Customer Reviews

Indian Essence: The Fresh Tastes of India's New Cuisine

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

 

 

For years, I only cooked to survive: fried eggs, pizza, pasta, or at most stir something my wife was making.

After visiting the Benares restaurant in London, [...], I immediately bought this book...with hopes someone else more skilled would take over. After helping cook 6 of the recipes for guests, I discovered once you have the ingredients (not expensive in an Indian or Asian grocery store) on hand, many of the recipes are quite easy and always worth it. These are fresh, multi-faceted flavors that make cooking fun and worth the effort. Since Nov 2005, I've been making at least one recipe a week, sticking exactly to the book, and the five-star Benares restaurant has a branch in my home now. I take no credit. These recipes are the only ones worth making. I look at others in other books and see the difference upfront: they are either fatty, bland, colorless or canned, all of which are incentives not to cook. My wife has stepped aside; (well, most work nights she's a life saver, and she'll greatly appreciate a break on Saturday.) In fact she's calling from the kitchen right now asking for one of the khajoor ka khaja (date & orange pastries) in the fridge.

Cooking these recipes is one of the few things that actually takes my mind completely off work. The sequence of adding exotic spices to a hot pan makes me feel like a sorcerer. So far, most recipes do not use the oven, which is good because with an oven you do not get the joy of watching the concoction evolve before your eyes and nose.

I could easily list 30 recipes in this book to die for, but if you're wondering where to start, something that is simple, try the Doi Maach (spiced fish with yogurt), which only takes about 30 minutes to reach the dinner table. The sweet tomato chutney is a staple around here now, and I cook double portions once a month and give jars away as gifts. Finally, I recommend growing coriander yourself, since it is used in everything. We use an extra coffee bean grinder to grind dry spices. A mini-processor is also a must-have. Enjoy!

I like this cookbook in that there are some easy and great ideas. I am not a beginner cook but am new to indian cuisine. The only problem I have with this book is that some things are hard to follow, like some steps are left out or are not clear like cooking times. I made a few recipes and some never looked even remotely like the picture, and I read and re-read everything numerous times. I tried a chapati recipe and it turned out dense, plain and nothing like I had tried in a restaurant. Maybe I am just bad at this new type of cooking, but I have always been a naturally good cook and was surprised at how frustrating some of these things were to understand. I will keep at it though and hope to tweak things so they do turn out. I want to be good at this, we do not have an indian restaurant where I live and I love it so.

Recipes are tasty and inspiring. What is also nice: there are quite a few dishes that can be prepared very quickly.

I and my husband are big fans of Indian cooking. We have bought several Indian cook-books, and this one is by far the most exciting. Great recipies, beutiful pictures and different from the "regular" Indian cook-books.

Thanks to the CA raisin board for investing in a cookbook that does more than some of the other Indian cookbooks in terms of educating us Indians and also those non-Indians that love our food.

Some recipes are shamelessly promoting raisins but otherwise, the book is a nice new genre Indian cookbook.

The photographs are fresh, make Indian food more than just the usual fare we take it to be. The dishes are simple yet innovative and there is good variety.

This shall be a book I will use from time to time as and when I need an idea.

Bravo!

This is an excellent book, easy to use and with excellent results. I recommend this book to any one wanting to have a real taste of India.

One of the best books on Indian cooking that I have ever cooked from. Bravo!!