Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian

Book excerpt: In this James Beard Award-winning cookbook, Madhur Jaffrey draws on more than four decades of culinary adventures, travels, and experimentation to create a diverse collection of more than 650 vegetarian recipes featuring dishes from five continents. Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian exemplifies Madhur's unsurpassed ability to create simple, flavorful homecooking that is well within the reach of every cook. Extensive sections on beans, vegetables, grains, and dairy explore the myriad ways these staples are enjoyed worldwide. Madhur balances appealing, uncomplicated dishes such as sumptuous omelets and rich polentas with less familiar ingredients such as green mangoes, pigeon peas, and spelt. She demystifies the latter with clear-cut explanations so that incorporating new combinations and interesting flavors into everyday cooking becomes second nature. She also offers substantial sections on soups, salads, and drinks, as well as sauces and other flavorings, to help round out a meatless meal and add exciting new flavors to even the most easily prepared dishes. Each section opens with a detailed introduction, where Madhur describes methods for preparation and storage, as well as different cooking techniques and their cultural origins. And a complete glossary of ingredients and techniques clarifies some of the little-known elements of the world's cuisines so that even the uninitiated can bring the flavors of Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and more to their tables. Throughout this extensive collection, Madhur includes personal anecdotes and historical contexts that bring her recipes to life, whether she's remembering field of leeks she saw in the mountains of northern Greece or describing how corn-based dishes arrived in Indonesia through colonial trade. Committed vegetarians will rejoice at the wide variety of meatless fare Madhur offers, and nonvegetarians will enjoy experimenting with her global flavorings. This highly readable resource promises to be a valuable addition to any cook's library, helping everyone make healthful ethnic foods a part of everyday cooking.