Indian Cooking Unfolded

Indian Cooking Unfolded/Workman Publishing

In Indian Cooking Unfolded, Raghavan Iyer presents an introduction to regional Indian cooking. "My newest book is based upon my 23-year culinary teaching career," Iyer writes. "It's a cookbook that gives you the building blocks and the techniques of Indian cooking. It's written for somebody who has never cooked Indian." Iyer was raised as a vegetarian in a Brahman home in Mumbai, India.

Structured as a cooking class, the book includes 100 recipes with 10 or fewer ingredients, all of which are available at the local supermarket. Every dish is prepped in a half hour or less. "Indian food does not have to be complicated, and each recipe throughout the book achieves a complex-appearing layering of flavors without being cumbersome to execute. I have chosen these recipes to showcase classic regional flavors, some the traditional way, while others in a more contemporary way."

Indian Cooking Unfolded/Workman Publishing

Recipes at the top of seven of the ten chapters fold out into a spread with step-by-step photography illustrating different cooking techniques or ways to combine and prep ingredients. "In a literal and figurative sense, the book folds out and unfolds the cuisine. It demystifies it." Each chapter is defined as a course where recipes build on the techniques learned in the previous ones.

There are two basic spice blends made from five spices used in India: cardamom pods, turmeric (ground) and coriander, cumin and mustard seeds--a spice grinder is the only equipment required. Recipes also list bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, nutmeg, peppercorns, and saffron. The five essential herbs and flavorings are chiles (fresh serrano and dried cayenne), cilantro, ginger, and mint. 

Indian Cooking Unfolded/Workman Publishing

"When we Indians use spices, we can extract at least eight different flavors from any single spice, depending on the technique we use. With the plethora of spices and herbs we have in our repertoire, from which we can extract similar numbers of flavors, you begin to realize the impact they have on the world of Indian cuisine. Our dishes taste so complex because one ingredient is treated in different ways to extract layers of flavors." Iyer's earlier book, 660 Curries, explores Indian cooking more in-depth for those beyond the introductory level.

Indian Cooking Unfolded/Workman Publishing

Chickpea pan crepes with onion

"Not as thick as pancakes and not as wispy thin as crepes, these just right pan crepes are egglike in appearance and have that same buttery richness along with a lingering heat from the chiles," Iyer writes in this recipe's headnote. "Any vegetable works well with pan crepes. I usually add ribbons of fresh spinach, chopped tomatoes, mushrooms, blanched asparagus, artichoke hearts, and bell peppers. Add in some of your favorite shredded cheeses as the pan crepes cook. Great as is for breakfast. Serving the pan crepes with a bowl of plain yogurt will take the edge off the heat from the chiles."

Makes 4 pan crepes

Ingredients:

1 cup chickpea flour (Bob's Red Mill) 

1 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems

3 to 4 fresh serrano chiles, finely chopped (do not remove the seeds)

4 teaspoons canola oil

Combine the chickpea flour, salt and turmeric in a medium-size bowl. Pour in 1/2 cup of warm water and whisk it in. Once the batter is smooth, whisk in an additional 1/4 cup of water. The consistency of the batter should be slightly thinner than a pancake batter. 

Combine the onion, cilantro and chiles in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the batter.

Drizzle a teaspoon of the oil into a medium-size nonstick skillet or cast-iron pan and heat over medium heat. Halfway through the oil getting warm--about 45 seconds--pour in 1/2 cup of the batter and spread it evenly so it is about 6 inches in diameter. Let the pan crepe cook until the top turns opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the pan crepe over and cook the second side until it has a few brown spots, 1 minute more. Transfer it to a plate. Let skillet cool slightly and repeat process with remaining oil and batter. 

Her

Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore in the romantic drama "Her," directed by Spike Jonze, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. 

"Her" is writer-director Spike Jonze's fourth directed feature and his first as sole writer. His previous films--

      "Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation" and "Where the Wild Things Are"--were collaborations with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (the first two) and novelist Dave Eggers and Maurice Sendak.

A sci-fi romance set in a near-future L.A., "Her" stars Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore Twombly, a ghostwriter who composes personal letters and notes for other people at a company called BeautifulHandwrittenLetters.com. Theo falls in love with an advanced computer operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). The OS, named Samantha, resides in a portable communication device.

The story was inspired by an earlier instant-messaging technology Jonze discovered (before Apple's Siri) and the script was written three years ago. "The initial idea was a man falling for a voice," Jonze said. "But it didn't become something until I started to think about it as a relationship movie."

Rooney Mara as Catherine.

Cast includes Rooney Mara, Amy Adams and Olivia Wilde. The film opens in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto on Dec. 18, expanding nationwide on Jan. 10 (view trailer) and is nominated for three Golden Globes: best musical/comedy, best screenplay and best actor in a musical or comedy for Phoenix' performance. "Her" is also named best film of 2013 by the National Board of Review.

Joaquin Phoenix with director Spike Jonze on the set. Photo by Sam Zhu. 

"Spike Jonze is one of the most talented and visionary filmmakers working today," Annie Schulhof, NBR president, said. "In Her, he explores the age-old themes of love and human connection in a completely fresh and innovative way. It is an outstanding achievement that is sure to become a new classic."

Healthy at Home

Healthy at Home cover photograph courtesy National Geographic Books, copyright 2013.

Tieraona Low Dog's Healthy at Home: Get Well and Stay Well Without Prescriptions draws from her integrative and herbal medicine practice. For those who wish to make and use herbal medicines for the treatment of common ailments such as colds, coughs, headaches, insomnia, and skin and digestive disorders, it's a how-to book on using herbs as an alternative to pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter medications. In the form of a set of health and wellness recipes, it features medicinal herbs, practical cures, healing foods, and lifestyle changes tips. For several years, Tieraona has grown and gathered plants in the Desert Southwest, making homemade ointments, salves, tinctures, elixirs, and teas. She currently serves as the director of the fellowship at Andrew Weil's Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. 

"You can take care of the majority of common health problems at home with simple, gentle and effective treatments," writes Tieraona. "Herbal medicines are woven throughout this book because I believe in their health-giving benefits. I have chosen to emphasize commonly available herbs. The recipes provided are those I've used myself and with thousands of patients." Some of these herbs--calendula, peppermint, sage, thyme--can be grown in the garden or in pots, and the medicines can be made from fresh plants or dried herbs. The book is organized by type of illness/condition and by remedy form: infusions, decoctions, tinctures, glycerites, medicinal honeys, oils, salves, and compresses (with step-by-step instructions on how to make them). "These remedies can be used as first-line therapies, allowing you to avoid harsher, more potent drugs until they are absolutely necessary. Physicians, like myself, can certainly be an important part of healing, but they should not be the primary source of your well-being."

National Geographic Books, book release on January 14.