Feast of India

About the Book

Feast of India: A Legacy of Recipes and Fables by Rani is a simple ‘How To” guide for preparing authentic Indian cuisine and contains the best selection of more than 150 delicious, easy-to-follow recipes. The mouth-watering legendary main-course recipes are embellished with lavish tales of the history, traditions, and lore that embrace the sensuous cuisine of India such as the legend of one famous ruler Jahangir, who told his empress that she could rule his empire if she allowed him wine and meat. Masterfully adapted for use in American kitchens, this comprehensive cookbook includes recipes for appetizers, chutneys, and relishes, traditional non-vegetarian and vegetarian curries, kebabs and sumptuous pilao and rice dishes, healthful dals and wholesome Indian breads (chapati), seductive desserts and traditional beverages like ‘chai.’ Feast of India is more than just a cookbook. The fame of Indian curry spices is older than recorded history - anise, bay leaf, black pepper, cardamom, chili pepper, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, turmeric possess medicinal properties that have a profound impact on human health.

“Rani’s splendid table... she produced an amazing number of dishes, far more than one would plan for an ordinary meal... And she does a marvelous, super-fast Indian hamburger, a blend of ground lamb, onion, garlic, ginger root and other tingly seasonings...” —Los Angeles Times

“The Incomparable Rani... I have been using Indian recipes for years, and this is quite simply the most USABLE collection of Indian recipes, I have encountered. Every recipe works, and works the first time... A wonderful book and one of my most-used...” — Steve Murdock

About the Author

Rani was born in the beautiful beach town of Vizagapatnam in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and received a Master of Arts degree in Western History from the University of Lucknow before she came to live in the United States as a young bride with her American husband. Rani lectured on India at the Los Angeles Braille Institute for the Blind, taught Cuisine of India at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), University Extension, Department of Arts. She also catered dinner parties and gave private cooking lessons, cooking demonstrations at the UCLA Campus in Westwood and at The Epicure Shop in Neiman Marcus, Beverly Hills to promote their products. She recalls fondly being told by several customers, “We followed the irresistible aroma of your delicious mouth-watering Mughal-Style Chicken Curry and Basmati Rice all the way from Rodeo Drive into this store!” Her second cookbook Curry evolved out of India’s 5,000-year old healing system called Ayurveda (science of life - body, mind, and spirit) and has traveled a fascinating voyage through time. There is absolutely nothing like Curry in the world of healing and sensuous culinary flavors to integrate and make body, mind and spirit happy! Curry goes back thousands of years as a result of many civilizations, cultures, and nationalities. The great Mogul (Mughal) Emperors Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan enriched their empire not only with extraordinary works of art but with the creation of India’s world famous haute cuisine (high cuisine) featuring lamb and chicken dishes in fragrant, seductive almond, cashew, and pistachio sauces sautéed in spices as favorites. Now you can savor these authentic flavorful dishes in Curry, a collection of spectacular kababs, chutneys, vegetarian and non-vegetarian entrees, breads, legumes, seductive desserts and nourishing drinks. Included are such tempting offerings as: Barbecue Tandoori-Style Chicken Kabab with Naan Emperor Jahangir’s Mughal-Style Chicken Curry Mughal-Style Hamburger Hot Mint Chutney Empress Nur-Jahan’s Lamb Pilao Spicy Fillet of Salmon Also included is a fascinating discussion of compatible astrology love sign elements and curry suggestions for each sign of the zodiac. Curry is more than just a cookbook; it is a simple “How To” guide for preparing authentic Indian cuisine and contains the best selection of more than 150 delicious, easy-to-follow recipes. The mouth-watering legendary main-course recipes are embellished with lavish tales of history, traditions, and lore that embrace the sensuous cuisine of India such as the legend of the handsome prime minister who fell under the spell of a beautiful dancing diva and her extraordinary talents as a chef (Mastani’s Royal Chicken Curry). “It wasn’t always this way,” she recalls. “The first six months of marriage in a new world were utterly bewildering; I lost twenty pounds, suffered from a severe case of homesickness and most of all missed my mother’s delicious cooking.” Rani fulfilled her passionate longing for authentic Indian cuisine by researching nutrition, curry spices and herbs and publishing her two cookbooks. Rani attests, “Curry awakens the mind, arouses the senses, and makes us energetic and cheerful.” She has one son and five grandchildren and lives in Maryland with her family.