Customer Reviews

A Taste of India

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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This is a book that was given to me some years ago when I was in India. It is not just a cook book but it conveys a picture of India. The book is broken into sections based on India's main regions. Each chapter has magnificent photo's of those regions and a text which describes the cuisine.

Each region then has a series of recipes that are famous. Most Indian cookery books tend to show how to cook the sorts of things that you get in Indian restaurants. Chicken Tandoori, Rogan Josh and so forth. This book has recipes which I have never come across before and most of them are interesting and delightful. A lot of them use a limited range of spices and depend on the mixture of their ingredients to develop subtle and interesting flavors. One recipe that was a revelation was an eggplant (aubergine) dish which was cooked and served cold with a yogurt sauce.

I live with a vegetarian and one of the reasons I enjoy such cook books are the variety of vegetarian foods that they contain. This book is by no means devoted to vegetarian food but it contains many such recipes.

The recipes are in text form but they are easy to follow. If something unusual has to be done such as the preparation of tamarind, the author explains how to do it in a clear and simple way.

Some cook books are things that you have on the shelf simply to prepare food. This book is a little more and gives you a feel for the county which has provided the recipes.

1. It is a good cook book, with beautiful recipies that work. 2. The food is presented in context in which it is eaten in India. 3. This is like a travelogue of India through its food. So if you like India, travel, food, cooking or books about cooking food in different parts of India, then this is the book for you.

Whether you are going to India or staying home and cooking Indian, this book is a must. The insights into the concepts of Indian food preparation are clear and accessible to the western reader. The recipes are efficiently presented, and the selection of recipes takes one to the heart of Indian regional cuisines very quickly. We found this book valuable as a preparation for travel in India, as well as for home use. We have looked and tried several Indian cooking books -- this one is the best.

Amongst almost 100 books on my kitchen shelf, this is the most used. It is easy to find my favourate recipes, simply flick through the pages and find the ones with the most stains on them! Ms Jaffrey knows just how to get the best flavours out of the ingredients yet not overpower them with the spices. All recipes are easy to follow and there is enough reading about the different regions of India to keep you occupied after you have finished the meal.

If you only buy one book on Indian cookery then make sure it is this one.

I was presented this book by my aunt when I got married. Since it had a lot of description about the regional cuisine of India,I started reading it as a storybook but slowly started trying out the recipies. Now I have Madhur's entire collection and have also watched her show on BBC! Her recipies bring out the authentic flavors of India and are easy to follow for beginners and pros alike! Kudos to madhur jaffery.

The book is divided into recipes from different regions of India. For an Indian, perhaps the best way to determine whether Ms. Jaffrey really knows what she's talking about is to follow one of her recipes from your own region. So I made the shrimp curry from Kerala... and it is simply to die for!! The proportions of masalas are just right and just about every dish in the book is absolutely delicious. Best of all, the recipes are written in an organized way and you don't have to rewrite every single recipe for yourself before you start cooking (as has been my experience with some other cookbook writers)

This is a great book - not only are the recipes superb and quite distinctive, but Madhur Jaffrey writes about the food with such passion and feeling that it just makes you want to cook. When she describes a dish as one "I love with a passion" you can be sure that it will not disappoint. For cooks trying out Indian food for the first time, following her recipes precisely can almost guarantee an Indian meal that will earn rave reviews from friends and family.

Madhur Jaffrey has the knack of presenting her recipes in a way that makes unfamiliar styles of cooking and ingredients seem easy. Each step is fully explained, but concisely,with suggestions for serving and combining with other recipes for completely authentic Indian meals, and many of the end results are shown in beautiful photographs. There's a glossary, and explanations of cooking techniques and a list of addresses for supplies. The introductions to each section describe the local foods and way of life--if I ever get to India, after Ms. Jaffrey's tuition, I might just ignore the scenery, but never the food!

With over 100 cookbooks in my collection, I no longer buy books just for a collection of recipes. I want interesting information about culinary traditions, etc. and this book has all of that. It has a great overview of Indian regional cooking, lovely pictures, and good illustrative recipes besides. Serious gourmets will *not* be disappointed.

For all those people who are tired of the same resteraunt style receipies, welcome to the world of Madhur Jafferey. The receipies are original, tastefully selected and best of all, are easy and quick to prepare. The book is also full of rich details about how diversified a kitchen can be in different parts of the same country!!