Cookbook Thursday: Oman, Persia and India cookbooks

We're traveling through the Middle East today, then heading east to India with three cookbooks to spotlight. First, a disclaimer. Due to workload and family issues, I have been remiss in my Cookbook Thursday duties and have let quite a few gorgeous cookbooks sit on the shelves for far too long. The following are three examples. My apologies to the authors and publishers who graced me with these lovely books to review.

We start in Oman, where American food writer Felicia Campbell honors the Middle Eastern country's unique culinary styles in "The Food of Oman: Recipes and Stories from the Gateway to Arabia" (Andrews McMeel Publishing). It's a gorgeous cookbook featuring more than 100 recipes, 175 photographs and personal stories that offer insights into the residents of this country resting by the Indian Ocean. Campbell first visited the Middle East as a soldier, enlisting after Sept. 11, 2001. She fell in love with the region, later earning a master's in food studies specializing in Arab foodways. Campbell now lives in Muscat, where she is the executive features editor at the Times of Oman.


Another gorgeous cookbook combining interesting recipes with beautiful photography is "Indian For Everyone: The Home Cook's Guide to Traditional Favorites" (Agate) by Anupy Singla, best-selling author of "The Indian Slow Cooker" and "Vegan Indian Cooking." In this book Publisher's Weekly called "an impressive and useful addition to the canon," Singla offers a primer on Indian spices and herbs, explaining what ingredients belong in the Indian pantry. Her recipes range from the basic (spice blends, chutneys and drinks) to curries, street food and desserts, among much more. There's vegetable samosas, kabobs, chicken masala and other Indian favorites, plus a few dishes less ordinary. For anyone wanting to learn how to cook Indian, this cookbook is a must.


Nasreen Zereshki of Raleigh, N.C., learned Persian cooking from her grandmother and, since Americans are less knowledgeable about Persian cuisine than say, burritos and egg rolls, decided to publish a cookbook explaining one of the oldest cuisines in the world. The result is "Recipes from my Persian Kitchen" (Lulu), available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Lulu. There are more than 150 recipes in this cookbook and they run the gamut from braised chuck roast kebabs, frittatas and a walnut stew with pomegranate sauce.

Cheré Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country.” She writes Louisiana romances and mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.