Cooking with Kurma

At the ages of 29, I recently became a vegetarian (with the exception of fish). I found this book had some great recipes that you could easily improvise to fit different ethnic tastes. It has a variety of great recipes, my favorite being rice and soup dishes and the ingredients are easy to shop for. I keep my "Cooking with Kurma" out in the open so I can easily try a new recipe every day.

Outstanding vegetarian recipes. We are Indian and we find these recipes better than any even the traditional recipes we have. Our life is changed with this book (and there is another book by Kurma Dasa)

I have been a vegetarian since i was born and i LOVE cooking. I have probably had this cookbook for 10 years and have used it regularly along with three other cookbooks by Kurma. I do eat dairy (organic and with no animal hormones or any other animal ingredients) but i have never eaten any meat, fish, eggs, chicken or gelatin. If you like to eat food that actually has taste than this cookbook is an essential for your kitchen! A lot of the time people think that vegetarian food is some tasteless tofu or a little salad.....because "WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES A VEGETARIAN EAT??" I have heard that question many times. Well we eat a variety of things and this book is a great tasting way to understanding what good vegetarian food tastes like! The spices aren't so hard to find......mostly they will come from your local indian grocery store (which are actually quite common) or even the regular grocery store and you might spend a bit to buy most of them but they last for quite a while and you will have more freedom in deciding what you are going to cook. I would say that its a little more challenging to find the ingredients for the chinese and thai dishes just because they are much more unfamiliar but never hurts to try and it will be worth it when you get to eat! Also for those of you who don't like garlic or onions or both...Kurma offers a great alternative called hing or sometimes aesfatita (which is a yellow powder spice from india)which works great.In addition to cooking with Kurma i would recommend Yamuna's Table although i haven't spent as much time with her recipies..... i have used them and they turn out excellent as well but require more ingredients and preperation time. I really love the carob cake.......you might be worried that 'without eggs how can you make a cake?' but it turns out perfect every time. I have to admit that i am a chocolate lover and so i use chocolate instead of carob.....but thats the beauty of these recipies.... have fun with them...improvise a little! ENJOY! I know i am!!

I am not a vegetarian. However, this book by Kurma Dasa has altered my preconceptions of vegetarianism.Kurma has done his research. He not only shows you how to cook but shows you how to blend the spices for the authentic Indian taste. It has a wealth of information even for folks who might think they know what is Indian cooking. The glossary with photos of spices and herbs will help those who don't know how to navigate their way through Asian grocery stores.The book concentrates mostly on Indian vegetarian recipes but has many dishes from other parts of the world as well. One of the surprise packages in the book is "Juicy curd steak". Try it, it's good. Try 'em all, you'll embark on a saporific journey of ethereal proportions.

a very informative and easy to follow book. not like many other vegetarian books, the recipes in this one are well researched and the food taste great. kurma also suggested alternatives when you can't get some of the ingredients.