Customer Reviews

Savoring the Spice Coast of India: Fresh Flavors from Kerala

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book features the cuisine of southwest India, a region whose cuisine is very different from the brown glop Americans think of as Indian food. The food is very varied and very fresh, featuring lots of vegetables and legumes with subtle gradations in spicing. It's a pleasure to make and a pleasure to eat. And it makes terrific party buffet food.

That having been said, this book is not as effective as the author's other book, Curried Favors.

The introduction is wonderful. The author goes back to the India, weaving together explanations of the origins of the cuisine and its various influences with portraits of her family and how they taught her to cook it. This section is delightful. You come away much wiser and yet feeling as if you've been immersed in her culture and embraced by her family.

But the recipes themselves could be a little better. It's not that the results aren't terrific. They are. But the recipes lack the perfect clarity and sequencing of Curried Favors, where the ingredients list is set up to facilitate prep and the instructions lead you confidently through to a successful conclusion. Sometimes it takes an extra reading or two to figure out how to line up your prep or how the dish will be put together. If you're patient and read again you'll be just fine, but if you started with the other book you'll be a little frustrated that this one isn't just as wonderful.

Net net -- if you're looking for your first Indian cookbook, buy Curried Favors over any other book -- including Madhur Jaffrey, by the way. If you love Curried Favors, you can buy this one as a supplement. But you'll still reach for Curried Favors first.

This is one of those cookbooks where every one of the recipes I've tried so far have turned out well and tasted delicious. This is one of my big considerations when judging the quality of a cookbook. I've probably tried a dozen recipes so far (such as Shrimp in Tamarind Sauce, Thoor Dal with Onions and Tomatoes, Tomato and Cucmber Pachadi, Fried Bananas . . . ) All have tasted great. Nice pictures, good introduction to planning menus, ingredients, and cooking. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in South Indian cuisine (which, by the way is different from the more popular north Indian cuisine found in most Indian restaurants - much lighter I think).

After I saw this authoress on a daytime show, I had to have this exquisite cookbook. Over 110 recipes of ultimate flavors and colors--a kaleidoscope of adventures from Maya Kaimal's homeland. I think that is what makes this easy to follow page turner special, her up close and personal touches from her relatives own kitchens. She also compares her Hindu background of cooking with Christianity and Muslim dishes from the same region.

The photographs of India and the completed dishes are mouth watering. I have never been one to curry favor for curried flavors! Yet, these snacks and meals are of a lighter fare. I made Spinach Theron first--with coconut, cumin, and tumeric. And found even my non-veggie teens loved it.

I highly recommend this spicy book. Just shopping for the ingredients is an adventure...

This is absolutely the best cookbook I have bought in years. Not only are the recipes easy to follow, once you stock your pantry with a few key ingredients (unsweetened coconut, curry leaves, coriander, and chilis) most of the other items will be in there already. Every single thing I have made has turned out great -- chickpeas with onion, fish in fragrant coconut milk, tomato onion fry -- and with very little preparation or shopping time. Two of us preparted a three course meal straight out of the book in a little over an hour.

Beyond the content of the recipes, the book itself is well written and contains georgeous photos of South India. If you are looking for a tasty yet simple approach to the cusine of India, this is your book.

I am a grad student in New York, who spent the first 15 years of my life in Kerala. This book takes me closer to what I grew up eating, than any other Kerala cookbook I know of. Even as a grad student, I find myself cooking at home every single night using recipes from this book. I'd recommend this book very highly to anyone wanting to experiment with Kerala cuisine. It's definitely the REAL thing.

We just love this cookbook! We enjoy Indian food but primarily have tried food from Northern Indian provinces, such as from Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks, so were unsure what to expect from the Kerala region. Kaimal delivers with awesome recipes for full-flavored filling dishes that are easy-to-prepare. Most of the recipes rely heavily on coconut for flavor as well as a host of other spices and are simply irresistible.

What I really love about the cookbook is that she divides the recipe into parts and often mentions that you can prepare up to a certain part in advance so that there's less of a rush at the end. In addition, each recipe has a preparation time, which has always been accurate. Most recipes take between 35 minutes to 1 hour to prepare and use ingredients you can find at any supermarket. As for the unusual ingredients, such as curry leaves - she gives a thorough resources page for mail order so and also gives tips on how to store them to keep them as long as possible in your freezer.

We've tried over 50 recipes in Savoring the Spice Coast of India, and EVERY ONE has been truly delicious. There is a wealth of both vegetarian and meat dishes, and also side and dessert dishes so you can have a really balanced meal. Highly recommended.

Having spent many vacations in Kerala visiting family and friends, I found Maya Kaimal's recipes to be informative and authentic. I wish there were more enticing pictures of the food, as in Kaimal's first book. But overall, the descriptions, pictures, and recipes give a clear understanding of Kerala cuisine and its diverse culture. I tried a number of recipes such as lamb korma and various vindaloos, and all were delicious. This is an excellent book for those who want to cook like their Keralite mothers and grandmothers(like myself) as well as for those interested in learning about flavorful and diverse South Indian foods. Kaimal succeeded again! I would recommend her first book as well. Get them for yourself or as gifts!

Maya Kaimal has done it again!! She has taken south Indian cooking to amazing heights which is so delicious, yet requires simple skills to conjure up these aromatic dishes. Being a native of Kerala but brought up in the Middle East and now married to my husband from America....my life has been a journey of transitions and now being away from home has made me realize, how much I miss home cooked food. Without any cooking skills, I was in a dilemma as to how to go about our Keralite cooking which my husband loves.When I reached this country last year, he presented me with Maya Kaimal's first book "Curried Favours" and it gave me a different perspective in to South Indian cooking. It has always been a joy to cook from Maya's books which are very simple to follow with easily available ingredients. This new book is like a work of art with more recipes, beautiful photographs and literature about Kerala which allows the reader to look at the state at its entirety. I always cook dishes from her book for guests and they simply love it. And many of them have gone ahead and bought her books.....and thus goes another culinary story! A wonderful book to have and create magic at one's home... Way to go Maya!!

I am from Kerala and know how authentic kerala food is supposed to taste.
However, being a new bride and new to cooking altogether,this book was a life saver
Basically, Maya Kaimal showed me how to make my mom's food with the same mouth-watering taste.
Everything comes out great!

Besides being a visual treat in itself, this book is specifically designed to
show anyone and I mean anyone..how to easily and with moderate effort recreate
the wonders of the tantalizing cuisine of a little southern state
of kerala in India.

The recipes are not the standard fare found in Indian restaurants..so if you want to recreate
the tikka masala etc..this is not the book.
If you want to savour some delicious tastes with a tropical feel that are easy to cook in the american kitchen,
this book will fit the bill.

I was quite skeptical about ordering this book as, I thought delicious Asian-Indian dishes would be impossible to create in America! I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the book for the first time! The ingredients list is "translated" into things we find in our "American" supermarkets everyday!! The author provides several substitutions of the more specialty items too and...if you want to be as authentic as possible, at the end of the book, there is even a list of places to purchase the ingredients!! The cooking directions are idiot proof! Very explicit and, most importantly...the food turns out terrific!! Even my 8 and 4 year old loved it!!! That evening, not only did we get to sample a "curry" but also, several "dahl" recipes and...the kids got to learn all about the wonderful Asian-Indian culture! Finally, the pictures of India's culture delighted us all. The colors, the places and the people all transported us through an exciting adventure to another land!!