Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet: A World of Recipes for Every Day (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The host of TV's Top Chef, Lakshmi (Easy Exotic) puts her own culinary skills to the test in this glossy, cosmopolitan cookbook. Here, in vibrant colors, are her own palate-shaping memories in the form of recipes and short but highly personal essays. Like Nigella Lawson, Lakshmi's sex appeal is part of her draw as a food personality, and this collection obliges with adorable family photos as well as glamour shots of the model/actress nibbling on her creations. The global cuisine runs the gamut from a Southeast Asian–style Warm Peanut Salad with Tomato and Cilantro to Persian Chicken Soup with Omani Lemon and Dill to fried chicken battered with Rice Krispies. Keralan Crab Cakes and Pineapple and Pomegranate Crumble are among the fusion dishes that blend cuisines with intriguing results. Interspersed throughout are plenty of South Indian classics, reflecting Lakshmi's own heritage. Lakshmi has an inventive knack for flavor combination, but some of her recipes, like a Barbecued Shrimp with Chili Honey Butter, don't quite live up to the hype. Nevertheless, this book will certainly be well received by Lakshmi's growing fan base as well as home cooks looking to mix it up in the kitchen. (Oct.)
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From Booklist

Reality cooking shows have never been more popular (Gordon Ramsay currently has three programs on the air), and Top Chef is no exception. Lakshmi is no stranger to the field: her 1999 cookbook, Easy Exotic, was awarded Best First Book at the World Cookbook Awards, and she was the host of Padma's Passport on the Food Network. Her second cookbook is a much larger endeavor, with almost twice the amount of recipes. The dishes reflect her Indian heritage (curries and chutneys abound), with plenty of Caribbean (coconut crab cakes, chicken made with Red Stripe beer) and American (barbecue shrimp and fried chicken) influences. Though billed as simple, easy recipes to prepare, novices should be prepared to take a trip to the nearest international market for amchoor and jaggery. Lavish photographs, a small section on pickles and chutneys, and a few short essays by Lakshmi round out the volume. Not exactly an essential purchase, but expect demand from Top Chef addicts. Orellana, Carlos

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Weinstein Books (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602860068
• ISBN-13: 978-1602860063
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,677 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, January 2, 2008

By	Christine - See all my reviews

I feel like maybe this book needed to be proofed a bit more. The recipe for meatballs in spinach sauce came out so watery with the four cups of water that were called for. And the recipe called for 1.5 pounds of lamb and 1 pound of spinach (which is quite a bit of spinach considering it's light weight, most prewashed bags are 6 ounces) yet serves 4-6?

And then the recipe for Madras Curry, the instructions referred to sauteing the onions until they were glossy, but there were no onions listed, only shallots. Perhaps this is splitting hairs onions versus shallots.

I also would have liked to have the total time a recipe takes to have been listed.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 2 out of 3 ain't bad!, February 13, 2008

By	J. Uhlich (Alameda, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I received this book as a gift and while I don't usually go to cookbooks for my dinners--I'm much more of a "what's in the cabinet? okay, look online" kind of menu planner--I've given three of these recipes a go. The curry butternut squash soup was good and filling, and nice to add to my repetoire in that the flavor is easily changed to fit the needs (and meat requirements) of various guests. The Jamaican chicken in Red Stripe was terrible, but I'm not sure if that's partially my fault for rushing the browning, or maybe there was something missing? Editing standards are so horribly low these days that it's possible. And we just had the Fiery Shrimp and Linguine. Fiery? Not at all, but very tasty and like Ms. Lakshmi we found ourselves licking our fingers. The ingredients are difficult to locate only for some of the recipes; there are enough recipes for you to try without having to go hunting through the smaller Asian markets. Definitely a good book to help you play more in the kitchen and broaden your horizons--I'm now at least somewhat reconciled to anchovies!

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flavorful fusion food, November 26, 2007

By	Always Hungry (Albany NY USA) - See all my reviews

If you love cooking, this book should definitely have a place on your shelf.

This book contains 100s of great recipes that mix and match ethnicities and burst with flavor. I love that some recipes are short and sweet while others are more complicated for when I'm feeling adventurous. While I live in a city with ethnic groceries, I would imagine that some people may have trouble locating more exotic ingredients. Thankfully, Ms Lakshmi provides an online source for ordering hard-to-find ingredients.

She also provides great personal essays which reveal more about who she is than we see on Top Chef.