Very nice but not everything is quite right
This is a great recipe book for both Indian and East African food, especially for the North American cook. Some of the recipes capitalize on available convenience foods such as frozen hash browns or frozen vegetables (in a good way). I have tried a variety of recipes from this book and they've been quite good, including fish, vegetable, lentil/bean, chicken, and bread recipes. The recipe for mkate wa sinia (kumimina) is excellent, and the method translated from cooking with charcoal to the gas/electric stove. The photos are clear and many in number, although often put in parts of the book far from the recipe.
I have a few complaints about this book. One, my copy is missing half of the index (which I assume is just an unfortunate but unique case). Two, the samaki wa kupaka is way off, as its downright frightening photo (a fish swimming in a yellow gravy) attests -- it should be a light tamarind marinade, not a gloppy turmeric sauce poured over the top. Three, the authors include a recipe for vitumbua that requires, according to their own notes, a pan found only in Zanzibar. Actually, an aebleskiver pan could make an acceptable substitute.
That being said, "Simply Indian" is a very useful resource.
Pleased as Punch With this Beautiful Cookbook!
Upbeat and user-friendly, this book uses simple cooking techniques and more often than not, calls for ingredients you can find anywhere. I've tried out four recipes so far and they've all been hits with my family. We really like the Sheesk Kebabs with Tomato Sauce, the Chicken Palak (spinach curry) and Masoor Daal Curry. The recipes often leave salt out of the picture and usually I have to add some, but otherwise the beauty of this book is the emphasis on the natural flavor of foods, not a dependency on oils and heavy creams like you'd find in restaurant versions of these dishes. Since all the readers are raving about the Butter Chicken, I can't wait to try that one next!
Indian Cooking Made Easy!
I took two of Tahera's cooking classes 3 years ago. I am pleased that she's finally published her book. I was quite surprised to see it mentioned in a 2003 Cosmopolitan article about enhancing your sensuality! The chicken bhiryana is the best chicken dish I've put into my mouth. I like it better than butter chicken. The vegetarian samosas don't last long on any table. In general, all the dishes are tasty, and most can be easily prepared for a week-day supper. This is a great collection of recipes for a beginner in Indian cooking.
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