The Complete Indian Regional Cookbook: 300 Classic Recipes from the Great Regions of India

I have spent this summer cooking Indian and Iranian food. I lived for a year in Delhi doing my Ph.D. research in history. Consequently, I am always trying to recapture the flavors of my favorite cuisine. With most books, either the looks are great, but something is missing in the spices, or the food is delicious, but it doesn't look the part. This is the first book I have purchased by Mridula Baljekar, and I am deeply impressed. It is very annoying that the font is so small, I agree with other reviewers on that. The silver lining is that there are more recipes packed in because of the small font. Every recipe I have made from this book looked like the picture and tasted wonderfully, reminding me of good Indian restaurants. I'm still exploring many other authors and I have dozens of Indian cooking books, but if I had to pick one, this would be it.

This is probably one of the best, varied & most useful Indian cookbooks ever produced, albeit a synthesis of two previous works by the same author (of whom I am an avid fan). There are, as is usual with all books a few minor errors, some of which should have been edited out. For example, on p258, 'aniseed' is probably incorrect. I think ajwain (lovage) seed is probably intended. I know from a previous work of Mridula's that she did at one time confuse aniseed with ajwain (see Indian cooking without fat, p7). Again, on p294, 7.5 ml of lemon juice is not 1.5 tablespoons (I think she means 1.5 teaspoons). For these minor indiscretions, she is to be forgiven, especially when she gives us delights such as "Rainbow trout in lemon & mustard marinade" - quite the best trout recipe I have ever sampled - & totally devoid of the 'muddy taste' often described - more like what you might expect of a dover solel or sea bream in texture & quality. Certainly, recipes like this knock some of those of so-called 'fine dining' into a cocked hat.

This is a good book. Lots of recipes including sides, breads and desserts. A variety of cuisines that are hard to get in the UK. Well written recipes and instructions including exotic ingredients some books might avoid but that can be traced down. The only let down is that the dishes are translated into English and the index does not include the original names. That makes hard finding bhunas, rogon josh, vindaloo, etc within the book.

This is an excellent book! Delicious recipes. The book is well laid out, region by region with interesting and helpful information. I love that it has photographs of the recipes. I am using the book at least once a week. The recipes are straightforward, easy to follow. I really, really like this book!

I have many cookbooks covering India and the Far East but this one beats them all for variety, an authentic sub-continental taste, and almost fool proof instructions. Receipts are grouped by region, and with this book one can put together a far greater variety of dishes than in any other Indian cookbook I have come across. The instructions are very clear. Even quite complicated and multi-ingredient dishes really do work as long as you do exactly what you are told! A real culinary adventure awaits anyone who buys this wonderful, and sumptuously illustrated book. Enjoy! UPDATE: We have now been using this book for 18 months, and it just gets better as you explore more and more recipes. I don't think that we have ever had a cookbook (of any type of cuisine) which has so many sure-fire winners in it.

Excellent in all respects. I particularly like the fact that there is a photograph of every recipe, and key stages in the preparation thereof - very user friendly!

I bought this book for my husband who loves making curries. This book not only has wonderful recipes but also provides some background to each region in India and how ingredients may change from region to region depending on what is grown there. I am enjoying picking recipes for my husband to try out

What would have been an absolutely brilliant book has been let down by the small print size. I don't know why publishers persist with what they believe to be trendy designs and layouts, only to forget the basics: the books should be readable. I would normally give books with such simple but crucial errors only one or two stars, but this book is otherwise essential reading, for its excellent survey of Indian regional cookery.

Just satisfied

I have many Indian cookbooks. And I read them all cover to cover! This is an excellent cookbook that introduces the complex and varied food of India, region by region. The recipes have been simplified slightly avoiding the use of some of the harder to find spices. But it is very authentic. It is wonderful to have recipes grouped region by region. And there are a full range of vegetarian and nonvegetarian dishes, desserts and drinks for each region. The book is rather small which is too bad. And the typeface is very small. But there are photos for each dish. A great plus in my book! And there are prep photos as well. Each recipe has an English name but the Indian name is included in the short paragraph preceding each recipe. There is a full complement of vegetarian recipes, nonvegetarian recipes, lots and lots of recipes using all the different beans from India, desserts and drinks typical of that region and an extensive rice and bread recipe section for each region. I think that Mridula Baljekar has done an excellent job of introducing the regional cooking of India. The recipes seem to be complete and detailed. The explanations are easy to follow and the photographs are really excellent and make you want to cook those dishes. One thing to be careful about: if you buy this cookbook and you want to buy other cookbooks by her, be careful. She also has a cookbook called "Vegetarian Indian Food and Cooking". I have bought it. I haven't checked every recipe, but every recipe I looked at in the vegetarian cookbook is also found in the regional cookbook. The exact same text, the exact same photos, the exact same tips. But, this vegetarian cookbook has a much larger page size. So the photos and text ARE larger. If you are a vegetarian, I would recommend getting the "Vegetarian Indian Food and Cooking" book. But if you are not a vegetarian, I recommend that you get "The Complete Indian Regional Cookbook" instead. I am keeping both books as I appreciate the larger page size in the vegetarian cookbook. Ha ha ha. But, I know I will enjoy and use this REGIONAL COOKBOOK for many years!! Good job!

A wide rage of recipes from all over India and lovely pictures of the recipes.

Authentic, easy to follow recipes. Book is well laid out with many pictures and an explanation of each region.

Bellissimo articolo, le ricette sono ben spiegate e contengono svariate foto per seguire passo passo la singola ricetta. Lo consiglio vivamente!