Cookbook for Christmas!

1. Looking for the perfect Xmas gift for someone who likes to cook?
2. Looking for the perfect Xmas, birthday or "just because" gift for someone who likes to cook AND loves Indian food?
3. Looking for the perfect gift that's easy on the wallet, easy on the eye and absolutely spine-tinglingly deliciously tasty on the palate?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above, then stop looking NOW! Cos I have the perfect gift suggestion. Here is a cookbook that is gorgeous to look at; a book that can compete side by side on your coffee table with all your sophisticated design/art/architecture books; a book that will sit as comfortably on your kitchen counter as you cook, as it will on your bookshelf! It is "Entertaining from an Ethnic Indian Kitchen" by Komali Nunna. 

There are cookbooks that look great, but practically and in theory, they fall apart. They are complicated, difficult to follow and sometimes you wonder........"did the author really test out these recipes"??? But not this one. These are not recipes perfected in a state-of-the-art kitchen by an impersonal chef with a white jacket and pointy hat.... they are simple step-by-step recipes tried and tested by Komali herself, and pictures of her cooking in her own kitchen and in her backyard which makes it down to earth and "real"; recipes that she has honed to perfection over the last 25 years! In fact to prove how simple the recipes are to follow, I mailed one to my son and his partner, neither of them proficient in Indian cooking by any means, and they both looked through it and were thrilled! So there!

It is a complete, comprehensive book with ideas on entertaining including inspiring flower arrangements and table settings for various holidays.

In addition to the usual favorite classic recipes, there are unusual innovative new recipes

The beautifully captured illustrations are so life like the make you want to reach out and grab at the food

Planned menus for different cuisines of India make the job so much easier. How about a Nawabi Hyderabadi dinner......?

or some Dum Biryani for a Mughlai feast?

Here are some dishes I tried right away that were super easy to follow and make. 

Thadka Dal

 and my favorite Okra Fry?

 And then to follow some minty sweet Pudina Tea

 and Masala Chai, which I was not even afraid of spilling on the book because the pages are coated, so if anything spills, you just wipe it off! How cool is that?

The book is choreographed like a graceful dance performance.....all the ingredients - the writing style, the illustrations, the recipe directions, the formatting, the photography, the explanations at the end of Indian ingredients - all come together to create one beautiful product! And if none of this is enough to convince you to gift it to someone, then get it for yourself and stack it along with all your other cookbooks, it will look spectacular!

 And....if you order the book from Komali's website during this holiday season, she will personally autograph it and mail it to you gift wrapped in this block printed paper. 

And for more fabulous recipe ideas visit Komali's blog. So what are you waiting for?