The key to making the best vegetarian Tamil food is cooking it at home. Prema Srinivasan's Pure Vegetarian will have cooks and foodies alike rushing to the kitchen in anticipation. If you thought sambar, dosai, idli and rasam summed up the cuisine of south India, you're in for a delicious awakening. The more-than-hundred recipes in this book-influenced by area, community or simply the seasons-showcase the wide variety and infinite inventiveness of the south Indian kitchen: bisi-bele bhath (spicy red gram dal tamarind rice); kamala orange aval uppuma (orange-flavoured beaten-rice uppuma); vangi bhath (brinjal rice); valaipu vadai (banana flower vadai); badam pal poli (almond milk poli); among others. Lesser-known dishes featuring specific types of grains and an awesome array of chutneys and pickles are also lovingly included.