystery novel; I couldn't put it down! I have made over half of the recipes in this cookbook so far, and I must say that I have enjoyed every single one of them. I commend Kusum Gupta for her spectacular explanations, helpful tips and emphasis on eating nutritiously.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about Indian cuisine and healthful eating habits. Anyone from beginners (even children!) to pros can enjoy this book and the wonderful foods they will make using the recipes within it. After making and experimenting with the recipes in this book, I have even moved on to developing some of my own recipes! What more could I ask for from one book!