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offbalance80's review
3.0
I am blessed to live in an area that is full of incredible Indian restaurants. In 30-45 minutes, a few pokes at my phone can have an incredible collection of delights at my door. I still get interested in learning about Indian cooking every so often, and still have yet to pull the trigger to trying it on my own. This book is full of fun recipes as well as great stories about the author's family being their very own flavor of American (ugh, I'll show myself out). This book is especially good for vegetarians looking for new dishes to add to their repertoire, and anyone who wants to make "meatless mondays" a regular thing in their lives (if I tried, I'd risk divorce).
morgs777's review
3.0
I consider myself on the good side of the cooking bell curve.
An aside: I had a psychic once tell me I’d love Indian food because they pray over their food, infusing it with good vibes. Since then, I do believe I am sensitive to the vibes of the person who made my food. I can’t eat out two meals in a row. Then, I went to college in Madison, where there actually was Indian food (not so to this day in my hometown) and had a roommate from NYC who showed me the ropes.
I am still mourning the closing of Royal Indian Grill on Clark street and my weekly chicken curry and kachumber salad. Like, I reached out to a server on LinkedIn for hopes of this recipe. I am on the fifth page of Indian restaurants on Grubhub. Nothing compares 2 u, Royal Indian Grill.
So, I so want to be good at cooking Indian. So, so want to. Really want to figure out that curry. And I might, someday. But the upstart price and time of getting good at Indian, it’s just worth it to get takeout. (I feel the same about Mexican.) (Especially since 98% of the time I am only cooking for me, lol.)
I was hoping this book would convince me otherwise, but not so. I will try the ramen and the one chicken recipe. Also, I found the author a little insufferable and spoiled. Sorry.
An aside: I had a psychic once tell me I’d love Indian food because they pray over their food, infusing it with good vibes. Since then, I do believe I am sensitive to the vibes of the person who made my food. I can’t eat out two meals in a row. Then, I went to college in Madison, where there actually was Indian food (not so to this day in my hometown) and had a roommate from NYC who showed me the ropes.
I am still mourning the closing of Royal Indian Grill on Clark street and my weekly chicken curry and kachumber salad. Like, I reached out to a server on LinkedIn for hopes of this recipe. I am on the fifth page of Indian restaurants on Grubhub. Nothing compares 2 u, Royal Indian Grill.
So, I so want to be good at cooking Indian. So, so want to. Really want to figure out that curry. And I might, someday. But the upstart price and time of getting good at Indian, it’s just worth it to get takeout. (I feel the same about Mexican.) (Especially since 98% of the time I am only cooking for me, lol.)
I was hoping this book would convince me otherwise, but not so. I will try the ramen and the one chicken recipe. Also, I found the author a little insufferable and spoiled. Sorry.
thereader3's review
5.0
I love Indian Food and it’s heavy use of spices to flavor. I have a cookbook on Indian instant pot food, and it’s a good resource on homemade staples , spice blends, and traditional dishes like dal makhani. But I was looking to expand my repertoire, and am so happy I found this books. Everything is so flavorful and rich, but not fussy. I felt I had a diverse range of spices, but these recipes showed me more to buy. Yet despite the large range of spices required (which are necessary and delicious), the recipes don’t take 1.5 hours and many dishes to make. It’s dishes that you don’t need a special occasion for (yet I can’t wait to entertain with them post covid). I’ve made a quarter of the recipes so far and loved everything I made - I can’t wait to try the rest!
Lastly, as a “mostly “ pescatarian, I appreciate the book focused mostly on plants, grains, beans, and dairy. I look forward to the day I’m near a good fish market and feel like splurging on sea bass, but until then I’m going to figure out how to incorporate all of these delicious vegetable sides!
Lastly, as a “mostly “ pescatarian, I appreciate the book focused mostly on plants, grains, beans, and dairy. I look forward to the day I’m near a good fish market and feel like splurging on sea bass, but until then I’m going to figure out how to incorporate all of these delicious vegetable sides!
alisarae's review
I should have paid more attention to the keywords in the title: Modern, American. If you are looking for recipes of all your favorite dishes from your local Indian restaurant, don't look here. These recipes are definitely modern remixes and sometimes just straight-up American.
ginabbina's review
5.0
This is an excellent cook book! I tried two recipes so far and I like them both a lot. The lentils/dal recipe that I tried, in particular, is excellent and I want to make it all the time (Priya says she cried tears of joy when she ate it and I don't think she's lying).
The recipes in general are healthy in the way normal health conscious families eat every day, and they're mostly vegetarian recipes. These are both plusses for me.
The introduction made me reflect on the idea of "authentic food" a lot. I find the way she talks about it VERY relatable, substituting Nicaraguan for Indian. It's impossible to cook the same food as your grandma when you move this far away, even if you would like to. Indian grocers and Mexican/Latinamerican grocers are common enough that you can get close. But also, as your kids grow up more American, things get adopted. (E.g. a food I loved as a kid is scrambled eggs with ripped up tortillas in them, and ketchup on the side. Kids in Nicaragua don't eat this, but kids who grew up multigeneration American don't eat this, either). So Roti pizza isn't exactly familiar to me, but the spirit of it is very familiar.
Recommend to people who want to cook every day (weeknight) Indian food, and aren't too bothered about "authenticity."
The recipes in general are healthy in the way normal health conscious families eat every day, and they're mostly vegetarian recipes. These are both plusses for me.
The introduction made me reflect on the idea of "authentic food" a lot. I find the way she talks about it VERY relatable, substituting Nicaraguan for Indian. It's impossible to cook the same food as your grandma when you move this far away, even if you would like to. Indian grocers and Mexican/Latinamerican grocers are common enough that you can get close. But also, as your kids grow up more American, things get adopted. (E.g. a food I loved as a kid is scrambled eggs with ripped up tortillas in them, and ketchup on the side. Kids in Nicaragua don't eat this, but kids who grew up multigeneration American don't eat this, either). So Roti pizza isn't exactly familiar to me, but the spirit of it is very familiar.
Recommend to people who want to cook every day (weeknight) Indian food, and aren't too bothered about "authenticity."
zoes_human's review
3.0
A fun beginner-to-intermediate cookbook loaded with simple recipes created by a busy American mom with Indian heritage.
nxg3ofb654jrfz0h7rpsmmws's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely cookbook that covers, very practically, some solid recipes to spice of your week.
It has some great introductory sections on basic flavors and spices and how to combine them which I especially enjoyed.
I did miss some depth in the dessert area and some more show-stoppery dishes, but overall still had a fun time.
It has some great introductory sections on basic flavors and spices and how to combine them which I especially enjoyed.
I did miss some depth in the dessert area and some more show-stoppery dishes, but overall still had a fun time.