Customer Reviews

Menus and Memories from Punjab: Meals to Nourish Body and Soul (Hippocrene Cookbooks)

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I bought my copy several months ago, and I have been thoroughly enjoying this book. As others have mentioned, it is more than just another cookbook, it captures the spirit of Indian cooking with plenty of recipes set against the backdrop of Veronica's life experiences. One thing that I look for in any good cookbook is detailed recipes that can be reproduced in a home kitchen. The recipes here are clearly described, and can be prepared by someone with little prior experience in learning Indian cooking. I prepared "Cheese Squares in Creamy Gravy, Khoa Paneer" on page 91 for a party at work, and my coworkers simply raved about this recipe.

This book makes a great gift, and I recently ordered a copy of this book for my friend who is battling obesity. Although many of the recipes are very flavorful and rich, there are plenty of recipes here for someone who wants to make tasty, healthy food.

I looked for a book like this for a long time- I'm delighted I found it, and it carries my highest recommendation.

Just received my copy of "Menus" and couldn't put it down. Read right through Rani's entire memoir as told in conjunction with tempting new-to-me recipes. But this is more than a cookbook. It is the gripping lifestory of a beautiful, innocent American/Irish/Hungarian girl who goes off with her baby son to live with the family of her Sikh husband in rural Punjab, India in the mid-1960s. Learning to cope with the clash of cultures and deeply immersed in the forefront of the Easternization of the Western world movement (still so revalent today), Rani shares her wisdom garnered through a lifetime of travails. In dealing with devastating loss, she shows how to stay in the present, the here and now, that comes from nourishing meals for the heart and tummy. As she says, "A healthy body is integrl to a balanced spiritual life," and vice versa.
Now, I'm off with my shopping list of new ingredients needed to satisfy my much anticiipated new taste delights, like Kewrda flavor, fenugreek leaves, rose syrup and the wonderful cardamom spices and lots of other goodies.
signed -- [...]

Definition of SUBLIME! : VERONICA'S CHOCOLATE BURFEE

Right before a cooking class in Rani's kitchen, I reached across the table and picked up a square of what looked like chocolate fudge....As I put it into my mouth, the chocolate touched my tongue and melted into almonds and cherries and this wonderful mass of sweetness. Ah, heaven!

It was my introduction to the Indian sweet Burfee! But how did Veronica come up with this amazing candy? I reached out to take another piece and discovered that half the plate was gone......did I do that? And she made it in only 12 minutes? Impossible! Now how do I take the rest of the plate with me? Veronica seeing the look on my face promised she would make some more for me to take another time.

Well, true to her word, one day after a lunch filled with more amazing recipes she had prepared for my welcome, she produced a box of chocolate burfee and told me it would last up to 6 months in my freezer! Hah! Little did she know! It was so delicious that first one piece then another slipped out of the box into my hands and mouth! In less than a week I had promptly eaten everyone in every way possible!

I have made fudge in my lifetime but never did it taste "sublime" before. Yes, that recipe is in Rani's cookbook. (My copy is here at last! ) Her mango rice pudding!? I usually hate rice pudding, but after 3 bowlfuls, I promptly and unabashedly asked to take all the leftovers home! Do you get the idea these recipes are amazing!?

Yes, this is a cookbook unlike any other....and here I am a simple American girl in love with Rani's Indian cooking. Now all my friends will love these recipes as well. They are simply extraordinary!
I urge you to buy this cookbook and I guarantee you will be licking your fingers as you read!

Before I even finished reading my copy, I ordered this book as gifts for friends. One was born in India, but unfamiliar with Punjabi-style cooking. And reading is what I did with this book - it is so much more than a a cookbook. For those who are nervous about cooking with unfamiliar spices, the stories will convince them to try the recipes. Those who find the punjabi seasonings already familiar will find a treasure trove of easy to follow recipes.

Written by a Punjabi cooking teacher with thirty years' experience in her family's Punjabi kitchens, Menus and Memories from Punjab: Meals to Nourish Body and Soul lives up to its title with a wide collection of traditional Punjabi dishes, each with extensive preparation instructions, a black-and-white photograph, and a brief paragraph commenting on the author's memories of the meal. Menus and Memories from Punjab blends culinary creations with love of family cooking, and the pages about preparing meals for special days are sure to warm the reader's heart while inspiring them to make the most of special occasions. A welcome and highly recommended addition to international cookbook shelves.

This 'cookbook' reads like a story book. I have never come across anything like it! It is not just about recipes but is the inspiring and courageous story of the author's personal, spiritual and cultural journey intertwined with wisdom and culinary Punjabi traditions of her family. What is really touching is that this book came about as a result of the author raising money for a scholarship fund in memory of her grandson. Proceeds of this book will further be used for much needed community projects.

I recently tried the mango chutney, date & nut rolls and kadee. I specifically mention these as all these recipes turned out great. Very effective and easy to follow clever shortcuts like so many of the recipes in this cookbook. Another great thing is that these are not just isolated recipes, there are menus to follow for those not familiar with Indian cooking with lots of bits of background information and interesting facts.

I highly recommend this book. Wether you are a beginner or an accomplished cook, these recipes take the intimidation out of trying something new or different!!

Wow! What an amazing and inspiring life story. Yes, this is much more than a cookbook. This is punjab for you in a nutshell: complete with the sights, smells, sounds, dance, poetry, mysticism AND flavour that is punjab.

Greatly enjoyed this feast for the body and soul! This should be on everyones wishlist this holiday season.

As everyone has described this is more than a cookbook. i bought this book to cook healthy punjabi meals for my family. what i found was learning about a culture with familiar values. what i learned from Veronica is that she truly lived her life with sikh values of treating all humanity as one .I learned from her more than cooking but about a family a mother in law and daughter in laws beautiful relationship something i share with my own motherinlaw. God Bless you and your family and for all the wonderful recipes and stories.

Books about food usually emphasize either philosophical reflection or practical recipes. This extraordinary volume is outstanding on both fronts, and it is further enriched with beautiful photography and engrossing family lore. Truly a unique and worthy addition to the first-class Hippocrene Cookbook series!

While I am not a cook, but I enjoy Punjabi food as I grew up on it. What I enjoyed the most in the book are the "stories behind the stories" - the backdrop of Punjab village stories and history which are the backdrop of foods and recipes. My wife cooks and uses the book for reference - because I have noticed the book has post-it notes all over. For anyone interested in not only cooking but understanding the context - the Punjabi folklore - this is the book.