Customer Reviews

Moroccan Cooking The Easy Way (with DVD)

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

 

 

After purchasing my first Moroccan tajine, I wanted to learn about what I could cook. I became a fan of Alia on YouTube, subscribing to her excellent videos, "CookingwithAlia". This, her first book on Moroccan cooking, is a high-quality paperback. It has excellent photos, nice print and good recipe layout. It also includes a DVD featuring her demonstrations for the recipe. If you are a beginner like myself, you'll be able to catch on quickly. The spices, preserved lemons, etc., will delight your senses and have you hooked. This cookbook is a great package for the price.

I have been married to a Moroccan man for what will be 5 years this comming october. When i met him in 2003 i began trying to cook moroccan dishes,and usually always failed. I married him in 2005 and by trying to use recipes from online still managed to fail.They just never tasted like what "Mama makes" I discovered alia in search of a msemmen recipe and knew i hit the jackpot! I just kept going video to video and she made them so easy to follow.I tried a few of the recipes using her youtube videos as well as her website [...] . i also added her on facebook as my friend and discovered she had written a cookbook that i knew i had to have. I received it today,and i made her zalook recipe,a classic moroccan eggplant sidedish...well one bite and my husband asked me if a moroccan lady came to the house while he was gone! If you cant learn by the beautiful colored photos,and easy to follow directions she even includes a dvd,just in case you learn better by watching her. Amazing. jazakallahukhair alia for all you do!!!

As a Moroccan, I could say that this cookbook truly lives up to its title. I moved to the USA 10 years ago with no cooking skills. Before Alia's videos were available, I was able to satisfy my craving for authentic Moroccan food once a year when I go to visit my family in Morocco. I never tried to learn how to cook Moroccan food because I thought it was hard and very time-consuming, until Alia's videos came along.

I bought this cookbook when it came out, and I tried most of the recipes for different occasions, and the dishes came out delicious.
The recipes feature authentic Moroccan food with easy, clear, and concise instructions that would make Moroccan cooking simple for even the beginner of cooks like myself. This book now serves as a handy reference in my kitchen because of the included DVD and the included sections such as "Essential Moroccan Ingredients", "Tips", and "Variations".

Being Moroccan is not mandatory to succeed in learning the art of Moroccan cooking, but having this cookbook is. So, I encourage you to get this cookbook but be ready to cook up a storm!!!

hi,

I was looking for a cook book that will simplify my life and will not waste my time in the kitchen, i looked everywhere, this cook book was a gift from the sky, thank you dear Alia i could never beleive in million years that i can cook, you made it easier for the rest of us who never cooked in their life for a reason or an other, thanks to you i do now and it taste great, i am extremely happy with the book and looking forward to the next one,

ouafaa guess

I've been a fan of Moroccan food for many years, and this book is the best! I've already used a few of these recipes quite successfully to impress a couple dates, cooking healthy and yummy food at home.

These recipes are straightforward, delicious, healthy, and exotic all at the same time. I don't cook a lot, but I've been really happy with how all these turned out! The book was written with an American audience in mind, so it doesn't require any fancy kitchen utensils or weird ingredients (well, orange blossom water is a little tricky, but I found it!)

I highly recommend this book if you want to cook something a little exotic and special, or just experience some Moroccan cuisine without flying all the way to Casablanca!

P.S. When I mentioned my Moroccan cooking, some of my friends thought that it would be "too spicy" for some reason... I guess they assume anything foreign is spicy like hot Thai or Indian food. Moroccan food isn't based on hot peppers, etc... instead it's just full of really flavorful herbs and natural ingredients; these recipes aren't spicy, just delicious.

I was already a fan of Alia's recipes through [...], and already tried many of her easy-to-follow recipes. For the first time, someone made Moroccan cooking easy, quick, and non-mysterious.

