1,000 Indian Recipes

This book is just what I was looking for - traditional Indian recipes, just the way my mother made them, with great practical suggestions to go with each. The recipes are explained in very careful detail and each section is preceded with a useful description of the general principles used. For someone cooking Indian food in the US, this book is invaluable. While there are many good cookbooks published by Indian authors in India (e.g. Tarla Dalal), the books author, Neelam Batra brings the unique insight of cooking authentic Indian food in the US. I have owned this book for a year now. I use her recipes constantly and although 1000 is a large number, I can vouch for the 40 odd that I have tried and the 20 odd that I use again and again. Highly recommended.

I have tried six recipes from this cookbook so far and each one has been a winner. The recipes are well-tailored to be healthy and generally pretty convenient to make (with tips for using modern appliances and store-bought spice mixes for when you are in a rush). The glossary is extremely helpful and it is very well organized. I have no trouble finding the section to fit where my taste lie any given day (vegetable curries? dals? street food?). The only shortcoming is that the index does not include the Indian names for dishes, which made it a little difficult to track down specific recipes. Otherwise, though, it is an outstanding, comprehensive resource on Indian cuisine.

this is a very, very good cookbook. i have more indian cookbooks than i will admit to, and this one is among the very best. it is not a coffee table book, there are no photos, it is a cookbook for the serious cook who wants great recipes. it is also a great bargain compared to many other indian cookbooks, most of which do not come close to having this number of recipes.there is an abundance of masala recipes that will simplify cooking for those of us who cook indian frequently. there are many of batra's own recipes, such as the savory apple recipes, that are wonderful. there is a remarkable list of ingredients it the beginning, which maybe the best list i have in all my many, many indian cookbooks, including those by jaffrey and sahni. there is a glossary of indian cooking terms in the back that is very convenient and extensive. the recipes in each section are nicely organized by type of main ingredient (all the cauliflower recipes are together, all the chickpea dals are together, etc.). i also like the color of the ink--as in her first book, it is a very pleasant and easy to read mid-magenta.the recipes are wonderful. along with a good number of familar recipes, there are recipes unlike any others in my other cookbooks, such as the hyderabadi chicken and cracked wheat and several recipes from goa that are not vindaloo. the instructions are quite good. criticisms: i have her first cookbook, the vegetarian one, and a brief comparison showed that many of the vegetable recipes in this book are only slightly changed from that one. this is not a bad thing, since batra's recipes are good, but it is a bit disappointing. there are also, in this book, too many okra and eggplant recipes for my taste--i'd rather have had more recipes for cauliflower and cabbage (cauliflower is supposed to be very popular in india, but that popularity isn't reflected in any of my cookbooks). the index is annoying--it lists items generically (for example, chicken) by pages without recipe titles, then, with no apparent logic, lists a few of the generic recipes seperately by title (chicken curry). this leads to a lot of flipping back and forth until you find what you're looking for.those are minor points. the proof of a cookbook is in the eating, and this one wins easily. this is a necessary addition to a collection of indian cookbooks and an excellent first cookbook for those just beginning to explore.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. After a trip to India two years ago, I realized that Indian restaurant food throughout the U.S. doesn't come close to the fabulous flavors of this cuisine. The first books I used after my return were the two by Maya Kamal, which are excellent. This work, however, is so much more comprehensive and extensive that it is a MUST for those of us who are interested in dishes beyond curries (although the curry recipes are great). In addition, Ms. Batra's suggestions for American adaptations of Indian ingredients (e.g., using flour tortillas for samosa wrappers) are very helpful. I just finished making three of her chutneys -- spicy apple, cilantro, and cocount-tamarind -- and each was outstanding.