Customer Reviews

The Everything Indian Cookbook: 300 Tantalizing Recipes--From Sizzling Tandoori Chicken to Fiery Lamb Vindaloo

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The 2nd purchase of the Everything books.

Pros :
Tons of recipes.
Easy to follow.
Lots of spice mix recipes as well as sauces, more than I expected.
Great little tidbits about the food as well as the Indian names for them.

Cons :
No pictures. None. Zip. Nada :(
I hadn't realised this when purchasing. I think when it comes to cookbooks, I like the pictures almost as much as the recipes.

I'm looking forward to trying the recipes, they sounds delicious. For the price it's worth the lack of pictures.

One of the most "user friendly" cookbooks I've ever encountered which showcases regional dishes from India, The Everything Indian Cookbook provides 300 authentic and easy-to-follow recipes for dishes that are the equal of anything you could order at your favorite Indian restaurant. From Pork Tikkas; Smoked Eggplant in Yogurt; and Green Beans with Coconut; to Cumin-Scented Rice; Carom-Flavored Flatbread; and Instant Saffron Ice Cream, Indian native, chef and caterer Monica Bhide has organized this outstanding collection so that even the most novice kitchen cook can prepare and deliver absolutely savory meals and menus, whether for intimate dining with a loved one or a celebratory party of dozens of guests.

When my husband recently returned from a business trip to India, instead of running to the first burger joint he could find (like many of his colleagues have done), he came home craving more Indian food! I was fortunate enough to have several good cookbooks to use as references and The Everything Indian Cookbook was the newest in my collection. Part of the "Everything Series", this recently-published cookbook follows a tried and true format that has been used throughout the series. Of course, what mattered most to me were the recipes!

Having just returned from Hyderabad, I was a bit apprehensive about preparing Indian dishes for my husband. After all, he'd just been enjoying the "real thing" for a couple of weeks! I was thrilled, though, when I put together dishes like Bengali Jhal Muri (Puffed Rice Mix), Murgh Tikka Masala (ChickenTikka Masala), Nimbu Wale Chawal (Lemon Rice) and Aloo Ka Parathas (Stuffed Bread with Potato Filling) and both my husband and I swooned! The recipes were easy to follow and additional tips and hints allowed me to tweak recipes when I felt more adventurous. I even tackled Aamraas (Mango Cream) when I decided that I needn't rely on our nearby Indian restaurants when the craving for this dreamy dessert hit again. It's a truly delicious treat that I've enjoyed over slightly softened vanilla ice cream or on its own. I think I shall soon be making the Aam Ki Kulfi (Mango Ice Cream) as the natural successor to the Mango Cream I've become addicted to!

While the recipes are easy to follow and use techniques that will be familiar to most, there are some unusual ingredients called for and putting together a traditional Indian menu can be challenging to those unfamiliar with the cuisine. Therefore, the author - Monica Bhide - provides a glossary that explains unique items, an extensive list of resources for providing those items, and a suggested list of ten appropriate menus for different occasions that a great many cooks using The Everything Indian Cookbook will be grateful for!

For those familiar with Indian cuisine, The Everything Indian Cookbook provides a wide array of your favorite dishes with a simple recipe format that you'll appreciate. For those just dipping their toes in the vast ocean of Indian cooking, it offers to hold your hand and show you the way. If this describes you, I highly recommend carefully reading the first chapter, which provides an excellent guide to the basics of Indian cooking, and follow that up with a look through the glossary and the suggested menus (both near the end of the book) before tackling the recipes. These will give you the background necessary to feel more comfortable with the terms, techniques and tips used throughout the recipes. With that bit of advice given, I wish you many successes as you enjoy the delightful flavors that can be yours with The Everything Indian Cookbook!

In The Everything Indian Cookbook, Monica Bhide has developed a truly user friendly cookbook. This is a book about easy to follow and tasty Indian recipes that appeal to both vegetarians and non vegetarians. Monica's friendly voice comes through in her clear instructions and the recipes work very well. The techniques section at the beginning of the book takes the mystery out of Indian spice mixes. It is an ideal introduction to anyone wanting to learn Indian cooking.

