The book:
Tandoor: The Great Indian Barbecue
Written by Ranjit Rai

A new way to barbecue
This is a fabulous book for truly adventurous cooks who want to learn a new craft and significantly expand their culinary repertoire. Of course, it helps if they are fans of Indian tandoori cuisine. Originally published by Penguin Books India, this exciting new edition had been fully edited for easy use by Western cooks who want to bring the flavors of Indian barbecue to their home tables.

This is a gorgeous book, chock full of beautiful full color photos. It's obvious that this delicious style of Indian cuisine holds a close and dear place in the author's heart, as this is nothing short of a love letter to the style of cooking he loves.

The book begins with a history of tandoor cooking, information about tandoor ovens and their construction (not to worry, you can make great tandoor recipes at home without having this exotic piece of kitchen equipment), and a discussion of tandoor cooking throughout the world.

The "Invisible Work" chapter goes into the behind the scenes preparation that goes into making fabulous tandoor dishes -- basic preparation, tenderizers, marinades and final stage preparations.

After the cooking tutorials, you'll find the recipes -- more than 70 in all for virtually every classic Indian tandoori style of dish available. In addition, you'll find great recipes for accompaniments and accoutrements like side dishes, vegetarian dishes, chutneys, relishes, Indian breads, tenderizers, marinades and more.

Throughout the book, the beautiful full-color photos keep things interesting and inspiring. If you think barbecue is just ribs, take a walk on the wild side and explore the Indian side of barbecue.

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About the author: Cheri Sicard is the author of The Great American Handbook: What You Can Do For Your Country Today and Every Day, and the editor of FabulousFoods.com, a favorite net destination for recipes, cooking tutorials, health and fitness information, holiday and entertaining ideas, celebrity chef interviews, cookbook reviews and more. Sign up for their free cooking and recipe newsletters here!