american masala

Suvir Saran's American Masala: 125 New Classics from My Home Kitchen adds rich and spicy verve to standard and not so standard recipes, from Spiced Beef and Vegetable Stew with notes of cinnamon, cloves and cumin, Tamarind-Glazed Meat Loaf, Spicy Indian Shrimp Consomme, and Mushroom and Taleggio Turnovers.  The Lavender Roast Chicken has a touch of French bistro, with rosemary, fresh lavender, lemon, paprika and garlic; while Roasted Baby Potatoes with Southern Indian Spices is lively with curry leaves, ginger, mustard seeds, garlic, turmeric, cilantro, cayenne pepper and lime juice.

Other notable recipes include Fried Eggs and Asparagus and Prosciutto, Stir Fried Carrot Salad, Coconut-Braised Salmon, Savory Indian Crepes with Tomato-Shallot Chutney, Nani's Pineapple Cake, Pistachio and Cardamom Pound Cake with Lemon Icing, and the delightful Mom's Donuts, with ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon zest and plain yogurt as part of the traditional flour/baking powder/egg/sugar mix.  Also a nice variety of chutneys and garam masala and sambhaar blends, along with quite a bit more...and, topping off the spicy delights, this cookbook visually has a warm color palette and design that makes it especially fun to browse through.