The Everything Indian Cookbook has something of everything. It is, as evident from the tittle, a cookbook geared towards people who are interested in Indian cuisine and would like to know it better. And I must say that the book does it's job very well.

Monica Bhide has set a goal to familiarize the reader with diffrent aspects and tastes of Indian cooking while keeping it simple enough so that even the faintest of heart can dare to try...and she maintains it through-out the book. You have to keep in mind that being one of the "Everything" series book, this is not a book meant to show off the specialized talents of the author but Monica's own informal, "fun-fusion" style of writing that made her earlier book such a success comes out in each recipe, every page. Although most of the recipes are your "regular" Indian recipes, for obvious reason, there are yet some typical "Monica" delights like 'Saffron Mayonaise', 'Macaroni Lamb', 'Carrot Chutney' and 'Spiced Broccoli' ...

Recipes are a good example of Indian fare and none of them are complex or labor-extensive. Language is lucid and clear and each recipe is accompnied by helpful tips. Where ever possible, Monica tries to exchange or atleast suggest a low-fat or healthier substitute for the ingredients involved. Recipes are written with US consumers in mind and the readers here will have no difficulty following the recipes and getting a stunning result !

To keep up with my frantic pace of life and the desire to have a variety in my meals I am constantly looking for an easy to follow recipe book and this book does exactly that. I cook all kinds of ethnic recipes and whenever things seem too foreign or exotic I loose interest. Bhide's book is straight forward and I like using it.

Although I am also a big fan of Jaffrey's books I think your previous reviewer is pretty vicious to discard Bhide's book because of its simplicity and low price. Bhide has written a very concise book with just enough details on the techniques and her little tips on the side bar are a welcome change from the other story telling Indian cookbooks.

From Bhide's book I made Chicken Korma, Cucumber Coolers and the Tricolor Rice for a dinner and everyone loved it. I would recommend it to whoever wants to cook a good Indian meal without sweating it too much and ultimately giving it up.

Bhide you are on to a very good start. Congratulations.

Wow! If you want to impress somebody with your Indian cooking skills - this is the book you need. I enjoy eating Indian food, but have limited experience cooking it. If I follow an Indian recipe and the dish does not taste good, I have no idea how to make it better besides adding more and more salt or chili maybe. That is why I love a book like this one: you follow the recipe and you end up with a great tasting dish EACH AND EVERY time. It is obvious that this author has spent a lot of time researching and testing the recipe. She presents them in an easy to follow format and gives great tips along the way.

I found the recipes very easy to follow. Instructions are very clear and I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to try Indian cooking for the first time.

Extremely useful and comprehensive cookbook for all of us who have very little time on our hands in the day for cooking that "right" meal which satisfies all the folks at home. The winning streak in her book is that there is always that "different" touch that spices up the recipes from the other cookbooks that are out there. I have tried atleast more than 20 recipes from this book and they have all turned out extremely well...The pork kababs just won over everybody at my boss's party! If you had to buy only one Indian cookbook... this would be the one to buy!

I've just recently been introduced to authentic Indian dishes--read not overly oily buffet pseudo-food--and this book can be a terrific primer that further allows one to delve into much trickier dishes. Not only does the author capture the essence of the Indian ideas of cuisine de terroir (using ingredients that are indigenous), but also shows the breadth of regional cooking that characterizes this gargantuan and diverse country.

In addition to the easy-to-follow and tempting recipes, Bhide also includes much appreciated information for the busy home cook. The dishes are accompanied with such vital information such as preparation times, cooking times, and handy leftover ideas. The suggested menus, glossary, and source guides made it so easy for me to get started in this new territory. I also love the historical asides, from the origins of certain spices and powders to the seemingly inexplicable inclusion of pork dishes (native to the Christians of Goa.) A great read as well as a comprehensive cookbook.