Customer Reviews

Savoring the Spice Coast of India: Fresh Flavors from Kerala

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
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.

As the title indicates, this book focuses on the cooking a Kerala, a small state down at the south-western tip of India known for its rich home-grown spices. That being said, some of the dishes, such as the Vindaloo and Biriyanis are more northerly in character, while a lot of the rest, while obviously southern, are not so vastly different from many dishes one might find in a more general book on Indian Cuisine. The recipes are very nice, though, and are well-written and easy to follow. There is also a good textual introduction to Kreala and its cuisine at the beginning of the book. I thought a little bit more material in spice-blending would have been better, but the individual masalas provided for most recipes are nicely balanced. I probably would have awarded four stars if there was an illustration accompanying each recipe.

I got this book because my family is from Kerala, now they live in the states and I am living in Europe. Even though I am familiar with most of the recipes and I can always call my mummy for a recipe this is a very good book to have on hand. The directions are written excellently and follow the traditional style that I have seen my whole life. If you are away from your Indian family and you want some home cooked food this is definitely a book to keep on hand.

if u are a mallu or a south indian or north indian or any one who loves indian food and want to try a very authentic keralite malabar cuisine- this is the book- u can say AMMA's cuisine just like ur moms cooking tastes so good when u try these receipes
the appam the cardamom coffee,banana fritters.fish, avial etc etc
this book canbe recomended along with Maya"s other work curried flavours
for those who are longing to eat like home in other countries
i would strongly recommend to buy this book
maya has travelled to her ancesteral home to collect these reciepes for the mouths in United states and has done a excellent job

i do respect her as i do respect late Chef Raji Jalepalli of Memphis Tennesse, USA. Charlie trotter of Indian fusion cuisine

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.

What a delightful little cookbook! First, she gives a great background of Kerala and of her own family. My fiancee is also a Keralite and this book has allowed me to make him many dishes that he hasn't had since he was last home. The pictures are bright, colorful, and visually enticing. The instructions are well thought out and the ingredient listings are logically ordered. In particular, I like how she groups spices under the heading "ground masala" and then in the instructions simply states "add ground masala". It makes it easy to know when to throw it in the mix because I put the ground masala together before I start cooking. This way, I don't have to sort through a list of spices that need to be thrown in quickly.

My particular favorite recipes are the piralen, meen molee, and the vadala. Actually, the piralen is now a weekly staple for us because it is so quick and simple to make. Since my prior cooking experiences had been primarily Pakistani and North Indian dishes of a heavier nature, I was amazed at how light and refreshing South Indian cuisine can be. I have just purchased Curried Favors and I can't wait to dig into it!

I will be using this book for years to come and look forward to cooking these Keralite delights for my own future children.

Now, I am just waiting for Maya's North Indian cuisine cookbook (hint, hint :-)

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.

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!!

I've tried a few books on south Indian cooking, but this one comes out best of all for non-vegitarian south Indian cooking. Kaimal is meticulus in the details. Wonderful book from a wonderful cook.

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.