American Masala: 125 New Classics from My Home Kitchen
Suvir Saran's first book,Indian Home Cooking, offered a you-can-make-it take on one of the world's great cuisines, whose many spice blends, or masalas, can daunt Western cooks. InAmerican Masala, Suvir offers 125 similarly approachable recipes that bring the many-layered flavors of Indian cooking to more familiar dishes, yielding, for example, Crab and Salmon Cakes with Spicy Cilantro Aïoli, Indian-Spiced Meatballs with Tomato-Chile Sauce, and Tamarind Roost Turkey with Corn Bread-Jalapeño Stuffing. More traditional Indian dishes, like Sweet Potato Chaat and Lamb Seekh Kebabs, are also included, as are sweets, such as Pistachio-and-Cardamom Pound Cake with Lemon Icing and Pavlova with Spiced Berries and Cointreau Cream.Saran, a warm, food-loving presence, also offers autobiographical notes that further domesticate his recipes. With color photos and good info on ingredients and techniques,American Masalacan help cooks add excitement to everyday and party-giving menus alike.--Arthur Boehm