Cookbook Watch

Most cookbooks have a shelf life only slightly longer than that of the ingredients they call for. They come and go quickly. In most cases, that is not a problem; in some, in fact, it is a cause for rejoicing. But sometimes a truly wonderful book disappears before enough people have a chance to appreciate it. “Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking” by Yamuna Devi (Dutton, $34.95) is one of those.

The book proudly carries a star signifying that it was cookbook of the year. What it doesn’t tell you is that the year was 1987. And by the time the award was announced, the book was for all intents and purposes already out of the bookstores.

This is an absolutely fabulous book and certainly not for vegetarians only. The food here is that of traditional Indian vegetarian cuisines--from Gujarat to Bengal, Kashmir to Kerala. It is inventive, exotic and subtle. Moreover, it is a fairly encyclopedic introduction to a style of cooking that--more than 10 years after the book was originally published--is still largely unknown to most cooks. It’s not often that you get a second chance like this.