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 According to one of the reviews above, the recipes are not authentic and asks the reader to use canned food. While I can't comment on authenticity, not being Indian, I have yet to encounter a situation where the author asks the reader to use canned vegetables (unless you count tomatoe paste). Every recipe we've tried has been very good with our favorite being the fish in coconut milk which we fry rather than broil in order to have more sauce. I highly recommend this book.
I would return the book, but Amazon would deduct shipping costs, so maybe I'll hold on to it longer. I have other recipe books around that I haven't touched in years either.
(For a classic on Indian and Western Cookery, try Thangam Phillips "Modern Cookery and the trade" which is used as a textbook in catering schools in India. However it is not "quick and easy") If you can recommend one, please email me. On the positives,Jaffrey's book is attractive with well composed artwork. However - recipes: the "Spinach with ginger" was fairly good, the turnip dish was not good, the fried fish with its pomme-whatever (mustard paste?) tasted like the fried fish in a certain American chain restaurant (not good). In addition, my wife felt that the 'quick' in the recipes came from using canned vegetables. We (and most Indians) avoid canned vegetables because they have lost their flavour. Also she saw one recipe which instructed one to cook the meat without prior sauteeing. When cooking meat, one should brown it so that it gains flavour from the spices. Since these first few recipes we tried out were disappointing, we returned the book to the book-store (not Amazon). We are still searching.
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!
After having made some of the dishes, I have changed my mind. These recipes may be quick and easy, but they are also the best tasting Indian recipes I have made! Madhur Jaffrey's instructions are simple to follow. She also has a section on spices and techniques from which I learned. I'm looking forward to my next opportunity to try something new from the book. |
I'm an average cook (not great, not bad) and found these recipes disappointing. Granted, they're flavored OK and I suppose I shouldn't expect them to be as good as the food I get when I order take-out from Indian restaurants. But the recipes I've tried have been disappointing, taking much longer than 30-45 minutes, and usually ending up with mediocre texture. Not to mention they make LOTS of food, so I've ended up with overflowing pans of meat that we're not crazy over. 
We returned this book to the store we bought it from after trying out 3 recipes. We are from India and have been searching for recipes to use that would be quick and easy - traditional Indian cooking is involved and lengthy.
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.
