Madhur Jaffrey selects fifty recipes, many of them simple to prepare, that highlight twenty-two different spices. She demonstrates how to use spices like roasted cumin seeds, cardamom pods, fennel seeds, tamarind, fresh coriander and hot red chillies. She explains how some spices, like cinnamon, are meant to "heat" the body, while other spices, like cumin, are considered "cooling"; how each spice has dozens of different flavours depending on whether it is cooked in oil, dry-roasted or ground. The reader is guided through the flavours of Indian food with dishes such as lamb in almond sauce, and fish in fresh green chutney.