This engaging cookbook, which features the tropical dishes of South India, demystifies the cuisine and offers more than 100 recipes with light, tropical flavors and simple praparations, along with sumptuous photographs of the food and the region. 24 full-color illustrations.
The main benefit of this book is its southern and eastern Indian recipes (which are the main focus of this book). When it strays north (which it has to, I understand, because who’s going to buy an Indian cookbook that doesn’t have the classic Mughal dishes that Americans associate with Indian cuisine?) the recipes can be a bit lackluster.
I've had this book for about 10 years now, and I cook from it, maybe, once a week? Every recipe I've tried is a winner. Every spice mixture is different, and the author rarely uses fenugreek, so the dishes don't have that "curry" taste that you get when you use most store-bought curry powders. This is definitely worth a purchase if you and your family like to eat things other than traditional American fare.
I love this cookbook, my daughter asks for the Green Beans Thoren every year for her birthday (I use the recipe, but make it with asparagus). The photos beautifully represent the finished dishes, which is helpful to someone who is new to southern Indian cooking. Get yourself a mortar and pestle and never buy supermarket "curry" powder again!
This cookbook was an introduction to Indian cooking, family style. The recipes were authentic but without a lot of orthodoxy over ayurveda or absolute requirements for impossible-to-find spices, just the enjoyment of good recipe traditions passed-down from generation to generation and how to get to know them from an introductory perspective.
I really love Maya Kaimal's method for approaching recipes and her way of listing out ingredients. She makes it clear, concise and easy to prepare Indian dishes - even for a beginner. I highly recommend this book for someone just starting out. Extra kudos for the photography in this.
I love the beautiful pictures and spicy recipes in this book. My favorites are eggplant with tomatoes and cabbage with coconut. Add plain rice, lentils and some yogurt and you've got a great meal.