Vidhu Mittal’s recent cookbook gives an insight into vegetarian cooking. Easy-to-follow tips and basic information like how to set yogurt and ground pastes make it a perfect guide for beginners
Culinary expert Vidhu Mittal’s latest offering, Pure and Special: Gourmet Indian Vegetarian Cuisine, a collection of classic and contemporary vegetarian recipes is ready to warm the world. The cookbook introduces joys of cooking and even shows how it can be a relaxing activity.
It delves deeper into the nuances of Indian vegetarian food and offers a collection of over 100 recipes. Readers are guided through step-by step instructions for preparing vegetarian delights. The author says, “The book is for busy professionals who have trouble using salt, oil and spices in right proportions.” She adds that the recipe are simple and easy to cook.
Each recipe brings out the variety of vegetables in Indian cooking. photographs by Sanjay Ramchandaran, set in an attractive, clean design layout, make the book more reader-friendly. In all her recipes, Vidhu has tried to retain and enhance natural flavours, textures and colours. Compared to traditional Indian cooking, which can sometimes be too rich and elaborate, her recipes are healthy and appealing. Vidhu who hails from Uttar Pradesh and she says some dishes are from her native land.
Apart from the recipes, the book includes information on spices, vegetables and kitchen tools. A useful handy tips accompanying each recipe and a section dedicated to cooking process can help beginners learn.
The cookbook is a fusion of western and Indian recipes. The book is divided into six sections (drinks, soups, salads, snacks and appetisers, main courses, rice and breads, accompaniments, dips and sauces and desserts). There is a thoughtful section devoted to cooking process where Vidhu illustrates through pictures how to set yogurt, make cottage cheese, ground pastes and roast ingredients.