...collection of years of wisdom and experience...invaluable mix of practical and useful information...painstaking work of love and gusto - Rashmi Uday Singh, The Hindu, December 21, 2005
There are few cookery books in English of traditional Andhra cuisine, and most are nothing to write home about, poorly edited as they are. Cooking at Home with Pedatha goes a long way in redeeming this sin... Pedatha's cookbook of vegetarian Andhra recipes promises to revive a fast-receding world of unhurried and labour-intensive kitchens. Yes, that has to be said. In today's world of convenience cooking egged on by a slew of readymade masalas and mixes, there's lots to be ground, much to be powdered, roasted and fried, and slowly, at that. If you are one of those who enjoy cooking even though it takes time, you'll find that the final results are worth the grind. Take, for instance, the pindimiriyam, a pepper-flavoured dal with vegetables there are at least six different vegetables to be chopped and boiled, five items to be roasted and ground into paste, red gram to be boiled, tamarind pulp to be extracted, the tempering to be done, all these to be mixed and simmered and then simmered again. The upshot is a gravy with layers of flavours both fiery and mellow...The book also reflects the Andhra penchant to convert nearly every conceivable edible item into a pachchadi (chutney). You can take your pick of spinach, brinjal, dosakai, the round yellow cucumber, yellow pumpkin, ginger, coconut, onion and of course, mango and chilli and the famous gongura. Try the karivepaku pachchadi it gets its speckled-green-and-red good looks from green curry leaves...Or the pungent carrot chutney, which is easy to make just dice the carrots, grind soaked mustard and red chilli, mix everything into the tempering. Pedatha (Subhadra Parigi, the eldest daughter of former President V.V. Giri) reinforces the most widely known belief about Andhra cuisine that it's hot! ...But there is a clutch of recipes featuring yoghurt with which you can cool off. Other sections include pappus (dal with greens and vegetables), podis/kaarams (powders meant to be used with rice and ghee, or as accompaniments to various snacks), rice and some sweets...Incidentally, Pedatha (short for Pedda Atthayya), is a term used to address a senior paternal aunt. A very useful feature that other cookbooks rarely mention is the order in which ingredients for the tempering have to be used.... For today's generation, particularly, there are some useful tips on how to use asafoetida...how to identify when the gongura is done, the right kind of oil that suits a dish, variations on the recipe. and how to powder sesame seed to just the extent that it doesn't become oily. Those were too few, though how do you cook rice to the right consistency, soft or grainy, as you want it. ... But all in all, there is a lot of attention to detail. Good photography, pleasant graphics and pastel design culminate in a steep price of Rs 450. Considering that mention of Andhra cuisine is often sloppily represented by and restricted to the Hyderabadi biriyanis and ubiquitous aavakais in the South sections of cookbooks, this book is a welcome accomplishment. --The Hindu Business Line, Friday jan 27, 2006. Review by Sravanthi Chalapalli. --India Today, Februray 6, 2006
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book worth having in your kitchen library,
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This review is from: Cooking at Home with Pedatha (Best Vegetarian Book in the World - Gourmand Winner) (Hardcover)
Looking for a South Indian Veg. cookbook with clear instructions, well laid out text, images of raw ingredients and finished products, tips on getting things "just so", and suggestions for variations in case you have the urge to try the same dish with other materials? Look no further, because "Cooking with Pedatha" has all these features. The end products are authentic and taste like home cooked food (quite unlike most over spiced and greasy restaurant food) and leave you wanting to try more recipes. You will need to be able to get to an Indian store to get some ingredients but they can be used in multiple recipes and it is worth your time to do so. I hope you enjoy the book as I have since owning it the last month or so.
43 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Fantastic,
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This review is from: Cooking at Home with Pedatha (Best Vegetarian Book in the World - Gourmand Winner) (Hardcover)
This book is well organized, concise and not overwhelming - in the past I have stayed away from preparing many traditional South Indian dishes because of their complexity, but they have been organized so well here that I now feel like preparing them!!!
This book has recipes that should be regarded as FAMILY HEIRLOOMS and most of these recipes are several centuries old. Pedatha actually worked 1st hand with people AT LEAST FOUR GENERATIONS older than the current, using age old methods, plus she has worked in modern kitchens using new technology and I think she is truly the missing link
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great!,
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This review is from: Cooking at Home with Pedatha (Best Vegetarian Book in the World - Gourmand Winner) (Hardcover)
The explanations in this book are wonderful, and the results are amazing! Very clear, well-defined instructions to get the best in Indian vegetarian cooking! The book is divided into sections based on the different types of foods, along with explanations of the various spices used, and sprinkled along the way with the tips from Pedatha, the master chef herself.
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