Curried Favors: Family Recipes from South India (Paperback)

~ Maya Kaimal Macmillan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Few cooks know their subject as personally as Maya Kaimal MacMillan who in Curried Favors focuses on the less familiar cooking of Southern India, particularly the province of Kerala, her family's original home. "Curry," she informs us, correctly refers to a range of dishes calling for differing blends of spices known as "masalas." Coconut, curry leaves, and mustard seeds are particularly key in the wet masalas often used by her aunt and others in Southern India. MacMillan offers intelligent substitutions, where necessary. Curried Favors provides detailed directions so you can comfortably try dishes such as Idli, Yogurt, Aviyals, Kichadis, and Pachadis as well as more familiar northern favorites such as Khormas and Biriyanis. Something of a mini-coffee table book, Curried Favors would be a good gift, thanks to its handsome presentation and MacMillan's conversational commentary. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Looking for a great cookbook?Not only is it a beautifully bound bookbut its offerings are delicious alternatives to now mundane dishes like curry chicken and rice." -- Redbook

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Abbeville Press (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789206285
• ISBN-13: 978-0789206282
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 8.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #538,029 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Indian Food, Easy to Follow Recipes, May 31, 2000

By	drdebs (CA United States) - See all my reviews

My recipe for success: After you receive this book, make a list of all the spices and cooking stuff (like Tamarind Paste) that you don't have. Go shopping. Come home and start making the best Indian food you have ever tasted. Begin inviting your friends over for the best Indian food they have ever tasted. Enjoy.

This wonderful cookbook is a treat in many ways. There are beautiful pictures, clear explanations of techniques, detailed descriptions of products you need (and substitutions if you can't find curry leaves, like me!), and accurate estimates of time needed for preparation and cooking. And that doesn't even take into account the marvelous food that you will rather effortlessly produce!

Indian food is really starting to become popular in the US, and in Europe South Indian food (the kind featured in this book) is the trendiest wave of Indian cuisine. I find the cuisine of South India less heavy and "brighter" than many Mughal dishes, and I think that even those of you who haven't particularly liked Indian food in the past will gobble up the food in this book. Some of my favorites include Shrimp Thiyal (yummy coconut-shrimp curry), Lamb Korma (admittedly a Mughal dish, and you can easily substitute chicken), and the spinach Dhal (green split peas with spinach and flakes of coconut).

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Indian Cookbook!..........., March 24, 2002

By	Margaret "fugirl" (NYC) - See all my reviews

...........This cookbook, filled with recipes from Southern India, is an absolute treasure! Maya Kaimal MacMillan shares her family recipes, the evolution of her own interest in cooking, and the influences on Indian and Southern Indian cooking (particularly from the Kerala region) in this cookbook that contains numerous pictures of mouth-watering dishes. She also includes a handy guide to finding ingredients, useful kitchen equipment, a guide to menu planning, and intersperses pictures of Southern Indian life throughout her cookbook, making it a wonderful and thorough experience in discovering this cherished cuisine.

Some recipes we've tried and found outstanding include: Rava Masala Dosa (with Potatoes and Onions), Split Pea Vada, Baji, Samosas with Tamarind Chutney, Stir-Fried Okra, Tandoori Chicken, Egg Masala, Spinach Lamb, Rogan Josh, Gulab Jamun, Spiced Tea, and Mango Lassi. We are eager to try so many more of the more than 100 recipes in this book that Mac Millan has divided into chapters such as: Light Meals and Snacks, Soups, Salads and Chutneys, Dhals and Vegetables, Fish and Shrimp, Chicken and Eggs, Lamb, Beef and Pork, Rice and Breads, Desserts and Beverages, and Spice Blends. So very many of the recipes look tempting and not very difficult to prepare. Overall, I highly recommend this cookbook which, so far, has produced steady no -fail recipes!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The closest to home-town receipes ever found!!, February 4, 2001

By	Soudamini M. Nath (Murrieta, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book is well written and demonstrated with color photos. This makes it very impressive. The receipes are easy to follow. I gave this book as a gift to my son, since he always asks me the receipes for some of the Kerala food. Every time I give him the receipes, he loses it or complaints that the measurment is not easy to follow. Then I found this book and I was really excited. This is the best Kerala receipe book that I have ever found that is close to my home town cooking. Thanks to Maya.