Customer Reviews

Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was born in India and have a plethora of cookbooks dedicated to Indian cookery - my favourites are ones by Madhur Jaffrey. But this book by Raghavan Iyer is really very good. The photos are beautiful and make everything look just like it did on the table when I was growing up. Iyer's comments are interesting and helpful and the recipes are written with ingredients readily available in the U.S. I highly recommend this book to both people that are fmailiar with Indian cooking and to those that are experimenting.

We've been looking for an Indian cookbook off and on for months (something to reproduce some of the entrees at the great Indian buffets here in Seattle). Many cookbooks are too obscure, using ingredients that are impossible to find or impossible to even determine what they are. Others are so basic that they seem modified to meet western ideas about what tastes good.

When I saw this book with Betty Crocker in the title, I thought, "Yeah, right. I'm sure Betty knows all about aloo gobi and masala dosa..." But it turns out she does!

This is a remarkable cookbook with many of the traditional dishes in easy-to-use (yet authentic) recipes. Spices are recognizable and when ground fresh with a mortar and pestle they are very aromatic and delicious.

We were very favorably surprised. Way to go Betty!

As an Indian who grew up in India and migrated to the U.S a little over two years ago, my knowledge of cooking was limited to instant noodles. Being a passionate foodie on a student budget and a new wife (double whammy, my husband was also a student at the time), I taught myself to cook by watching food TV. but my husband , a vegetarian (I've now taken care of that, whew!) missed his simple dal chawal subji (rice, lentils and usually dry vegetable--a regular everyday meal in every Indian household), and food TV wasn't much help! I started surfing the internet for recipes until a friend gifted me this book. What a lifesaver! I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning the fundamentals of Indian cooking (since then I've bought and sampled several cookbooks from renowned Indian chefs and nothing stands up to this in-depth and enriching culinary must-have)The introduction and explantion about each spice and its use was an eye-opener, and the recipes are not limited to one region of India. You won't find any use of generic curry powder-- all the ingredients are exactly what an Indian housewife in India would use, and the proof is in the eating. Forget the heavy cream sauces of mughlai food and the sad massacre of South Indian Sambhar and dosas that that have come to represent Indian cooking in the U.S-- this is as close to the real thing as you can get. Even now I turn at least twice a week to pick out a recipe for something as simple as making paneer or as complex as a biriyani. The text is simple, the pictures are wonderful and the English names of Indian ingredients make it easy for someone shopping in an ethinic section of say a New York gorcery store. Moreover Raghavan is helpful with tips and substitutions and I love the little nuggets of culinary history and information (I'm a culture buff and food is the best representation of any culture!), about the origination of a particular dish. I would gift this truly delightful Indian Cooking experience to any new cook in a jiffy!

Beginners will learn a great deal from the full page photos in the written introduction, the first section about spices, spice mixes, and their preparation. Experienced cooks will enjoy reading the sample Indian menus given on page 322 and looking at the fine introduction given. No cookbook so far gives such a fine and photographic introduction to tools, etc. Kudos to the author for making this part of the book. The masala section is very abbreviated - only a few blends given-we want more! For the next book by this author Id like to see some simple make ahead blends for use in vegetarian recipes. For more advanced information about masalas from the Sout specifically, see the great South Indian cookbook, "Darshan" by Padma R. This book is my bible for "pudis" or South Indian powders and dry chutney powders. I wold have liked to see perhaps a simple flax seed pudi in this book.
Strong recipes here for the beginnig cook include the batter breads-similar to pancakes- and the grilled meat recipes. Any beginner would benefit ftom trying these out because they offer a platform (meat or pancakes) for learning about speices and for educating your palate. Meat dishes are far less complicated than many vegetarian recipes.
Beginners will benefit from the techniques given for the meat and the batter bread recipes. The book tries to do the impossible-encompass the food of 14 language regions and bring it into the American kitchen. I thikn this is an admirable job. I have a few bones to pick which follow. But I heartily reccommend the book to my American friends looking to learn how to cook Indian food.
Some photos are misleading, however. The uppama on page 231 looks far too wet and the yogurt rice on page 215 looks far too dry. Uppama should not look like it does on page 231 or you have not done it right. Heres how the recipe could be improved:
Uppama/page 230/ "Step 4: Stir in hot wheat cereal. Cover and simmer 3 to 4 minutes." No! Delete that. The lid should not be left on at all but left off while the starchy grain (cream of wheat) is folded rapidly over heat for about four to six minutes until actually dry and fluffy. Uppama is not a custard or a risotto. It is more like a torn bread salad - with light airy clumps. The recipe reflects the understanding of a beginner in this omission. When this folding technique is employed properly this recipe is indeed amazing in its flexibility.
Starchy grains such as rice are not as easy to control as you might think. In some ways rice dishes are harder to make than vegetable or meat dishes. The reason is that the rice grains change even after being cooked in response to the steam vapor and they have the capacity to absorb a great deal of water. The most important part of cooking rice is to leave it on the stove for ten minutes after cooking with the flame OFF after time is up. Stem in the pot will get reabsorbed by the grains to make them soft.
Kudos to R. Iyer for bringing us such a beautiful rendition of our extremely complex and rich cuisine.

