"India Cookbook"

[Obese-Wan Kenobi]

Hi,

I saw this book at the bookstore and was tempted to buy it due to the nice packaging. I couldn't look inside so I was wondering if anyone here has it and can give some feedback?

It's by Phaidon and yeah, the packaging is great.

Thanks.

[Darienne]

Name? Photo? Amazon.com link?

[heidih]

Here is the eGullet friendly link to the book.

[nessa]

I'd buy it, that looks like a good description, and appeals to me. Can't have too many cookbooks, after all!

[Jenni]

I have it. In my opinion, it does not cover regional Indian cuisine as widely or as accurately as it seems to want to, but it is still a good book. I remember (I don't have the book with me right now) disagreeing strongly with some of the recipes and also being rather miffed about the absence of some rather well known dishes. Still, it is ludicrous to think of a book even coming close to "covering" all India's cuisines adequately, so if you look at it that way it's not a bad book. I don't use it as much as some of my more regionally specific books (or as much as the internet or friends) but since it contains a lot of recipes it would be a good book for someone who wants to get hold of a lot of recipes at once.

I'll note that practically it has several drawbacks. It may look gorgeous but to cook from it you have to pin back the pages with some kind of heavy object (another book perhaps). There are also numerous mistakes in the recipes where ingredients don't get added or don't appear in the list, or are used in a different quantity etc. This is something I have noticed with several other of Pushpesh Pant's books. I guess his editor is not very good.

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Edited November 27, 2011 by Jenni (log)

[Darienne]

May I horn in to ask about this book please? India's 500 Best Recipes. Lots of great photos...I am a sucker for photos. I can't comment at all about the recipes. I've made a couple with no complaints.

I'm thinking about getting it.

[patrickamory]

I was at first very intrigued by the Pushpesh Pant book but the reviews, confirmed by Jenni's comment above, put me off completely. Duplication and omission of ingredients are pet peeves of mine. Another is cookbooks that won't stay open!

[Obese-Wan Kenobi]

Thanks!

There are also numerous mistakes in the recipes where ingredients don't get added or don't appear in the list, or are used in a different quantity etc.

[jamesglu]

I bought this book and have found it to be a bit of a disappointment. There are indeed a lot of recipes in it, but there are still a lot of holes in its range and it's not particularly well organised.