The Everything Indian Cookbook: 300 Tantalizing Recipes--From Sizzling Tandoori Chicken to Fiery Lamb Vindaloo

Please note that my review is for the kindle version of this cookbook. I would rate this 4 star had I purchased this in the paperback version.The problem with the kindle version is that no care was taken to modify the content of this book to accomodate an ebook format. As an example, the ingredient list for Chicken Tikka Masala includes the following items:1 tablespoon Ginger-Garlic Paste (see recipe on page 13)1/2 teaspoon Warm Spice Mix (see recipe on page 12)1 recipe Chicken Tikka (page 24)eBooks do not use page references like a regular book would, which means knowing the page number isn't very helpful at all (ex: "Page 13" of this book is really "location 320-327" in the ebook). One can incorporate a series of search functions or navigate through the table of contents to locate the recipes being referenced but this is very time consuming. Doing a search for "Page 13" will not yield results, doing a search for "Ginger-Garlic Paste" will yeild A LOT of results (not necessarily the ones you want or need) and navigating through the table of contents takes some guess work since the recipes are nested within broader categories. It would be nice if they at least hyper-linked cross-referenced recipes but minimally, page numbers should have been updated to reflect appropriate location numbers.As for the recipes themselves, I'm very pleased. I would consider this an introduction to Indian cooking. As others have mentioned you may notice that some of your 'favorites' are otherwise missing (No Aloo Gobi :(??), however, this cookbook offers a nice collection of familiar dishes as well as lesser known dishes that are a true delight to try. The recipes are for the most part simple and easy to execute though I did take one star away because I'm not convinced that all recipes were tried and tested (some tweaking has been required in order to ensure proper consistency in several of the recipes I've tried). I also feel that better measurements could have been provided throughout the book. Sometimes a weight measurement is provided (ex: Meat Belli Ram calls for 1 and 1/2 pounds lean lamb) whereas in other instances it is not (ex: Chicken with Pickling Spices calls for 8 skinless/boneless chicken thighs). The first time I made the Chicken with Pickling Spices recipe, I used 8 skinless/boneless chicken thighs and realized too late that the meat to liquid ratio was way off because my thighs were so tiny! My finished dish was delicious but it seemed like such a waste to get little more then two servings. This recipe can easily accomodate at least 1 and a half to 2 lbs of chicken (if anyone is wondering).To sum it up, although this recipe book has a few shortcomings, it does serve up many tasty recipes and helpful tips! My only recommendation? Skip the Kindle version and go straight for the paperback.

My husband and I love to eat Indian food so I wasn't surprised to find this under the Christmas tree (along with three other cookbooks,  Pure and Simple: Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine , From Mom With Love . . .: A Complete Guide to Indian Cooking and Entertaining , and  The Spice Box: A Vegetarian Indian Cookbook (Vegetarian Cooking) ). I went straight to this book to get the beginner information. I like how it gives the basic Indian Spice Pantry. I live in Japan so I needed to make one order from a store before making any dishes. I was able to make an order quicker because of the list.Recipes I have made:garam masala and tandoori powder- used throughout the cookboook, now I have some ready whenever neededPaneer (Indian Cheese)- I made this for the first time yesterday. Milk and lemons and a bit of patience. Turned out great.Cheese and Spinach Curry-had to use that paneer and this was yummy, but I won't seed the chilies next time. We thought it needed more heat.Red radish salad and shredded carrot salad-these were both good but not worth making two days in a rowPeas and Minced Meat Curry-I really enjoyed this ground lamb dish. It was thick and went really well with the simple NaanTandoori Fish- I've made this two times now, the flavor is excellent!Malabari Coconut Rice- I've made this twice now too. Great combination of flavors. First time I made it it was really not. Second time I didn't crush up the red peppers as much and was a little weak. Third time will be a charm.Simple Naan Bread- great simple recipe and I usually default to this one when I'm making IndianMint Cilantro Chutney-went really well with the tandoori fishThere are so many recipes in this book and I have tons more marked in the book to make in the new future (tomorrow is Split pea and Cheese Curry). If you are looking for a good Indian cookbook to get you going, this is a great one. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star, not one picture. But, I suppose it's because it's full of recipes instead!

I have dozens of Indian cookbooks, but don't use the vast majority of them when I get the urge to mess up the kitchen, spend lots of money, dye my fingers and countertops yellow, then ultimately experience disappointment with the finished product when I decide to cook Indian. This one is pretty darn good, however! With all Indian recipes you have to do some tweaking due to the variation in efficacy of the spices (Thoughts in your head while in the local Indian grocery store: Are these spices fresh or not? Why did I have to wipe off the dust to read the label? Do I have to purchase Bollywood dvd's too?), but this one not as much as most. The recipes are simple and easy to follow (for those of you that are into Indian cooking, you know what an epiphany this is), and it has the basics from the Indian buffets where we all sneak off to to get our Indian flavor fix (then foolishly try to recreate at home). I'm pleased with this cookbook, and would recommend it to any courageous home cook that wants to attempt making Indian food. Indian is my fave rave cuisine, and I'm not going to delude myself into thinking that what I make at home will be as good as my fave rave Indian restaurant, but this cookbook makes it a lot easier to shoot a bit closer for that unattainable goal.

The 2nd purchase of the Everything books.Pros :Tons of recipes.Easy to follow.Lots of spice mix recipes as well as sauces, more than I expected.Great little tidbits about the food as well as the Indian names for them.Cons :No pictures. None. Zip. Nada :(I hadn't realised this when purchasing. I think when it comes to cookbooks, I like the pictures almost as much as the recipes.I'm looking forward to trying the recipes, they sounds delicious. For the price it's worth the lack of pictures.

Being a beginner in cooking, I bought the book for its low price, having no clue what I was looking for. Then I tried one recipe (mint-cilantro chutney). Then another one, and on and on. It turns out that it is pretty good! The recipes are simple and I can recognize the same flavors and similar recipes at the indian restaurants. Is it the same? No, but I am no chef. Is it traditionnal indian? Well most of the ingredients in the book I can find in the "indian" section of my grocery store. Is it easy? YES! Is it fast? YES! (it takes me more time to eat than to prep!). Finally, I am a beginner, not an idiot, and by doing you come to realize some basics of that cuisine and add your own little twist. As for the fact that there are no picture? Then you cannot fail because it doesn't look like the picture! Trust your instincts!Great book!

Though the content is good but book was very dirty, even the pages were folded .Seems like an old book.Helpful for a beginner ..

Still working through it... easy to follow and interesting. Have made a few things guided by this book... got a clay pot for which makes quite a difference in texture etc!

Empfehlenswert für jemanden, der die indische Küche ausprobieren möchte. Englisch auch hier wieder ein Muss. Keine Bilder, sie sind zwar nicht nötig, wären aber ein i-Tüpfelchen gewesen.