This package of book and DVD is just perfect for me as I can take it in the kitchen and not rely on my weak Wifi connection. The recipe introductions allowed me to discover some nice tips and history of some ingredients that I could then proudly share with the "kitchen experts" in my family :)

I would definitely recommend this book for its nice print, and great content. You can't beat the price!

Although my DVD has a few nicks in it and won't play the Vegetables Tangine Berber Style, I can still watch the same video on-line at her website. Other than that, the DVD is wonderful!

I own many Moroccan cookbooks but, like the expensive tagine, I seldom use them. Ms. Al-Kasimi has changed all that! You get a small cookbook, the demonstration DVD with recipes for: Preserved Lemons, various Moroccan salads, Moroccan lentils, Moroccan soups, pastries and a wonderful chicken dish called Moroccan Chicken Drumsticks. You bake the chicken first and then bread it and fry it! I am making this New Year's Eve (2011).

I was mesmerized during the demonstration of the popular Moroccan dessert, M'Hanncha. It is on the dessert list of every Moroccan restaurant in NYC and is delicious. It is also called Almond Snake Pastry because it is twisted (coiled) in the shape of a snake. I am sure it is time consuming but well worth it.

My expensive Tagine has become a bread keeper of late and will be thrilled, I am sure, to be put to use in the proper way again. The recipes call for fresh ingredients and spices that are available to most Americans. If you do not have these in your store please contact Penzey's Spices for their catalog. Martha Stewart, Emeril and almost all the A-List chefs use Penzey's. They are the best, I have found, for cooking and baking. Once you acquire your spices there is no excuse NOT to cook every recipe in the book!

This book/DVD is a great way to end 2011 and begin 2012. The food is so healthy for you! Love the book and love Ms. Al-Kasimi.

As a Moroccan woman who never knew how to cook while in Morocco, Alia's videos and now her cookbook have made it possible for me to cook couscous, msemen, fakkas and krachel and the Moroccan goodies, while living in the US. Thank you Alia!

I love this lady. To the point and very clear videos . I wish you and your family all the best !

Too often Moroccan food is bastardized, either by overly-adventurous gourmands who throw in stuff no self-respecting Moroccan ever would or by inexperienced excited cooks who are not really in tune with the spices and techniques of a cuisine that is so timeless and mysterious. Alia does a fantastic job of making Moroccan food "easy" without taking away the integrity of the flavors. She maintains the complex tastes, using simple authentic ingredients, but doesn't pick dishes that are impossible to replicate easily (i.e. you'll note there's not an authentic Friday couscous recipe in the book). The recipes she choose are easy to recreate, and she does an excellent job with the measurements and times, an issue that many cooks have problems fine-tuning. I didn't watch the DVD, simply because I've seen her YouTube videos. I'll agree with a previous post that states so many of these are already free, but not everyone goes online to watch cooking videos. It meets a different audience, so that is good for those that aren't online all the time. If you do get a chance, though, go online, as she doesn't limit herself to Moroccan cuisine, but to very good food and great cooking techniques! Her simple book is filled with every-day dishes and treats, which is how we Moroccan eat at home. There are quite a few festival dishes too, but made simply. My friends are constantly asking for my recipes. I don't normally bother giving them because I cook old school, the way I was raised, out my head and heart, and not a book. I happen to have a lot of time, and my ingredients are all sent to me from Morocco. I know my friends will be a. confused or b. overwhelmed or c. upset when the food doesn't turn out they way they've had it. It's just been easier to cook for them or have them come over for an all day party in the kitchen, learning how to make my food (I'll admit though, that most of them have recreated a good simple tajine and are ready for more education :-). Food is what my family has always done, so it's never been a chore to me. NOW, with Alia's great little book, I will be able to steer my friends in the right direction and maybe they will cook for me!! As far as I'm concerned, this is one the best books ever to give to someone who loves great Moroccan food but doesn't have the time to cook it the traditional way! Great job Alia! Keep up the good work. Looking very forward to seeing what you make next.