Astrid Lague – I have a friend who is from Southern India, and I’d love to see where he is from and eat some authentic naan made in the tandoor and any other tandoor specialties. Not sure that is what’s around in Southern India… but Indian food is one of my absolute favorites!

No, we’re still not giving Linda away.

However, if I could take Linda with me on shopping excursions, I’d probably spend a lot less time scrunching my face up into a question mark while food shopping.

You see, as I cook food and recipes from around the world for my cooking challenge (to eat one meal from each country of the world),  I’m learning just how many ingredients I’ve never heard of. Not that I thought I “knew it all” before this A-Z Global Table Adventure, but still. It’s humbling.

For anyone following along who is interested in Indian cooking, today’s giveaway is a real treat.

Linda Bladholm does it again with her book The Indian Grocery Store Demystified.

Using her first hand experience of India and Bangladesh, Linda fills 258 pages with 17 one subject chapters on Indian cuisine, such as rice, dairy products, flours, pickles and chutneys. This is your culinary “tour guide” to Indian grocery stores, so be sure to keep this book in your glovebox for impromptu browsing sessions at your local shop.

Know what Amchoor is? Me neither. But Linda tells us. Here’s just part of the passage:

… this is powdered green, unripe mango. […] It is sold as light-brown, shriveled slices that looki like pieces of wood or as a dark tan, lumpy powder with a sweet, musky, raisin aroma. Both have a tart flavor and are used as a souring agent in dals, soups, vegetable dishes, chutneys, and pickles.

Awesome!

In addition, Linda concludes with a section of recipes and cooking methods/tools. If you’re serious about international cooking, this book will be a happy addition to your collection and well-worn in no time.

How to Enter to win:

Logon to our Facebook fan page and answer the question of the day. Contest ends at midnight (CMT) Sunday 9/5/10.  Winner will be announced on Monday. Must be a fan to enter. One response will be chosen at random as the sole winner.  The winner will be announced on Facebook and must contact me with shipping information to claim the prize.

Have fun and thank you for reading!

PS. Please also check out Linda’s new blog Food India Cook!