Flavorful India: Treasured Recipes from a Gujarati Family (Hippocrene Cookbook Library) [Hardcover]

Priti Chitnis Gress (Author), Paul W. Chitnis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Hippocrene Cookbook Library | Publication Date: November 2004

The cuisine of Gujarat, a state in western India, is famed for its delicately flavoured vegetarian dishes. This collection of over 80 family recipes introduces readers to some of India's often overlooked culinary offerings. Also included are an introduction to Gujarati culture and cuisine, a section on spices, ingredients and utensils, and a chapter on non-vegetarian specialities. Each recipes is presented in an easy-to-follow format and adapted for the western kitchen. Enchanted drawings throughout the book the flavours of India alive.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... a glimpse of Gujarati home cooking, something most Indian restaurants don't serve and few Americans know anything about." -- Little India magazine

"... full of homey, family-oriented Indian foods. The recipes are Indian comfort food, and nothing is too fancy or complicated." -- The Idaho Statesman

"Each recipe is prefaced with a tip about how to prepare it, where to find ingredients, or the ideal situations to serve it... [A] welcome contribution to internationally themed cookbooks shelves." -- The Midwest Book Review

"Flavorful India is at once personal, informative and basic, drawing from Priti's own family traditions; the perfect addition to any kitchen, but most especially the vegetarian home." --Cooking with Anne --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Priti Chitni Gress was born in Gujarat and raised in North Carolina. She has worked as a non-fiction book editor in New York City for six years, five of which as a cookbook editor. She currently pursues personal writing projects and resides with her husband and daughter in New Jersey.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 147 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books (November 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781810604
• ISBN-13: 978-0781810609
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,396,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Priti Chitnis Gress was born in Gujarat and raised in North Carolina. She earned degrees from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and The College of William and Mary, and works as a nonfiction book editor in New York City. She has also served on the board of directors of the South Asian Women's Creative Collective, a New York City-based nonprofit arts group. She resides with her family in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fanstastic cookbook for anyone who loves Indian food!, February 16, 2005

By 

J. Shannon "Jennifer" (Chapel Hill. NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flavorful India: Treasured Recipes from a Gujarati Family (Hippocrene Cookbook Library) (Hardcover)

I have already tried several recipes from this book, including the chicken curry. The instructions were easy to follow and the recipes all look great. I also really enjoyed the information on Gujarat provided at the beginning. The detailed descriptions of the spices were very helpful!!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great variety of dishes and spot-on directions, May 16, 2008

By 

Roohi Choudhry "brooklynstani" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Flavorful India: Treasured Recipes from a Gujarati Family (Hippocrene Cookbook Library) (Paperback)

This is one of my go-to cookbooks for relatively simple, comforting south asian recipes. I'm a south asian woman and while I still aspire to my mother's expertise in the kitchen, I love to cook and share food with others. I'm not Gujarati so it was exciting to get this book and learn how to make some of the things my Gujarati friends' moms did growing up.

I think it's wonderful that the author brings in anecdotes from her family, and how they make certain foods and for which occasions. No book can capture the complete breadth of a culture's food because each family has its own ways of doing things, and I really appreciated that the author emphasizes this in the book. I think it's more useful and interesting to read a cookbook that reflects one family's interpretation of the culture's food than a book that attempts to capture everything (because, at least in the context of south asian food, that would be impossible).

I felt that this book was set up to feel like walking into the author's kitchen and learning how to make the dishes from her and the women in her family. It makes for a fun (and authentic) reading and cooking experience.

(ps: try the okra and potatoes! i've memorized the recipe!)

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A collection of authentic family recipes from Gujarat, May 11, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flavorful India: Treasured Recipes from a Gujarati Family (Hippocrene Cookbook Library) (Hardcover)

Flavorful India: Treasured Recipes From A Gujarati Family is a collection of authentic family recipes from Gujarat, a state in western India famous for its flavorful vegetarian dishes. An introduction to Gujarati culture and basic information about common spices, ingredients, and utensils in Gujarati cooking begins this cookbook of taste treats such as Sesame-Nutmeg Squares, Stuffed Banana Peppers, Chicken Biryani, Mango Frozen Yogurt, and so much more. Each recipe is prefaced with a tip about how to prepare it, where to find ingredients, or the ideal situations to serve it. An index for quick and easy reference rounds out this welcome contribution to internationally themed cookbook shelves.