Cardamom & Coriander

by Simon Morris

It would be difficult to imagine a more inclusive title for a book about Indian cooking than this one bears. This pair of seasonings unifies the cooking of the subcontinent's many regions, whether the cooking is vegetarian, Muslim, or Hindu. Most of the main dishes in the book are curries in the Indian sense of the word: sauces to moisten breads or to flavor platefuls of rice. One of Morris' most important contributions is his focus on the food of Goa, little known or appreciated outside India. Goan cooking uses pork, anathema to both Muslims and vegetarians. It also produces wonderful bread. Morris aims to make Indian cooking easy, but his recipes definitely require access to markets carrying Indian foodstuffs. For most Britons, to whom the text is addressed, Indian markets are ubiquitous, but locating one outside America's metropolitan areas may prove challenging.