Japanese Pickled Vegetables by Machiko Tateno (Tuttle, $16.99) has a clean layout and glossy photos that sing "You can do this." I longed for the bright zinging taste of vivid carrot chunks, startling daikon slices, sweet-and-sour green cucumber ribbons, but muttered "too many hard-to-get ingredients-kombu seaweed?" Later, while staring down another bowl of pandemic ramen, I took the plunge. Pickled vegetables were my favorite component of most meals we ate in Tokyo. I would like to brag about my rajma-savory kidney beans spiced with garam marsala (didn't happen)-yet the Dishoom granola recipe is foolproof. The recipes almost vibrate with the scents of cardamom and cumin. Physically weighty, Dishoom: From Bombay with Love (Bloomsbury, $35) is a thrilling tour of the region by cousins Kavi and Shamil Thakrar with their chef Naved Nasir, via hand-drawn maps, archival photos and personal essays. I have not been successful replicating many of those culinary wonders: in London, I made repeated visits to Dishoom. I spend hours imagining myself re-creating impeccable meals we enjoyed at fancy restaurants on our travels. I read cookbooks the way some people read travel guides.
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