Indian vegetarian cookery can be considered be the most varied, attractive and healthful of all vegetarian diets.. There is no scarcity of books on Indian cooking in English, but few deal exclusively with vegetarian foods, particularly from southern India. Within India, there is no lack of books on regional cookeries in regional languages but there are few reasonable English translations of them, and they deal almost exclusively with variety and taste, not with values such as nutrition. This book attempts to cover these aspects, and by doing so, offer a definitive work on the subject.

Apart from the recipes, there is much that is new to open up the rich world of south Indian vegetarian cooking, including the origin, culture and ethos of the cuisine to help its real understanding. There are full descriptions of all the recipes' components - grains, vegetables, herbs and spices. Every fact has been meticulously researched, and the recipes gone through with appropriate chefs as needed.