Indian Light Cooking: Delicious and Healthy Foods from One of the World's Great Cuisines

Illinois-based cooking teacher Law set herself a Herculean task: to visit all the states of India and obtain recipes, then refine the favorites to suit the low-fat diets now in vogue in the U.S. She made contact with the executive chef of the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay, and with housewives in Madras who cook ``only'' for families and friends. And so, the recipes here represent myriad styles and sources, from elaborate lamb biryani to a rustic salad of diced onion, tomato and coriander. To accomplished Indian cooks, they may seem too simple or repetitive. But to American cooks unfamiliar with the genre, the book gives quite detailed information about basic Indian ingredients, culinary techniques, useful gadgets and practical substitutions. Law recommends time-savers, such as prepared mixes, ready-made spice blends such as tandoori paste and other conveniences, though she also includes full recipes for popular spice blends, chutneys and other condiments. Reductions in fat and caloric content are due to the elimination of fresh coconut milk and clarified butter (ghee), the use of nonfat dairy products, replacing deep-fat frying with grilling or broiling, and other common-sense adaptations such as choosing only lean cuts of meat and removing skin from chicken. Many of the recipes are inspired by traditional southern Indian vegetarian cuisine, lacking only the final ``tempering,'' or glaze of spices roasted in scads of ghee. They're usually clear and easy to follow, though introductory chapters and prefaces are gushy. ``The marvelous intermingling of ginger and red pepper powder combined with the vivid colors . . . is scrumptious.'' But consider this book a welcome ethnic variation among the innumerable ``cooking light'' books--just not as the reference to all cuisines Indian. Illustrations not seen by PW. (May)