Table of Contents: From Breakfast With Anita Diamant to Dessert With James Patterson - a Generous Helping of Recipes, Writings and Insights From Today's Bestselling Authors (11 page)

Note:
Israeli pickles can be purchased online or at specialty stores. Lebanese pickles are an excellent substitute, but do not substitute traditional American pickles. Pickles bring some saltiness to the salad so, if you add them, use the lesser amount of salt.

Combine carrot, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, pickles (if using), scallions, and parsley in a large salad bowl. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and toss gently. Serve immediately.

Makes 3 (6- or 7-inch) loaves

Yeast and ovens were not a part of the era and landscape of
The Red Tent
. Bread was flat, cooked very quickly on top of a heated surface. And yet, there might have been barley flour and there certainly was olive oil, seeds, honey, water and perhaps even salt — some of the ingredients in this earthy recipe. The rustic, homey taste of this bread goes well with olives and other simple fare. This is not a dainty loaf; rip off a hunk to sop up the leavings of goat stew — or whatever is on your menu.

Note:
Barley flour and semolina flour can be found at health food stores, or online. Nigella seeds, also labeled
kalungi
or black caraway seeds or mislabeled “black onion seeds,” are available at Indian and Middle Eastern grocers, or online.

You will need a large pizza stone for this recipe.

1
Combine yeast, honey, and 1 cup warm water in a small bowl, and stir gently with a fork. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

2
While yeast mixture stands, stir together 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour with barley and semolina flours, nigella seeds, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in flour mixture and add yeast mixture, 3 tablespoons olive oil, and remaining ¾ cup water, then stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, working in just enough of remaining 2/3 cup all-purpose flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, 6–8 minutes.

3
Put pizza stone on lowest rack of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.

4
Divide dough into 3 equal pieces and form each into a ball. Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal and arrange balls of dough on it. Firmly flatten balls into 5-inch rounds (leave about 2 inches between each), then brush dough with remaining tablespoon of oil. Cover rounds loosely with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and let stand to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour.

5
Transfer loaves, one at a time, using a wide spatula, to pizza stone and bake until well browned and loaves sound hollow when tapped on bottoms, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve warm, with olive oil for dipping.

Anand Divakaruni

SELECTED WOEKS

One Amazing Thing
(2010)

Shadowland
(2009)

The Palace of Illusions
(2008)

The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming
(2005)

Sister of My Heart
(1999)

The Mistress of Spices
(1997)

Inspiration
What I see in the world around me inspires me. For instance,
Sister of My Heart
, a story about two cousins living in a traditional family in the city of Kolkata, was inspired by an ancient mansion I saw being demolished on one of my visits back to that city. I recreated that mansion in my novel — it became the home of the cousins.
One Amazing Thing
, a novel about grace under pressure, came out of the traumatic experience of being evacuated from my home in Houston when Hurricane Rita was approaching.

My latest novel,
One Amazing Thing
is about a group of people trapped by a major earthquake, and how they manage their desperation by telling each other an amazing story from their lives. It comes out of an idea that has been important to me in much of my writing: the power of stories to affect our lives and to save us. It is unlike my other books because instead of a single protagonist, it has nine equally important characters.

I Don't Play Favorites
People often ask me if I have a favorite among the books I wrote. Not really, I tell them, the books are like my children, each a labor of love in a different way. With each one I set myself a different kind of challenge. But perhaps because of that reason, I'm always a little fonder of the latest because it contains the most difficult challenge I could think of. For instance, in
One Amazing Thing
, I set myself the challenge of having the characters trapped in an office lobby with nowhere to go. I therefore had to work very hard to not let the setting get monotonous. I did this by describing in detail the many worlds of the stories being told.

Books That Have Influenced My Writing
A book that greatly influenced me when I began writing was Maxine Hong Kingston's
The Woman Warrior.
Maxine also writes about the challenges of being an immigrant in America. Her book resonated with me and inspired me to try and tell the stories of my own people, immigrants 61 from India and their children growing up in America. Following are three recipes, each taken from a dish mentioned in one of my books, and modified to fit my lifestyle, one which requires balancing many roles. The first is an appetizer, the second a main dish, and the third a dessert. Together they constitute a well-rounded Indian vegetarian dinner.

Makes 4–6 servings

Parathas appear in
One Amazing Thing
in the story of Jiang, a Chinese woman living in the city of Kolkata, who falls in love with an Indian man. He takes her to eat the foods he loves in clandestine cafés where they can meet without the knowledge of their families. The dough for traditional parathas has to be kneaded and rolled out, but I've substituted tortillas, which taste just as good. Sorry, Mom!

Note:
You can prepare the
raita
while the potatoes are boiling. If you don't want to make the raita, these parathas taste pretty good with salsa or ketchup. That's how my children like them.

Make sure to use the red chili powder found at an Indian grocer, as it has a different flavor from typical commercial chili powders.

1
Quarter potatoes and boil until soft. Peel and mash. Add salt to taste, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and cilantro (if desired) and stir to combine.

2
Spread ¼ of the potato mixture on a tortilla. Cover with another tortilla and press down carefully so the mix spreads to the edge of the tortillas. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

3
Warm a large skillet over low heat. Add a small amount of canola oil. Place paratha in pan, drizzle top with ¼ teaspoon oil, and fry until golden brown, about 3–5 minutes. Flip and fry other side until golden brown. Cut each paratha into four pieces with a pizza cutter and serve with raita.

Makes 2–2½ cups

Peel and chop cucumber. In a medium bowl, lightly beat yogurt with salt to taste, and pepper or chili powder to taste. Fold in the cucumber. Serve on the side with the parathas.

Makes 4 servings

Panchaali, the main character in my novel
The Palace of Illusions
, is given a test by her mother-in-law soon after her marriage. She is asked to cook an eggplant (
brinjal
) without any oil or spices. Panchaali, who has been trained by a sorceress, is able to conjure up the necessary ingredients, but I've included a list of spices for those of us who might lack such special skills.

Note:
Garam masala is a ground mix of spices such as cumin, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, and clove and can be purchased at an Indian grocery.

Wear plastic or rubber gloves while handling chiles to protect your skin from the oil in them. Avoid direct contact with your eyes and wash your hands thoroughly after handling.

1
Chop eggplant into 1-inch cubes. Sprinkle with salt and toss. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2
In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, chile, coriander, cumin and garam masala, and sauté until the onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, and sauté until well-cooked, about 5–10 minutes.

3
Add the cubed eggplant. Cover pan and simmer until eggplant is fully cooked, 10–20 minutes. As the eggplant softens, remove cover, turn heat to low and cook until any liquid dries up (it should not be watery when finished). Mash the entire mix together (it should be fairly thick).