When I was gifted this book by my mom a few months ago, what struck me immediately was ,that not just the recipes but for other trivia too,this book has such a wealth of information. As I happen to be one of those people who like to read cookbooks as much as fiction,this book soon became one of my favourites. It is so vast and filled with so many anecdotes, from a different era,that one has to tear oneself away from all of that, to focus on a recipe ! In my opinion,a book like this is much needed for my generation and the ones thereafter,the fine nuances of south indian cooking and it’s pairings are explained so clearly. The varities of dosais and rasams alone are enough ,to keep me glued to the kitchen for a whole month,trying them all out ! I love the explanation of how the word ‘dwi osai’ later metamorphosed into the now commonly known “dosai”. This book has a whole section devoted to wonderful illustrations of the utensils used for cooking in a typical brahmin household. The stories of a young bride initiated into the art of cooking are endearing, as are many other stories. From the sacred offerings to the science behind food,this book,is well researched and the language skills are beyond exemplary. The book is called “Pure Vegetarian” and there is also a section in it , on vegetarianism. Many of the recipes are simple and can be easily made by many youngsters living abroad,who yearn for home cooked Indian food. I tried the paruppu urundai curry and the mampalam curry and everyone loved it. I look forward to trying the unusual mathalam ellai curry soon…This is one cookbook that is definitely worth owning ! 
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