Customer Reviews

Taste of Nepal (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Taste of Nepal" is truly an encyclopedia of Nepali cuisine with a wealth of popular and specialty Nepali dishes from "momos" to "Raajkhaani Taareko"! It is a great book for young Nepalese like me studying in the US. I used to have to call up my aunts living in the US and ask, "How do I make tama-aloo tarkari like Ma used to make in Kathmandu OR What masala aren't you supposed to put in eggplant?" Now, I've got a reference book right in my kitchen. I would highly recommend the book to anyone delving into Nepali cuisine for the first time or to those like me who wished they had paid more attention to their mothers/grandmothers in the kitchen.

With several dozen cookbooks on our shelves, my wife and I are fairly critical of new additions. This one definitely passes with flying colors. Pathak has included the little details that make shopping, cooking and eating such a delight. Not only do you get Nepali recipes in exquisite detail (an extremely rare occurence in and of itself) but you come to learn much about the country, its people and its customs. I highly recommend this book to any foodie or otherwise.

I have visited Nepal three times and each time I am amazed at the variety of food available. Before returning for my next visit, I wanted to learn more about Nepalese cooking and am thrilled I found this book. The book is encyclopedic in its coverage (it is 469 pages!), and it has a clear and concise style. The recipes are easy to follow and the book is well organized (the section on Nepali ingredients and planning and serving Nepali meals is something every such cookbook should have). Practically every Nepali dish I had heard of was in this book, and I recently tried the Goat Curry (Khasi-Boka ko Maasu) and Chicken Sekuwa (Kukhura ko Sekuwa) recipes and it brought me back to Kathmandu. I can't wait to try more recipes!

Finally, a cookbook devoted entirely to Nepalese cooking which offers a range of classic dishes adapted for American kitchens and equipment. History, discussions of Nepalese cuisine, and introductions to each dish which offer serving tips and insights - as in a Spicy Stuffed Eggs, compared to Deviled Eggs and advised to serve at room temperature by itself - makes for a cookbook clear in instruction and approach. No color photos - but the easy recipes don't need them. Access to a spices shouldn't be a problem either, as most - ground cumin, chopped cilantro, ground coriander and fresh ginger, for example, are readily available in American markets. Highly recommended: a 'must' for any serious international cookbook collection: there's simply nothing like it on the American market.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is the most comprehensive English-language Nepali cookbook available. It contains almost 500 pages and 300 recipes. If you want to know how to make a particular dish, the recipe will most likely be in this book. I am incredibly happy this book was published because I no longer have to bother my mom for her recipes. Most recipes also have a brief, but helpful commentary.

For those unfamiliar with Nepali cooking, there is also an ingredients/equipment section and a brief glossary.

Allowing for variations in cooking styles and tastes between individuals, I do have serious issues with the quantities listed in the recipes. Having made about a dozen dishes from this book, I am convinced that many of the recipes were not tested. I am an experienced cook and grew up on this food, so I was able to make the necessary adjustments. For instance, a dal recipe requires twice as much water as listed; some dishes are woefully undersalted; the maalpuwa requires more enrichment from milk and clarified butter, and the sel completely falls apart in the oil if the batter is made to the consistency of "heavy cream" as directed. Someone unfamiliar with the cuisine might require a few tries to get it right, or might end up with the wrong impression of how the dish is supposed to be.

Nepali cuisine is almost exclusively home cooking, and even the mistakes in the recipes exemplify this notion. The only measuring devices used are the eyes and the hands, and perhaps that is why some of the quantified amounts seem to be off. Still, I have to take off a star for this, as well for the lack of photos.

In the end, I still highly recommend this book, both to Nepalis and others interested in this cuisine. I am confident that you will find pleasure in one of the least known and healthiest cuisines in the world.

Taste of Nepal is a great new book that's easy to use. The author gives helpful hints on where to find unusual ingredients even offering alternative names or easily found substitutes so you don't have to be afraid you won't be able to find the right ingredients. The planned menus at the back are helpful for first timers and the chutneys are really tasty even paired with western foods.

A must nepali cook book for any kind of nepali food. I am now able to cook all those nepali foods that I would have never been able to. It's a magnificent piece of cookbook for all.

This is a wonderful, comprehensive collection of Nepali recipes. The recipes are extremely easy to follow and once you have a core of a few ingredients, you can make several different foods. The format of the book is reader-friendly and everything is explained in simple "how-to" detail. One of the highlights of the book is the section on "Planning and serving Nepali Meals" -which outlines which foods go with which and helps you plan a complete meal or an afternoon snack. I have seen several cookbooks and must say this is by far one of the best!

Outstanding Rich and Unique Culinary Heritage of Nepal: For the first time,a Nepali Cookbook has won award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards as a "BestForeign Cusine Book-2008". This book was also recognisedat the award ceremony (April13, 2008 at the Olimpia theatre in London) by giving the book "Special Award of the Jury". Congratulations to the author for making this book a bridge to the rest of the world. I hope winning the international award will help bring Nepali culinary and heritage and culture in the world market.

After a year of using " Taste of Nepal Cookbook", I am impressed with the thoroughness of the purpose and enjoyed trying out the mostdelicious and healthful dishes of Nepal. As a person of Nepali origin,and have lived in the USAfor over forty years, many facets of Nepali cooking had slowly evolved fom my memories. The vegetable chapter of the book reminded me of so many varitiesof vegetables available in Nepal. I have seen these in in various Asian sores in the USA, but had faint memories of how it is cooked. Fiddlehead Ferns (neuro), Taro Leaves (karkalo, gaaba), Pumpkin Vine Shoots (farsiko munta), Luffa Gourd(gheeraula) werecooked occasionslly when I was growing up Nepal. I found some of the vegetables at the produce markets, but was not brave enough to bring it home as I lackedthe process of cooking method. Books like this will allow me to refer and will help me bring back my nostalgia. Even thoughI am moving away from fish and meat intake, I find it refreshingto see the comprehensive authentic recipes of my childhood favorites.

Pictures of the finished product would have been excellent addition to the book. Thatprobablywill requiremore expense, advance photo shoots, food styling, outlays and other process.However I will suggest her to do so in future, if possible. I shall also recommend the auther to show caloric value of each dish which I firmly believe is not high as compared to many foods available in the market. I really enjoyed beautiful black and white drawing (pencil sketches) in the book. I highly recommend this book to all health consern consumers. All recipees in this book is very healthy and healing (due to unique seasoning).

Reviewed by Amar Giri, Ph.D. Food Science.

Jyoti Pathak's "Taste of Nepal" does for Nepali cooking what Madhur Jaffrey's classic "Invitation to Indian Cooking" did for Indian food. It is a book for the uninitiated--precise in its directions, rich in background material--but one that does not, in any way, compromise the ambition of its recipes. The great dishes of Nepal are here, along with the more day-to-day ones, and each recipe comes with a brief introduction that tells you what is special about the dish you are about to make. Having tried some of the recipes, I am hooked: This will be the year of Nepal for me.