Julie Sahni's Introduction to Indian Cooking

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Hi,

Just want to share my recommendation with all other people who hate cooking! This book is the best way to get introduced to Indian cooking. It converted me from a person who hates entering the kitchen to one who loves cooking!

simple and tasty recipes!

Rating:
Summary: The Best Introduction to Indian Cooking!
Review: I bought Julie Sahni's "Introduction to Indian Cooking" because I have always loved Indian food and wanted to learn to cook it at home. This book has a wide array of recipes - from soups and breads to meat dishes, vegetables and desserts. The recipes are easy to follow and they turn out great! My husband is ecstatic over the wonderful Indian food I am preparing and the house is always full of the smell of delicious food being cooked. The book also has a list of where to buy spices and hard to find ingredients.

Rating:
Summary: Easy instructions for exotic results
Review: I love this book! Julie Sahni's "Introduction to Indian Cooking" has become a staple in my cookbook library. With just a few easily attainable spices and Julie's simple instructions, I have been able to turn the most mundane rice and vegetable dishes into exotic delights that never fail to intrigue my guests. The meat and shrimp recipes, especially the Malabar Coconut Shrimp, are not only delicious, but fast and easy. I have become addicted to the Mango Lassi - a refreshing drink at any time of the day. Whether you're making just one dish, or a complete Indian meal, this book covers it all.

Rating:
Summary: A favorite for easy preparations and fabulous results.
Review: I own many Indian cookbooks (including Julie Sahni's "Classic Indian Cooking" which is a must- have reference book) but I find that I return often to "Introduction to Indian Cooking" for its easy preparations and fabulous results. This cookbook dispells the myth that Indian cooking is complicated, requires many hard to find ingredients, and is too spicy. The best dinner that I can image is Chicken Curry(pg. 130) with Saffron Pilaf (pg. 84). If you think that gourmet cooking has to be complicated, read (and cook) from this wonderful little cookbook; you don't have to tell your friends that dinner didn't take hours.

Rating:
Summary: A good introduction to Indian cooking
Review: I suppose this book is a good introduction to Indian cooking, but some of the ingredients are not readily available at most grocery stores and will have to be purchased at specialty stores, but all in all, this is a good book to use for basic Indian dishes.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Introduction to Indian Cooking!
Review: It is not an understatement for me to say that Julie Sahni and her cookbooks are the reason my friends think I'm actually a chef extraordinaire, when all I really am is a person who can find and follow recipes, perhaps somewhat too slavishly.

I wish I had had Julie's "Introduction to Indian Cooking" earlier in my culinary progression. I might have avoided some of the burnt offerings I provided willing friends (okay, guinea pigs, but they weren't complaining as they're usually hungry).

I really came to this cookbook because I decided that I needed to expand my repertoire, so that I could satisfy the gamut of tastes and predilections of the "fish" vegetarians, the omnivores, the strict vegans and the hosts of others that I hang out with and have over to my house on various occasions.

I have done that and more through such things as making my own mixing, toasting and grinding my own curry powder from scratch. (Compare the aroma of that with some of that store bought ground stuff that's probably gone stale and I suspect you'll never go back.)

The consensus favorite among the fish vegetarians and omnivores so far is Julie's recipe for Malabar Coconut Shrimp, also known as Konjupa. As I'm fond of saying, "it's out of this world."

For more standard dinners with your family, you could try the chicken curry (murgh masala) recipe. Let me know if it doesn't easily surpass any such entree you may find at your local Indian restaurant.

My home on cooking weekends is now known as "Hindu haven." The small god that I pray to-- that things will work out as I'm scrambling before a party--is this book.

Bon appetit as you travel East on your culinary adventures.

Rating:
Summary: Easy instructions for exotic results
Review: This book was, truly, my introduction to Indian cooking. I am american but LOVE Indian food, as does my daughter. She's a vegetarian and hard to please, but she is more fanatical about Indian food than I am! Since the nearest Indian restaurant is 80 miles away, I bought this book so I could learn to cook Indian food at home. To my surprise, ALL my restaurant favorites were in here! My first meal from this book consisted of Lamb with Spinach (Saag Gosht), Green Pea Pilaf (Matar Pulao), Pappad w/chutney,Mango Lassi drinks (Aam Lassi), and Indian Rice Pudding (Kheer) for dessert. It was fantastic, so easy to make, and my family loved it! There's an Indian market in Albuquerque (Ganesh Grocery) that stocks all the spices and ingredients I needed but couldn't find locally.

I was so inspired by my success with this cookbook that I bought her other book, "Classic Indian Cooking" and have since purchased two of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks as well. But if you only purchase one Indian cookbook, let this be the one! You won't reget it!