Easy Exotic by Padma Lakshmi (2000, Paperback)

In this handy volume, Padma Lakshmi throws in a few handfuls of her own experiences, living as a photographer's model, around the world, and there is even more "couleur locale" from the discussion of her family and her mother, written in a way that makes you feel you were actually there, watching her culinary adventures.
Here is a book that is not only a beautiful work for those of you who want to be able to cook exotic food, but a delightful biography of Padma's life in various countries, working with discerning photographers, who were conscious of every extra bulge!
Her book is liberally interlarded with beautiful photos of some of the great dishes in her book, and also pictures of her and her family. At the bottom of every recipe, she has faithfuly recorded the per serving count of: calories, protein, fat, carbs, cholesterol and sodium. The book is not a low-sodium diet book, although, I dare say you could reduce the sodium even more by leaving out the salt and looking at ingredients which normally have a high sodium level, like bouillon cubes and varying the amount in the recipes individually. So this is worth a second glance, if you had thought about excluding this as a cookbook because of the potential for high sodium merely because of its content in exotic food.
Padma Lakshmi, the author, is married to Salman Rushdie, the well-known Indian novelist. At the wedding, Salman, in the bridegroom's speech, observed that his new wife had three names, which were also the names of Hindu deities with some potency. "Three goddesses in one," he declared. "How could I pass this up, even if I am an atheist?"
The book is half the work of a goddess, but probably more accurately, three quarters of it is the work of a person who is concerned about people eating healthy food, and, at the same time, not losing out to bland taste, so often the problem with dietetic food. The book would gain merit from Rachel Ray for it's simple down-to-earth style, at the same time as leaving no well-traveled international stone unturned. The book was actually written before Padma met Salman Rushdie, but it stands alone as a masterful work, to be thoroughly recommended for anyone who wants to stay healthy and have a great taste experience.