Customer Reviews

The Curry Book: Memorable Flavors and Irresistible Recipes From Around the World

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book should be subtitled "Authentic curries made easy as spaghetti and meatballs." I spent two years living and traveling in Asia, and am a longtime curry aficionado. Of all the homemade curry recipes I have tried, the ones in this book are the closest to the authentic dishes I had in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. And they're almost all quick and easy enough to serve as low-fuss weeknight dinners! The secret to the wonderful flavors is in the traditional ingredients. We have found that by simply adding a supply of curry paste, keffir lime leaves, and a few other formerly-esoteric ingredients to our list of staples, we can whip up a quick and delicious curry with ingredients we keep on hand and no extra trip to the store. The author tells you where to mail-order these items if they are not available locally. In addition, there is a great glossary of ingredients, and the recipes are easy to follow, with good tips from the author's own experience. I'm already looking forward to Volume Two!

Although I've often enjoyed curries in restaurants, this is my first attempt at cooking them myself. I've found the recipes fairly simple and easy to follow. I ordinarily enjoy spicy foods, and my husband loves his extra hot. So without a warning from a cooking instructor, I would have put the entire three tablespoons of Thai Green Curry Paste (from a jar) into the Thai Green Curry with Snow Peas and Shrimp. It would have been inedible. One and a half TEASPOONS made a wonderful, moderately spicy curry that we enjoyed immensely. Even if you love spicy food, I suggest that you reduce the amounts of curry paste suggested by McDermott. That said, the recipes are otherwise wonderful!

Everything I've made from this has been excellent, and quite a number of the recipes are fairly simple. In particular, I like the thai grilled chicken with sweet and spicy garlic sauce and the burmese pork, which starts out great and actually improves as a leftover. This is definitely a book to have if you've ever liked a curry.

Remembering my intro to the curry world, the tears and gasping didn't keep me away from exploring this rather Asian specialty more. This book is great aid.

There are sections to meet your needs and tastes: from standard dinner fare designation (Appetizer, Soup, Main Course, etc.)
Neat feature of this particular book is the upfront section I've found so useful: Suggested Menus for Curry Aficionados. The Elegant Dinner with Curried Scallopsin Parchment with accompaniments was perfectly matched and easy to prepare and scrumptuous.

Suggest too as fellow reviewer that you experiment with varying amounts of powder mixutures before following recipe amounts, matching with diners' curry abilities.

Mail Order Sources and even drink ideas are included in this fine, inexpensive goldmine for Thai and Indian cookery.

I have tried 5 recipes from this book, and they all turned out great. I don't know very much about cooking this type of food, so it's because it's a great, easy to follow cookbook, rather than any skill on my part. I basically followed the recipes to the letter. There's a great guide to all the more exotic ingredients (some of which aren't even used in this book), that suggests substitutions and tells you when you can use them. You do need to obtain some rather exotic ingredients for some of the recipes (lemongrass leaves?), but many don't require anything more exotic than curry powder. If you do want to make everything in the book, there's a list of mail order places in the back. I actually like the recipe selection in this cookbook a lot better than True Thai from the same author.

Coincidentally I made the Thai Green Curry with Shrimp and Snow Peas last night. The recipe was easy to follow and the only change I made was to use one less tablespoon of curry paste. This is another wonderful recipe in another of the author's wonderful cookbooks .

This cookbook is my favorite cookbook, hands down. Bought it several years ago, and every recipe I have tried in it is outstanding. Easy to follow instructions, ingredients that are easy to find, and every recipe is easy to make, but tastes like I have worked for hours on them. I have turned this book on to at least 5 other people, who have had the same experience. I have many cookbooks, but I consistently use this one the most often. Best cookbook I have ever purchased!

Bought two of these for family members...going to buy more!!! A+++ and highly recommended!

New Delhi Garbanzo. Make it. We make it all the time and it's amazing.
I make it for people at work and even the carnivores eat it.

I'm no expert at much of anything, but this book has some great easy recipes my wife an I enjoy. Our favorite is the green curry with shrimp and snow peas served over jasmine rice. It is quick and easy and tastes great. Very few calories also if you use light coconut milk. This is a great entry book into the world of curry. Enjoy