INTRODUCTION

• IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ THIS .

Please read this (I have made it as short as possible) because it not only tells you about the book and the recipes but also includes practical information about equipment, ingredients, the storage of food and - most important of all - nutrition.

• THE BOOK .

The idea of the first Student Cook Book came from a group of students who wanted to be able to cook really good meals despite lack of time, money and experience; a team of them also tested and approved every recipe. Although many of the dishes did not include meat, partly for the sake of economy, it was not a book specifically forvegetarians. Since then, so many people have becomevegetarian that the carnivorous recipes in it now seem a waste of space. I want to stress, however, that while this book is strictly vegetarian, all the recipes it contains have not only been tested by students as before but tasted and judged on the same basis as other dishes by nonvegetarians too, so that it is just as much forpeoplewho Simply want to eat less meat as for those who are completely committed to vegetarianism.

If, when you look through the book, some of the recipes seem to you rather long, it is because of the needs of those with little cooking experience: I have taken nothing forgranted but explained every process in detail, including how to prepare all the vegetables. In fact, most of the dishes are quite simple. The only ones which are more demanding are in the chapteron parties, where I felt that something a little different was needed.

• THE RECIPES .

Except for those in the chapters on bread and cakes and on giving parties, plus one or two for side salads or vegetable dishes, all the recipesare suitable for main courses. To simplify cooking and to save time, almost all of them are also of the olie-dish-per-meal type. Forreasons oftime and economy, and also health, nobodywanted recipes forpuddings, although two or three ofa relatively healthy kind have slipped into the party section. Similarly I have given only a few recipes for cakes (but ensured that the few inclu<;ied are absolutely worth the occasional lapse of principle).

• EQUIPMENT .

Apart from a cooker, I have assumed that you will have the folloWing: a wok or frying-pan, saucepans, colander, sieve, bowls, scales, and -I am afraid, since it is less obviously a necessity, and is expensive -a pestle and mortar. Whenever other items, such as ovenware dishes, baking-sheets or saucepans with lids are needed, I have listed them with the ingredients to enable you to borrow them if necessary. I have included saucepans with lids on this list because yours may not have them. Since a covered pan is essential for cooking rice and almost essential for simmering pulses, this is one item which is well worth buying if you can.

An alternative, which will probably be cheaperand will serve as both saucepan and frying-pan, is a wok with a lid - preferably non-stick: if I had to manage with only one pan, I would choose this.

Sometimes lack ofequipment can be overcome. You can use a beer or milk bottle instead of a rolling-pin, and packet sizes or tablespoons to replace scales. For example:

I tablespoon sugar or 2 level tablespoons flour = I ozJ25 g. Similarly a milk bottle or mug can be used as a measuring-jug:

I average-sized mug of liquid = 1/2 pintl300 mt.

I have given much thought to the question of pestles and mortars, and even offered a prize to anyone who could think of a cheap, efficient substitute, but without result. You can chop or crush nuts and/or garlic with the end of a rolling-pin (if you have one), but, aside from a grinder, there is no other way of pulverising spices. My only suggestion is that if you cannot afford a pestle and mortaryourself, you persuadesomebodyto give you one.

The Student Vegetarian Cook Book

I have allowed for inaccurate ovens by excluding any recipe for which a very precise heat is needed, but in general if you think that your oven overheats (and it is not fan�operated). place items near the bottom; conversely, if it seems too cool, put them near the top (oven thermometers can be bought fora few pounds). I have no remedy for ovens which bum at the back except to advise turning items round during cooking.

• INGREDIENTS .

To avoid the need for excessive cross�referencing, I have discussed ingredients with the recipes, and want to make only a few general comments here. The most important is on fresh� ness: this applies not only to vegetables but also to herbs and spices. Throughout the book I have taken fresh vegetables for granted except here and there where frozen peas orspinach, or (in only one instance) tinned tomatoes are an acceptable substitute. I know that tinned tomatoes save money as well as time, and also acknowledge thatfresh ones seldom have much taste- but I still recommend them, ifonly because much ofthe vitamin content of the tinned ones will have been lost. I am also aware that fresh herbs may be difficult to buy and are expensive. Dried ones, however, cannot be used forsalads and give nothing like the same flavour in cooking; the only excep� tion here is dried oregano, which I have used in several recipes. The answer is to grow your own herbs. You can buy sets of seeds quite cheaply, or purchase plants in pots for the cost of two or three packets of cut herbs in a supermarket. The ones most often needed forthe recipes are: parsley, chives, basil and di11; coriander, if you like it, is also useful. The first two grow easily; basil needs protection from cold and, as an annual. wi11 not survive the winter, but will last throughout the summer on a sunny window�si11. The only one which presents a problem is di11, chiefly because it is a fairly large plant, but you could begin to pick and use it before it reached its full height.

Just as dried herbs give relatively little flavour, so do ready� ground as opposed to freshlycrushed spices. As fresh toasting also contributes enormously to flavour, a home�prepared spice mixture such as curry powder has far more potency and charac� ter than the average equivalent that you can buy. I have