At last, the secrets of palak chaat are revealed! The crispy fried spinach with tomato, onion, tamarind, and yogurt has a fanatical following at Rasika (and Rasika West End). Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj (Bombay Room) opened Rasika in late 2005, and brought chef Vikram Sunderam from London to create its innovative dishes. It instantly became a D.C. sensation. In Rasika: Flavors of India (Ecco, $34.99), written with David Hagedorn, they invite you into the kitchen and share the thorough grounding (and the professional secrets) that will help you cook these delicious dishes. Yes, you will shop for ingredients which cannot be substituted for (example: curry leaves and Kashmiri chiles); you will spend time making the foundational pastes and sauces to freeze (ginger-garlic; caramelized onions; kadi and korma); and have a restaurant-worthy mise-en-place. But then you’re ready to cook a long list of tantalizing appetizers; vegetable and rice dishes; fish and seafood; meats and poultry; and plenty of dals, naans and parathas, chutneys and desserts. Chef Sunderam even shows you how to configure your grill to make a good tandoori oven—and how to make easy microwave basmati rice. The best part is you can always go to Rasika to see how far you’ve come with your at-home lessons!