Customer Reviews

1,000 Indian Recipes (1,000 Recipes)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

this is a very, very good cookbook. i have more indian cookbooks than i will admit to, and this one is among the very best. it is not a coffee table book, there are no photos, it is a cookbook for the serious cook who wants great recipes. it is also a great bargain compared to many other indian cookbooks, most of which do not come close to having this number of recipes.

there is an abundance of masala recipes that will simplify cooking for those of us who cook indian frequently. there are many of batra's own recipes, such as the savory apple recipes, that are wonderful. there is a remarkable list of ingredients it the beginning, which maybe the best list i have in all my many, many indian cookbooks, including those by jaffrey and sahni. there is a glossary of indian cooking terms in the back that is very convenient and extensive. the recipes in each section are nicely organized by type of main ingredient (all the cauliflower recipes are together, all the chickpea dals are together, etc.). i also like the color of the ink--as in her first book, it is a very pleasant and easy to read mid-magenta.

the recipes are wonderful. along with a good number of familar recipes, there are recipes unlike any others in my other cookbooks, such as the hyderabadi chicken and cracked wheat and several recipes from goa that are not vindaloo. the instructions are quite good.

criticisms: i have her first cookbook, the vegetarian one, and a brief comparison showed that many of the vegetable recipes in this book are only slightly changed from that one. this is not a bad thing, since batra's recipes are good, but it is a bit disappointing. there are also, in this book, too many okra and eggplant recipes for my taste--i'd rather have had more recipes for cauliflower and cabbage (cauliflower is supposed to be very popular in india, but that popularity isn't reflected in any of my cookbooks). the index is annoying--it lists items generically (for example, chicken) by pages without recipe titles, then, with no apparent logic, lists a few of the generic recipes seperately by title (chicken curry). this leads to a lot of flipping back and forth until you find what you're looking for.

those are minor points. the proof of a cookbook is in the eating, and this one wins easily. this is a necessary addition to a collection of indian cookbooks and an excellent first cookbook for those just beginning to explore.

I am a white American twenty-something who married a man from India. As a new bride, I was faced with the concern of what to cook for our meals. I wanted the dishes to be what we both liked, but more importantly, I wanted my husband to feel at home. Several times I heard my husband comment on how he likes his food. "No spice. No life," he would always joke. Knowing that Indian food was spicy, I had my answer.

However, I wanted the food to tast authentic. I wanted the combinations of the dishes to mix well. You wouldn't serve friends and family Steak and pizza with a side of cream cheese, would you? Nah, I didn't think so. I was unsure of what books to purchase, and who the 'good' Indian cooks were, but I thought, "How could you go wrong with 1,000 Indian recipes?"

Every meal that I have cooked from this book has been splendid. My first attempt at Indian cooking was the Basic Chicken Curry recipe. As my husband took his first bite, I eagerly awaited his reaction. "How is it?" He replied with, "This is exactly how an Indian would make it!" Relief fell upon my heart and I knew this book was a winner.

This book is not for a beginner. However, an expert would consider the recipes child's play. They take anywhere from 30 minutes and much longer for the one's that need to marinate in special sauces for at least 8 hours. To be able to cook all of the recipes, you should live near an Indian/Arabic/or Ethnic food store, or at least be willing to purchase hard to find ingredients online. Required utensils would be your basic cooking ones, a blender, a coffee grinder, and a food processor. They will definitely make time go by quickly with this book. You will find your most basic recipes, some originals of Ms. Neelam Batra, regional foods, and how to make your own spices, such as Garam Masala.

Since then, I have bought several Indian cookbooks but I use this one the most often for both weekly family meals and as a reference when using the other books. There is a dictionary in the back, meal ideas, and as promised, 1,000 recipes. I give this book my highest rating.

This is an awfully difficult book to rate. Another review title might have been "Highly recommended, with strong reservations."

The top priority, of course, is the recipes. I've been using this book for three years, and with great success. It's particularly refreshing to see so many different aspects of Indian cooking, rather than just the North Indian curries that we know from restaurants.

Batra offers helpful guidance on the characteristics of regional cuisines, which are as different from each other as the cuisines of different European countries. The introductory chapters outline the basic philosophy of Indian dining, and provide information on spices and ingredients that may not be familiar to the average reader. There is also information -- probably not applicable for most, but certainly interesting -- on the uses of different spices according to Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medicinal system. In deference to the eating habits of many Indians (and many Westerners who might buy an Indian cookbook), vegan recipes are marked with a distinctive icon. So are recipes to be made in pressure cookers, which can dramatically decrease the cooking time for larger beans and certain tough vegetables.

