Dakshin: Vegetarian Cuisine from South India

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Amazing book. All recipes I have tried were great. It is the kind of book where just looking at the photos makes you hungry.
(I am an Indian, though not a South Indian.)

Rating:
Summary: Finally I can cook like my mom!
Review: As an American of Indian descent, I grew up eating my mom and grandmothers' cooking, but had a hard time replicating their results. I was given many "South Indian" cookbooks including the classic "Cook and See" and Dakshin is the first cookbook that I've actually be able to follow with ease and which produces delicious, and more importantly, authentic tasting South Indian food. The book covers not only basic South Indian dishes, but specialties as well. Pictures are beautiful and inspire me to try dishes that I would otherwise never consider. My only complaint is that all the recipes state "salt to taste." I'd prefer a little guidance and then adjust to my taste. My husband and I have both become "expert" Indian cooks (in my grandmother's eyes) since we got Dakshin.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding South Indian Vegetarian Cookbook
Review: Complex, but tasty recipes will keep this book in your permanent collection. I have made 20-30 recipes from this book, only four or five of which flopped (this is an admirable success ratio, based on my experience with other cookbooks). If you like South Indian Food, you should own this cookbook. You should be aware that many of the recipes are quite involved, so this book is more suitable for the gourmet than the casual cook.

Rating:
Summary: Delecious.....
Review: Excellent introduction to South Indian vegetarian cooking. Presents all the traditional staples and a few exotic recipees like the tamarind rice and pitlay, in an easy to follow manner. Highly recommend this book.

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Summary: South Indian cooking demystified.
Review: I am a single male from North India who loves South Indian food. Bsides I am a vegan who abstains from any animal products. Even though in the vicinity of Berkeley we have lots of Indian restaurants, they are dominated by Mughlai (or Punjabi) cuisine - which include the all-too-familiar tandoori chicken, palak paneer, samosa etc. A few South Indian restaurants recently opened up, but ghee (by popular demand!) seems to be used in almost all dishes. (No wonder Indians have one of the highest rates of heart problems, beer-bellies and lots of other health problems.)

Decided that if I wanted to eat good and healthy South Indian food, I had to cook it myself. Bought this book. Am not an expert cook and don't have much time to search around for 1/2 teaspoonful of XYZ. Luckily this book has been good in that respect. Only 5-6 standard Indian spices (all available from Indian grocery stores), with a few specialized spice mixes, will allow one to create authentic dishes like sambar and rasam. Food photos are excellent, and some days, I just look at those pictures to satisfy my hunger for South Indian food!

Thus far, have tried a few recipes, and all turned out well. In future, I plan to expand my menu.

I hope this book helps to make South Indian food popular among Americans. In my view, South Indian staple food like idli, dosa, sambar, rasam, and various rices are healthy and tasty unlike those overcooked, oily Punjabi food they serve in Indian restaurants. My wish is for the author to come out with a vegan version of this excellent book, because I think veganism is the way to go for all for health, for environment and for compassion. :) Thanks for reading.

Quote: Greatness of a country is judged by the way its animals are treated - Gandhi.

Rating:
Summary: south kitchen star book
Review: I am Mahesh Sharma from New Delhi,INDIA,I read this book &

certified that it is a complete book on South Indian Cookin.I am also a cooking writer & written a lot of books,study a numbers books,but this is [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Just like mom's cooking
Review: I am myself from South India but moved to the U.S. before I could learn how to make all the traditional dishes. Occasionally mom write down a couple of recipes for me. But eversince I got this book, I do not have to bother mom. The recipes are very simple to follow once you get a hang of the basic ingredients used in South Indian cooking and the taste is unbeatable. What more, South Indian vegetarian cuisine is healthy and wholesome.

Rating:
Summary: A very authentic and "must-buy" cookbook
Review: I bought this book in a bookstore called Scribners in LA on a whim. It is probably one of the most authentic and lavishly photographed south indian vegetarian cookbooks that I have seen. I can related to all of the dishes in the book and the tastes come out just like "mom's cooking". More importantly, mom has seen the book and heartily approves !

Rating:
Summary: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Review: I came across this book by accident, and have fallen in love with it. Has helped clear the mystery about ingredients used in various sambar and rasam powders. A must-have for anyone interested in South Indian vegetarian cooking. Also, very easy to follow. The photographs are especially appealing.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to Tamilian vegetarian cooking
Review: I can't recommend this book highly enough. If you follow the recipes carefully, they come out just like my mother and grandmother's. Another useful feature is that western terms for the ingredients have been provided.