The Bollywood Cookbook: The Glamorous World of the Actors and Over 75 of Their Favorite Recipes

The book has over 75 recipes as well as part interviews, part nuggets and photographs of the Film Stars whose contributions have been used in the book. Hence this book can also double up as a coffee table book and the reproduction of some old film posters like "Guide", "Bobby", "Umrao Jaan", "Pakeezah" could spark off some interesting conversations. The pictures are lovely and the printing quality is good. The photos of the food that accompany the recipes can easily tempt you into cooking from the book. Some of the traditional recipes like the Manglorean Coconut curries have been given a low fat, low cal twist by the stars, their parents or their cooks. Contrary to what is sometimes perceived as my indiscriminate picking up of cookbooks, I do read a couple of recipes to get a feel of whether the author is being authentic to the taste of the dish and if ingredients will be easy to find. This book scores high on both counts. Just like someone who reads music, can visualise and hear what the notes will sound like, some foodies who are avid cooks will have an idea what the finished product will taste like, just by reading a recipe. The reason I don't bake is because I can't follow precise instructions, so I do jiggle with the quantities recommended to suit my own tastebuds and mood, so I cannot tell you how accurate the measurements are. And I have not yet been in my own kitchen since the time I bought this book, to put the recipes to the test, but they seem to have potential. Some of the stars also share their favorite restaurants with you. I was suprised to see that 2 of Nandita Das's favorties, Aap Ki Khatir and Swagath in Delhi mirrored my own. It somehow makes them more human to read their likes and dislikes about food. The recipes are Pan Indian and some of them have an International twist to them too. Contributions from Shah Rukh Khan, the Bacchans, the Roshans, Shabana Azmi, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor among others, span Lucknowi, Mughal, Manglorean, Parsi, Marathi, Rasta and Bengali recipes. So it does give you a wide range of cuisines to choose from. My only crib about this book so far, is that on page 127 where the recipe is for Suneil Shetty's Uppitu, the accompanying picture is of some paneer dish. If Bollywood and Food are dual interests to you, then this book is worth your while. Even if just one of the 2 interests you, there is still a lot you can get out of this book.

Very colorful photos and good quality paper. Content is well written and a very pleasant read.

I'm a big fan of Bollywood films so when I found this cookbook at Costco [of all places!] I immediately picked it up and took a looksee through it. First off, this book is chock-full of beautiful full color, full page, mouthwatering photos of many recipes as well as photos and bios of the film stars who submitted them, which includes the likes of: Shah Rukh Khan, the Kapoors, the Roshans, the Bachchans, Suniel Shetty, Shilpa Shetty, Rahul Bose, Amitra Arora, Shabana Azmi, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan, among many others. The recipes are well laid-out and easy to follow and include alternate cooking methods [for instance if you don't own a tandoor]. There are recipes for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, from appies to desserts, from quite simple to complex but nothing I'd say out of the range of abilities for the average cook. So far I've tried Suniel Shetty's Kori Sukka and Kane Ghashi/Nogli, both of which are so spectacular [and easy to prepare!] that they've become two of my all-time favorite dishes! Many others sound equally mouthwatering like Shabana Azmi's Biryani, Preity Zinta's Butter Chicken, Shah Rukh Khan's Tandoor Chicken... my mouth waters at the thought... Some recipes call for some rather exotic ingredients like kokum, curry leaves, asafoetida, but I live within 5 minutes of a couple of specialty food markets where I've fortunately been able to find everything I need. Even if you don't cook any of the recipes, this book is beautiful enough on its own to make a great coffee table book.