The difficulties arise when one seeks out structure. Sadly, this book does not seem to have received as much editorial attention as was necessary. The index is badly disorganized, eschewing the subheader model used in other reference cookbooks in favor of a much more open, harder to navigate style. (There are 18 separate entries beginning with the words "griddle fried.") In the body of the text, some of the recipe titles do not match the recipes themselves. ("Garlicky Dried Green Peas Curry" [p. 389] contains no garlic, and is not made in a pressure cooker despite the presence of the pressure cooker icon.) Some of the cooking instructions do not make sense, and one should have some real kitchen experience in order to know what's what. (Some recipes call for reducing a sauce by half while covered. Where is the water supposed to go?)

A few things should be noted by anyone interested in this book. These are not criticisms or praises, but are important for any potential buyer.

1. This is not a book of traditional Indian cooking. The author has lived in Los Angeles for three decades, and many of the dishes presented (but by no means all) are adaptations of Indian culinary techniques to the produce available to her in California. This means that ingredients not normally used in India, most notably vegetables like zucchini, find their way into the food. The author also takes initiative in reducing the fat content of the recipes from that found in their native forms. (Anyone who objects to the latter can easily increase the amount of oil or ghee, or substitute whole milk yogurt for the nonfat yogurt called for in the recipes.)

2. The book panders to American tastes. Despite being predominantly vegetarian in its scope, only two of the ten proposed menus at the beginning are vegetarian. The chapter on vegetable dishes is called "Vegetables on the Side," even though Mrs. Batra herself points out that Indian food is not served in the manner of European food, with "main" and "side" dishes.

3. Before buying this book, make sure that you live within reasonable distance on an Indian grocer. One can hardly open to a random page without seeing an ingredient or two that cannot be found in ordinary American supermarkets.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. After a trip to India two years ago, I realized that Indian restaurant food throughout the U.S. doesn't come close to the fabulous flavors of this cuisine. The first books I used after my return were the two by Maya Kamal, which are excellent. This work, however, is so much more comprehensive and extensive that it is a MUST for those of us who are interested in dishes beyond curries (although the curry recipes are great). In addition, Ms. Batra's suggestions for American adaptations of Indian ingredients (e.g., using flour tortillas for samosa wrappers) are very helpful. I just finished making three of her chutneys -- spicy apple, cilantro, and cocount-tamarind -- and each was outstanding.

This book is just what I was looking for - traditional Indian recipes, just the way my mother made them, with great practical suggestions to go with each.

The recipes are explained in very careful detail and each section is preceded with a useful description of the general principles used. For someone cooking Indian food in the US, this book is invaluable. While there are many good cookbooks published by Indian authors in India (e.g. Tarla Dalal), the books author, Neelam Batra brings the unique insight of cooking authentic Indian food in the US.

I have owned this book for a year now. I use her recipes constantly and although 1000 is a large number, I can vouch for the 40 odd that I have tried and the 20 odd that I use again and again. Highly recommended.

Some time ago I reviewed "Feast of India" by Rani and said that book would be the book I would have if I could only own one. That is no longer true. Neelam Batra's "1,000 Indian Recipes" is now at the top of the heap. Comprehensive, does a good job covering the various areas of India, recipes are well laid out, and the index is much more sensible than Rani's book's. It doesn't have as much about technique as some of the other Indian cookbooks, but it's adequate in that regard. Of course, a major strength of this book is that it has lots and lots of recipes ranging from simple to complex. The things I've cooked from it so far have been excellent. Well done, Neelam Batra!

This is my favorite Indian cookbook. It has a lot of recipes as you can tell from the name, and they're authentic and delicious. For people who aren't used to cooking Indian food, I would recommend you try Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking and Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking first. Those books are easier to follow, they use more common, easy to find spices and they also give meal plan suggestions (i.e what main entree to eat with what side dish), while this book doesn't. The recipes in this book are more complex, but worth the work. For taste and variety, this book is a must have. I didn't give it 5 stars because you have to flip back and forth a lot because a lot of the recipes require other recipes from the book like pastes. The recipe within a recipe gets annoying.

If you're experienced with Indian cooking, I definitely recommend this book. If you're not, I suggest getting the hang of it first, but definitely purchasing this book later on. A lot of spices or ingredients like heeng (asafetida), kari leaves, methi (fenugreek), and kala jeera are difficult to find outside the Indo-Pak communities, but Batra helpfully offers a list of websites from which you can purchase them.

I have tried six recipes from this cookbook so far and each one has been a winner. The recipes are well-tailored to be healthy and generally pretty convenient to make (with tips for using modern appliances and store-bought spice mixes for when you are in a rush). The glossary is extremely helpful and it is very well organized. I have no trouble finding the section to fit where my taste lie any given day (vegetable curries? dals? street food?). The only shortcoming is that the index does not include the Indian names for dishes, which made it a little difficult to track down specific recipes. Otherwise, though, it is an outstanding, comprehensive resource on Indian cuisine.

