Foolproof Indian Cooking: Step by Step to Everyone's Favorite Indian Recipes

Rating:
Summary: Definitely Foolproof, definitely yummy recipes!
Review: My friends and I discovered this book recently. After having tried several recipes over the past week, we are going to prepare our 2003 Thanksgiving meal using recipes from this book. We will start with Turkey Tandoori, curried potatoes, cayenne cauliflower, Mulligatawny Soup, Salmon madras, Cachumbar and mango lassi (to name a few.)
The recipes very are easy to follow. They not only note the time it takes to prepare and cook (not very long for most of them) but also shows step by step instructions, in individual photographs, how to prepare the meals. What could be easier? Very easy to prepare dishes with spices you most likely already have in your cupboard. And they are delicious as well. I had no idea I could create this kind of taste. I had always made my lentils with a spanish touch. Now with a few changes in spices/herbs I can create a whole new flavor. One drawback is that there are not very many vegetarian main dishes, although there are a few seafood dishes. Add this interesting cookbook to your repetoire. You'll be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: A fool learns to cook!
Review: This is going to sound dumb and sappy but...

Up until recently, I hated cooking with a passion. I'd prepare food when necessary, but often I'd be the one bringing the paper products and the soda to parties. This book was given to me as a gift, and it actually got me cooking.

I happen to love Indian culture and Indian food - and this book starts from the perspective of someone with the barest basics in regular Western cooking, and explains, usually in small words, with lots of pictures, how to make each recipe. Each recipe is accompanied by an image of the finished product, as well as the major intermediate steps - and you can actually get the outcome to look like the picture, and it tastes as good as it looks.

My only criticism is that the preparation time estimates are a little low. If you are just learning the fundamentals of efficient cutting, slicing, grating and dicing, then you will probably consume almost double the estimated preparation time. The times shown are appropriate for someone who has really mastered these skills and who knows how to organize ingredients for maximum efficiency. After 3 months, I'm almost there...