The Spice Is Right Press Release from Callawind

Everything Indian is new again. This vast and varied continent is once more influencing fashion, exercise, music, travel, and spirituality, not to mention the pleasures of the palate. Indeed aromatic Indian cuisine has become "all the raj" across North America, especially among the 20-something set. Yet when home cooks want to try cooking Indian, they often face intimidating "old-school" cookbooks with complicated recipes, long ingredient lists, and an emphasis on rich sauces and deep-frying.

So how do Indian food fans—especially the young and culinary-challenged—cook Indian at home and keep it healthful? THE SPICE IS RIGHT: Easy Indian Cooking for Today (Callawind Publications, US$18.95 / CDN$24.95, softcover) features 150 simple, calorie-conscious Indian dishes as well as Western dishes with an Indian twist. Recipes are easy to follow, have short ingredient lists, use readily available ingredients, and don’t require complicated cooking methods. What’s more, the book is organized into 15 menus with familiar Western themes, which takes the guesswork out of planning an Indian meal. Each menu features drinks, appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, and desserts. For the busy cook, there is an express menu suggestion in each chapter to help you zero in on three or four key dishes.

Whatever the occasion, THE SPICE IS RIGHT offers something for all tastes. Why not plan a backyard barbecue of Indian Lemonade, Chicken Tikka, Corn on the Cob with Spicy Rub, Pickled Onions, and Watermelon Drizzled with Honey? When fall rolls around, treat your family to a Thanksgiving feast of Tandoori Turkey with Cranberry Chutney, Indian Green Beans with Coconut, and Pumpkin Halwa with Crêpes. Other recipes include Shrimp in Coconut Milk, Lentil Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce, Funky Pink Spice Rice, Indian Coleslaw, Coriander Layered Potatoes, Indian Flat Bread, Mango and Cucumber Salad, and Saffron Fruit Custard.

Perfect for newcomers to Indian cooking, THE SPICE IS RIGHT includes:

invaluable cooking tips, leftover suggestions, and recipe variations for most dishes
information about Indian spices, legumes, and other basic pantry staples
basic cooking techniques, such as dry roasting spices
basic recipes for home cooks who like to cook from scratch, including hung yogurt, paneer (Indian cottage cheese), and garam masala

For fans of the Internet, THE SPICE IS RIGHT includes "web bites" that highlight interesting websites related to the recipe or a particular ingredient.

Whether you’re preparing a lavish Indian feast for twelve or a cozy dinner for two, THE SPICE IS RIGHT will help you expand your culinary horizons and proves that cooking healthful Indian food at home is now within everyone’s reach.

"THE SPICE IS RIGHT is wonderful. With over 500 cookbooks at arm's reach I didn’t think I’d get one that would find its way to my kitchen anymore. Not only are there recipes that I want to prepare (which is rare in most modern cookbooks), the cookbook itself is EXTREMELY attractive and friendly. It made me want to take a look inside and thumb through the pages." — Kent Villard, The Internet Chef (iChef.com)

"In the competitive cookbook market, this captivating book stands out. Bhide succeeds in crafting easy-to-follow recipes using readily available ingredients. She presents 150 healthful versions of Indian classics (mango lassi and chicken tikka) and Western favorites with an Indian twist (tandoori turkey, anyone?), and gives sound tips on what to do with some of the leftovers. But what’s most striking is how Bhide infuses the margins of each page with colorful anecdotes and tidbits." — Jennifer Bain, "Cookbook of the Week" (The Toronto Star)

About the author: Cooking has been a lifelong passion for Monica Bhide. An accomplished caterer and home chef, Monica is a graduate of several formal cooking courses in her native India and has been cooking Indian food for more than 20 years. She is also a voracious cookbook reader and counts several hundred cookbooks in her collection. Born in India, thirty-two-year-old Monica has been living in the United States since 1991, and currently resides in Boston.

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THE SPICE IS RIGHT: Easy Indian Cooking for Today
by Monica Bhide
Release date: February 2002 (October 2001 in Canada)
Published by Callawind Publications
Distributed by Biblio Distribution (a division of NBN — National Book Network)
Format: 7¼ x 9 inches / 144 pages
Price: US$18.95 / CDN$24.95
ISBN: 1-896511-17-1
Available at retail and online bookstores or by calling 1-800-462-6420

For more information, please contact Pamela Carmen at Callawind Publications:
Tel: (514) 685-9109 / Fax: (514) 685-7952 / E-mail: pamela@callawind.com