This is a good book for people with a casual interest in Indian cooking but if you are really looking for that rich tapestry of flavor and texture that is truly Indian cooking you may be disappointed. The book's ingredients and preparation methods are relatively simple, making it easy for newcomers to make their favorite Indian dish or try out a new chutney. However, Indian cooking is all about spices and I believe the authors compromised on taste in the interests of simplicity. The recipes I fixed looked great but always seemed to be lacking in terms of taste. After trying a dozen recipes with lack luster results I discarded this cookbook in favor of other books with more authentic tastes. In summary, if you want great illustrations and some easy recipes give this book a try. If you truly want to experience the tastes of India, I recommend you try Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking or The Spice is Right: Easy Indian Cooking for Today.

I was looking for a book to help me cook authentic Indian food for my Indian husband, who just came here from Delhi about 4 years ago. He was so unimpressed with most "American" or European foods, and longed for good, spicy Indian meals- but he didn't know how to cook them for himself.

After looking at tons of Indian cookbooks, I decided upon this one. It seemed to be the one with the most background information, and the easiest-to-follow instructions. And hubby recognized a lot of the recipes, so I figured I'd go for it. What fantastic results!

The first thing to do (for a beginner, or, dare I say, even for a semi-experienced Indian person) is sit down and actually READ all of the information about the regions of India, the cookware, the spices, the lentils, the vegetables, etc. Then, pick a few recipes and you're on your way. I will admit that it was a bit of slow going at first, but once you get used to the basics of Indian cooking, you will be zipping through dishes in no time flat. It's also a bit expensive at first, buying all the spices, but 1) buy them at an INDIAN grocery- they are MUCH cheaper!, and 2) once you get your basics covered, you won't need to buy much for a long time.

I disagree with those reviewers who said the taste of these dishes was not right. My husband has absolutely loved every dish I've made, and has commented that it is all very authentic. The recipes may taste different from what some people had at home because Indian cooking is soooo versatile and malleable that whoever cooks for their family has spent years fine-tuning their recipes to suit the particular tastes of those family members. So, one person's experience of channa masala or chicken biryani may be vastly different from the next person's.

In sum, this is an excellent book! The only thing I'd recommend would be more suggestions on "what goes with what." For instance, "Serve dry dishes with rotis, not rice- only serve rice when you are serving at least one dish with lots of gravy, or when you are serving dal." Raghavan is usually pretty good at offering suggestions, but I don't think he touched upon this little tip.

This book is tremendous. I can only re-emphasize what other reviewers have written: the recipes are easy to follow, the ingredient lists are not intimidating, and the food tastes great! I have tried other Indian recipe sources in the past and have been disappointed with the results. But the recipes in this book produce beautiful, flavorful dishes that, while perhaps not restaurant quality, are far better than I had ever hoped to produce at home! Chefs of all skill levels will find this an excellent resource on Indian cooking.

I got online just to find this cookbook and post my highest recommendation because I just enjoyed another fantastic home-made Indian meal! I think I've died and gone to heaven every time I make something from this cookbook! It's easy to follow, the pictures are beautiful, he even explains a lot about each spice and ingredient, and everything turns out absolutely delicious. I was nervous to try it out at first, but when I took the time to buy all the essential spices and just go for it, I have become much more comfortable with it -- and good at it! I used to have "Indian Night" a couple times a year, but now I'll make a couple dishes every other week. Even my super-picky-eater 2-1/2 year old son loves it!

Hint: Get everything chopped and get out all your spices before beginning to cook (I'll often chop everything the night before or while my children are napping). Makes it so much easier and less frantic because you have to be quick. Many times a step may only last 30 seconds!

The gorgeous photos, the imparting of information that goes above and beyond your average cookbook, the recipes, all serve to rank this collection well above the rest.

Another reviewer complains about the cuisines being from the four regions (north, south, east & west) of India. I couldn't imagine what more could one ask for, particularly as a non-Indian. I suspect this person failed to take the time to read anything but the recipes themselves. There's so much information to be gleaned... elaborate and fascinating background on spices and other ingredients, where you might find each, under what circumstances certain dishes might be served and far more. Lots of culture! I highly recommend drinking in ALL the riches this book offers and not limiting yourself to simply making the outstanding recipes.

This is really a wonderful book....put aside your stereotypes of Betty Crocker. It's full of beautiful photos and plenty of background on Indian Cuisine. There are shopping guides, guides on Indian kitchen utensils and all is written in a very clear format. I have many Indian cookbooks which are not half as descriptive as this. I checked this out of the library recently...it will soon be added to my collection.