Flavors of India, by Madhur Jaffrey. West 175 Publishing, 1995.

Written as an accompaniment to her Public Television series, Madhur Jeffrey gently guides the reader from region to region in India, giving a bit of social commentary alongside gorgeous photographs. Ms. Jeffrey provides recipes from each locale, attributing each recipe to the person or restaurant that shared it with her, and an explanation of when a dish is eaten and with what side dishes. Ingredients are authentic (no prepackaged curry powders here), and will almost necessarily demand a trip to your local Indian grocer. (A list of mail-order suppliers is helpfully provided at the end, however, if no such grocer exists in your town.) For the timid, an excellent beginning would be Mr. A.R. Sunil's Vegetable Rice. Spicy and sweet without being hot or overpowering, this dish can happily accompany a meat dish, or be a light meal all on its own. For those hungering for the exotic, try Mrs. Chadda's Lamb Chops Masala (also excellent with pork), which requires no less than nineteen ingredients, but is well worth the trouble.