Great Vegetarian Dishes [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Kurma Dasa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1990

Full-color compendium of Italian, French, Chinese, Thai, and Indian recipes.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust; illustrated edition edition (May 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0959365915
• ISBN-13: 978-0959365917
• Product Dimensions: 0.4 x 0.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #295,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even if you are not a vegetarian, you will love this book!, November 17, 2001

By 

Y. Deshmukh "Yogibear" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Vegetarian Dishes (Hardcover)

I got this book a few months ago and have been happily using it since. Kurma's recipes are extremely easy to follow and deliver great results every time. The book has recipes from all over the world - Italy, India, Thailand, China, Australia, Morocco, Greece, Turkey, America.

It is also divided into easy-to-access categories like rice dishes, pasta, entrees, vegetable dishes, snacks, pickles/ jams/ chutneys, desserts, etc. etc. And a small, but useful, thing: the book lays out flat on the table, so that you can keep it on your kitchen counter and read from it as you cook along!

The other thing the author shows you is how to 'spiritualize' the food you make and eat. It works. I can affirm that! I feel much more healthy and happy since I started making the recipes in Kurma's books and following the steps listed in the book to spiritualize the food that we eat.

Even if you are not a vegetarian, you will love to make (and eat) the recipes in this book. Buy it!


Update on July 21, 2006

My wife and I use this book all the time. As I have mentioned above, the recipes are easy to use and come out tasting delicious. Kurma's other books are also very, very good. Check out his Quick Vegetarian Cards in particular, for quick and easy to make recipes.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST HAVE IN THE KITCHEN!!, March 25, 2003

By 

B. P. Blumette "galacticpower71" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Vegetarian Dishes (Hardcover)

I have been a vegetarian since i was born and i LOVE cooking. I have probably had this cookbook for 10 years and have used it regularly along with three other cookbooks by Kurma. I do eat dairy (organic and with no animal hormones or any other animal ingredients) but i have never eaten any meat, fish, eggs, chicken or gelatin.

If you like to eat food that actually has taste than this cookbook is an essential for your kitchen! A lot of the time people think that vegetarian food is some tasteless tofu or a little salad.....because "WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES A VEGETARIAN EAT??" I have heard that question many times. Well we eat a variety of things and this book is a great tasting way to understanding what good vegetarian food tastes like!

The spices aren't so hard to find......mostly they will come from your local indian grocery store (which are actually quite common) or even the regular grocery store and you might spend a bit to buy most of them but they last for quite a while and you will have more freedom in deciding what you are going to cook. I would say that its a little more challenging to find the ingredients for the chinese and thai dishes just because they are much more unfamiliar but never hurts to try and it will be worth it when you get to eat! Also for those of you who don't like garlic or onions or both...Kurma offers a great alternative called hing or sometimes aesfatita (which is a yellow powder spice from india)which works great.

In addition to cooking with Kurma i would recommend Yamuna's Table although i haven't spent as much time with her recipies..... i have used them and they turn out excellent as well but require more ingredients and preperation time.

I really love the carob cake.......you might be worried that 'without eggs how can you make a cake?' but it turns out perfect every time. I have to admit that i am a chocolate lover and so i use chocolate instead of carob.....but thats the beauty of these recipies.... have fun with them...improvise a little! ENJOY! I know i am!!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only vegetarian cookbook you'll ever need, October 1, 2002

By 

aston (Homebush, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Vegetarian Dishes (Hardcover)

I'm taking steps to ease my way into vegetarianism, and this book has been a godsend. For me, the best features of this book are the short explanation of the authors's philosophy of vegetarian cooking (keep in mind that Hare Krishna considers cooking as an act of worship), and a two page list of suggested menus for different occasions, which is really helpful for those who spends more than 20 minutes deciding what to cook for a proper three course meal. Also impressive is the glossary section, which give an explanation of the herbs and spices you might encounter in the book.

To top it off, the book is actually a good read! Clearly this book is a labour of love.

General note: if you want to take cooking a little bit more seriously, take my advice - don't buy those 30 pages recipe booklets sitting near the supermarket counters. Spend some money and get a proper recipe book - along with good kitchen tools.