This is THE Indian cookbook.
Whether you're vegetarian or not, if you like Indian food, you NEED this book. It's won a slew of the major cookbook awards, and with good reason: It's pretty nearly encyclopedic in scope, and the recipes, which are clearly presented and often include drawings to help novices with unfamiliar techniques, are superb. Furthermore, snd she's made them American-cook-friendly without in any way dumbing them down.
A good glossary of ingredients is included, and a good bit of cultural background as well. Devi does fawn over her guru to a mildly icky degree in spots. . .but, ohhh, the recipes! The eggplant-cheese fritters alone are worth the price of the book if, like me, you love eggplant. And the book is beautifully and very sturdily bound, which is good, because you're going to use it a LOT.