The author has provided a book for my generation. Many second generation Indians know what they like to eat, but don't know exactly how to make it. By supplying us with a nearly inexhaustible list of recipes she is allowing my wife and I to eat food that we grew up with and enjoy. In this book, we find a way to make it just like our mothers did. I hope you enjoy this food as much as I do.

What a wonderful and helpful work this was! We live in a rather isolated area and the closest Indian restraint is over 40 miles from our home and our favorite one just closed. With that in mind I felt it was time to go on a mission and learn to cook some of the dishes of what is my favorite of all ethnic foods. Now I have read several of the negative reviews of this book and I think I should address some of the complaints stated in them from my little view of the cooking world:

The first complaint is that the book is not "authentic." To be quite frank, if this is true, I really could care less! Over the years my wife and I have eaten in probably over 200 different Indian eating establishments and at the home of a number of Indian friend's homes. To be honest we have yet to find a single dish, prepared by different people in different locations to taste the same. Having never lived or traveled in India, I have not a clue as to what is truly "authentic" and what is not and I suspect that if you had a dozen people in a room directly from that country, there would be twelve different answers to that question. If you think about it, ask yourself what answers you would get if you asked 100 people in this country to give you a recipe for a truly "authentic" American cheeseburger! I will bet you that you would get 100 different answers. India, like America is an extremely diverse country; a true melting pot. Give the authentic thing a break.

Secondly, I do agree that the author has pandered somewhat to American taste. Well duh! This book is being marketed in America, sold in American and used my Americans. I see nothing wrong in this. If the end result is a dish that is pleasing to my palate, then I could care less who the author is pandering to. To serve friends a dish and hoot and holler that it is "truly authentic" is merely an ego thing and most people could care less as long as the food tastes good! If it is unpleasing and the taste is terrible you can call it authentic all you want, but is is still yuk!

Not everyone will agree with the above statements, and rightfully so; I just felt it was necessary to state how I approached this book. Many will want to approach it differently an being "authentic" is important to them, if indeed they know what authentic truly is.

There are indeed 1000 Indian recipes in this work and if you include the many spice combinations, there are probably many more. I was immediately taken with this work right from the start when the author presented 41 spice blends, many of which were curry. She has also given us a very nice overview of the different spices uses, their properties and interactions with other spices. This is extremely valuable information and I have seldom seen this so well addressed.

The entire work includes 41 spice blends, 238 starters, snacks, soups and salads, 282 curries and entrees, 272 chutneys and sides and numerous flat breads and cooking tips. There is something here for everyone. I was especially impressed as to the value this book is to vegetarians and the author has gone so far as to mark with a special symbol those dishes that are fit for those who are strictly Vegan.

The cooking directions are quite precise yet the author has given plenty of room for the user of the book to be creative, and in fact has encouraged this. I found this one of the strongest aspects of her arsenal of recipes. The one thing that may throw some readers is the authors stressing that in many cases a pressure cooker can and should be used to prepare some of these dishes. Many people are a bit intimidated when it comes to pressure cooking but this should not be a big fear to overcome. Just give it a try. The new cookers are not all that complicated.

Most of the recipes found in this book are quite simply and extremely easy to prepare at home. But the reader should be warned that there are many extremely complex dishes presented here that require multiple steps and clued recipes within recipes. Cooking many of these dishes takes some planning, organization and research. The author has provided directions in each case, but it will take some digging on the reader's part. This again is a good thing as far as I am concerned as it forces the budding Indian Cook to actually learn new things.

Okay, as to the various spices and other ingredients. Yes indeed, it is extremely helpful if you live near an Indian specialty store. Many of the spices and ingredients called for here are simply not on the shelves of our supermarkets. We are unfortunate in that we are far, far away from any such store. The good news though is that I have yet to be unable to fine one spice that I needed after a quick search on-line. Even here on Amazon, most of these things can be found and quite often at a very reasonable price. Do not me put off by lack of ingredients locally. If you are computer literate enough to be reading this review, then you are literate enough to find and purchase what you need. We have also found that when we do get to go to the "big city," if we buy in bulk it saves a lot of shipping charges and is cheaper. The one area we do have problems with in our area is lamb! This meat is extremely hard to find and extremely expensive when you do find it. We have to special order it from the butcher we use and order way ahead of time. It costs dearly. We love lamb, but you have to work with what you have. Chicken and veggies and a bit of beef are more often found when we cook these dishes than anything else.

As I said at the beginning, I am on a mission here and digging through Indian Cook Books like a crazed gopher. This work is one we are most certainly adding to your list of ones to actually buy and include in our collection. I found almost nothing to complain about, learned a lot, and found that the dozen recipes we have tried actually worked and were delicious. I can fully and highly recommend this wonderful cook book.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks