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Summary: Try the Coconut-Tamarind Chutney!
Review: This is an excellent cookbook. I've been cooking out of it-- and reading it for fun-- every day for the last three weeks and loving every minute of it. Especially for those interested in Ayurveda, Vedic cooking, or for vegetarians, the book provides an absolute wealth of recipes in all areas. My only request would be for more theory and technique to help those of us unfamiliar with Indian cooking to become a little more confident. I'd confidently try any recipe in Ms. Devi's book-- not something one can often say about a cookbook.
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Summary: Delicious!
Review: I'm not Indian, and I'm not vegetarian, but the recipies in this book are outstanding! I've cooked out if it for years, and am still tempted by new and wonderful recipies, and I can't remember ever cooking something out of this book that my family didn't love. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, and if you cook them you will find your neighbors coming over to see what wonderful thing you're cooking now.
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Summary: extra ordinary--this book in in a class of its own
Review: I think no other author could ever present Indian vegetarian cooking as well as Yamuna has done. First the book is beautiful to look at. Certainly the scope of the recipes could not be more complete, what to speak of how wonderful they taste. But one of the things that is most outstanding is the text that surrounds the recipes--informative and user friendly--well written and presented. The A to Z is something I read for pleasure as well as information.I heartily recommend this book to anyone out there who wants to experience a real taste of India's tables. And I know, I have tasted some of the best of India's cooking. Buy this book!
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Summary: the bible!
Review: This is the bible of vegetarian cooking, if you are into the vedic traditions. I first found this book at the sivananda center in NY. If you read some of the reviews that rate this book low, it might be because they don't know that this book is based on certain vedic laws. No garlic, onions, vinegar, mushrooms etc... you can always add your own. Again, a must for an budding vegan, vegitarian or aspiring yogi!
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Summary: A Book to Grow With
Review: My Mother gave me this book when it was first published, and I hung onto it for ten years before beginning. I'm so glad I did! Over the past five years, I have cooked an ever widening range of it's dishes, and I have years worth of cooking still to try. I knew nothing about Indian spice combinations or an indian kitchen before reading this book, and it has transformed the contents of my cupboards. Definitely a book to grow with. The only cookbook I use more is "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison, which actually references this one! Recipe Quality: Almost every single recipe produces a dish that my family and all my friends love. I find that for our taste, we can generally cut the oil by 30-50% and the dish is right for us. Also, we tend to add more salt, up to double. Also, for some reason (we think it's because we use heavy cast iron soup pots so little steam escapes), we almost always have to cut the amount of water in the dals by about 40% or so, to avoid completely watery dal. But the spicing and proportions are otherwise dead-on to produce mouthwatering favorites. I do agree that there's too much fawning over the author's mentor in the introductions to the recipes. However, many of the intros give little vignettes about being in households in different parts of India, and these I found fascinating. I only wish this part of the book had been expanded upon a little, so I could come away with a clearer idea of the differences in regional cooking. Overall, a terrific introduction to Indian cooking and one that can keep teaching you new tricks for years.
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Summary: Love it
Review: I am converted Vegetarian and have been trying to follow the vegetarian way of life for years. I bought this book on recommendation of a friend. It was also one of the top 5 books recommended by Recipedelights.com This book is truly amazing. Not only does it have veg recipes but it goes a step further and tells you the vedic way of cooking- without onions or garlic. It also has the recipes from royal kitchen.
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Summary: Encyclopedic in scope
Review: As I have developed a new interest in cooking, I have found this book to be the most useful and straightforward guide to cooking with delicious results. These are just some of the reasons why I have found it so useful. - it covers very basic recipes (ie simple boiled rice) with clear instructions and builds on them as progression is made through each chapter. - anecdotes are included which share some of the authors experiences. Rather than being 'precious' I've enjoyed reading of her experiences and sharing her passion, which she has obviously been devoted to. - entire menu suggestions are frequently made which can compliment the dish. - repetition of procedures and frequent use of similar ingredients in many recipes. I've found this helpful and confidence-building while allowing a variety of options. - recipes are usually limited to about 6 steps sometimes less, each of which are clearly explained. The less fuss the better! - rather than including glossy paper with bright pictures, Devi has taken the more sensible approach of giving very clear useful INFORMATION covering every conceivable aspect. The line drawings break up what would be a monotony of text otherwise.
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Summary: Food for the soul
Review: This is one of the best books ever written on cooking. In fact it is not food for the body but actually it is food for the soul, as the food described here helps us loose our body consciousness. And for all the critics of this book, I have a message for you Just as a bad worksman always blames his tools, so you check the quality of your ingredients (don't buy junk from your next door grocery) and don't blame the author!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Hmm. This is like a dissertation that was never subjected to editing: overlong, far too many asides that lack any appreciable significance, and repetitive. The line drawings that accompany the text also add little to the book apart from, of course, increasing its length. The book is also cloyingly sycophantic at times with its many references to the Swami (his comments on several of the dishes - would you believe all positive? - are included) and his various family members. All a little too precious. These things would be easy to set aside if the recipes were more interesting - I for one do find many of these onion-less and garlic-less recipes on the bland side. What I have found useful is the A-Z glossary section which includes a number of useful techniques and good descriptions of materials. Nevertheless, for my taste there are shorter and better books on Indian vegetarian cooking out there.
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Summary: Excellent cookbook
Review: Every recipe I tried in this cookbook has turned out great. I especially like the glossary which explains unusual ingredients. I am very happy with this cookbook. You do need to have access to an Indian grocery store where you can purchase the ingredients. I live in a small town and we have to go to the city to stock up on ingredients.
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