Customer Reviews

Quick & Easy Indian Cooking

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is a great introduction to Indian cooking. First of all, I wanted to address a previous review. Someone posted that they hated this book. They blatantly stated that they didn't even try the recipes. Don't be swayed by their review this book is great.

Think of this book as a shorthand guide to Indian cooking. I married an Indian, and I wanted to cook him Indian food but did not have the slightest idea on the style and attitude towards Indian cooking. I was mostly concerned with it's authentic taste. This was the first book I used to teach myself Indian cooking.

You will find curries, kebabs, pooris, chutneys, or anything else relevant to an Indian dinner. She carefully describes how to find scarce items with a wonderful glossary in back. She will teach you what is imperative to have and what combinations make the meal seamless. The tastes are definitely pleasing.

What's even more pleasing? To hear my husband tell his brother and his friends that, "We are eating saag gosht with pooris tonite," and to hear them reply with, "You are so lucky." As many of his Indian friends are bachelors busy with the school books, they miss the taste of India made at home.

So what have we learned today, boys and girls? 1)This book is for beginners, however, very authentic. 2) You can't go wrong with Madhur Jaffrey. 3)Ignore the person who wrote that bad review. Enjoy!

Someone should have warned me that you need a pressure cooker to make most of the recipes in this cookbook. So I'm writing this to warn other potential buyers. Unless you have one, don't bother buying this book. OTOH, if you do, I am selling mine and it's in perfect condition.

I really enjoy Indian food, but this book has never really tickled my fancy. It has quite a few recipes, 70 of which can be made in half an hour or less; but I prefer a cookbook by "Women's Weekly" that covers the same cuisine. Some of the recipes are just too americanized - garlic masala omelet? - for my taste, but judging by its popularity - now in its 10th printing - this book does make reasonable Indian food possible for home cooks wanting to expand their range.

For someone new to Indian cooking, it does have one excellent feature - clear english translations of popular dishes. 'Saag bhaji' can look intimidating on the menu at an Indian restaurant, but when you know it is simply 'spinach with ginger and green chilies' it is easier to choose.

An acceptable book for a home kitchen.

This is a great book for anyone without a lot of time, a limited budget and who loves Indian food.

My husband purchased this book for me and it sat for quite a while before we attemped to try some of the recipes. I always thought of Indian cooking as time consuming and was intimidated by the myriad of spices and the sheer number of ingredients. We tended to just order in and save ourselves the work.
One Sunday we took the plunge and tried a recipe and we have not looked back. We are Canadian and cannot attest to the authenticity of the recipes we've tried but wow were they tasty! We consider ourselves experienced home cooks and found the recipes to be quite easy with proper prep work. This book has introduced us to the art of Indian cooking and helped us get past the intial intimidation.
I would definetly recommend it.
P.S. I dont own a pressure cooker!

I'm an Indian who learned to cook Indian food not from her mum but from Madhur Jaffrey's books. I have quite a few of her books including this one and I have to say her recipes are authentic, easy and completely idiot-proof. I love her notes and tips on which recipes complement each other. My only complaint about Indian recipe books is that they don't explain the regional differences clearly enough so that people stop thinking that Indian food is all about chicken tikka, saag paneer and lamb vindaloo! Try the recipes in these books, make adjustments for your palate and spice levels and you'll be thrilled with the results!

This cookbook changed my life. It introduced me to a new world of spices, and inspired me to buy a pressure cooker. DON'T let the fact that some of the recipes use a pressure cooker scare you off -- alternate times for nomal stove top cooking given are supplied for each. But! Once I broke down and bought a pressure cooker, I found I didn't have to wait for the weekend to cook these delicious stews.

Fabulous recipes:

- Smothered Lamb (yum!)
- Hard Boiled Eggs Masala
- Ground Lamb with Peas
- Chicken with Spinach and Cilantro

One off-note: Beef with Spinach. What was with that? I think there must have been a printing error w/ the amount of water... But! One bad recipe in the 17 entrees I've tried is a pretty good success rate.

I discovered Indian food on a trip to England years ago - this is the first book I bought on Indian food and still my top favorite! The meals are great, easy to prepare, one pot wonders, and the food is wonderful! One week during grad school finals I announced to my non-cooking husband that he'd have to make dinner for the next week - he used this book and the food was perfect. A great buy and a must for every kitchen where good food is appreciated. If you have never tried Indian food before - Oh! What you are missing is a shame.

This book is a great way to introduce yourself to Indian cooking. I've tried 12 recipes. Two did not work out, but the 10 that did were all excellent.

Jaffrey is a worldwide expert on Indian and Asian cuisine -- but many experts have trouble creating genuinely easy and quick recipes for beginners. Not so with Ms. Jaffrey -- this book rocks! Almost every recipe I have made -- and I have sampled quite a few -- has turned out wonderfully on the first try, despite my substituting an ingredient here and there. BUY this book and cook Indian like you never thought you would -- in under an hour. (Most truly take half an hour or less, in fact.)