Vegetarian Books

I first started looking for a good cookbook about two and a half years ago. I looked at caribbean cookbooks and they generally wouldn't include a single East Indian recipe...not even roti! I saw this cookbook here on amazon, but since there were no customer reviews and the price was high, I didn't buy it. I went on buying Indian cookbooks, but always being disapointed, as India is a large country with diverse cooking styles and my family left India for the Caribbean as indentured servants a few generations ago. Indo-Caribbean cuisine is like a sub-field of Indian cuisine, with a unique way of seasoning, like how Punjabi and Tamil recipes differ from one another, or how Italian and Italian-American recipes differ. I finally bought this book used for $25.00 last week and...AMEN. It's perfect. It has everything you're looking for; aloo pie, gulab jamoon, barfee/milk fudge, pumpkin talkari, pulorwrie, dal puri, paratha, kurma, mango kuchilla, doubles, saheena, halwa, jalebi, curry same/seim, kalounjee, mango anchar, aloo choka etc. It's perfect for home cooking, large family gatherings and even for special and grand occasions. The recipes are all vegetarian, but trust me you won't even really notice; anyone of Indian descent can curry a goat ;). This book has it all. The only recipe I wish it had is aloo tikki. Other than that, it is exactly what I was hoping for and so much more. About half of the recipes are grouped in photographs. Indian cooking terms, utensils, and spices and herbs are pictured and explained. This book is great, if I had known how good it was two and a half years ago I would have bought it at that high price...it's worth it.

My dad has this book and he made the ratalouille (not sure on spelling). WOW - it was delicious! My husband, who is a big meat and potatoes eater (and usually insists on meat at just about every meal) loved it and even wants me to cook it at home!

The book seems to have something for everyone - and the recipes look delicious, like onion tarts and stuffed mushrooms, and... I can't believe this book is out of print! Sigh... This books draws from the west, the east, and a combination. It's wonderful and I hope I'm able to find a copy in ZShops!

Chili! Mouthwatering, Meatless Recipes is one of ten chili books I refer to when I want to make chili differently than the two recipes I usually use. We have chili a lot in our house and both my Dad and my Mama have their favorite ways of cooking it. I grew up with their recipes and I have documented them in one of my "Amazon So You'd Like to Guides" and I hope you take a look at it. Both recipes are delicious, but when you've had them as often as I've had 'em, you sort of yearn for something a bit different. So, once a week, usually on Saturdays, I break out these ten books and search for a chili recipe I either haven't tried, or one I haven't made in a long time. Of course, like all cooks, I fudge a bit with the ingredients, but not all that much. I like to stick pretty close to the recipes, at least the first few times I make it, so I can get an idea of what the writer/recipe maker had intended.

And let me tell you, you'd be surprised at the subtleties there are in a chili recipe. As they say, no two chile recipes were created equal, but the recipes in this book have never let me down. I've got a lot of chili books, have tried a lot of recipes over the years, but the recipes here, like the recipes in my other nine fave books, have been consistently good. You can't go wrong with these mouthwatering meatless recipes.

this is a great book detailing the fascinating ritualistic Vegetarian festival of southern Thailand. Cohen spent 5 years researching and attending the festival that has taken place every october for roughly the last 115 years and lasts for nine days. the writing is very academic and the information will be useless to anyone with no interest in or knowledge of the festival/ceremony/ritual that consists of spirit possession, body piercing, fire walking, and other various forms of public self mutilation
(for lack of a better term). this book is a must read for anyone planning on attending the festival as the practices will be quite bewildering without Cohen's explanation and is the only book i know of that details this ritual.
i have seen this book for sale on amazon in excess of $100.00. this is totally uncalled for as it can be ordered from the publisher (white lotus press) for about $25.00 and bought in most good bookstores in Thailand for $15-$20.

I've had this book for over 15 years, and still find it great. I use it for the occasional good home cooked meal, since a lot of the dishes can be a bit time consuming and fattening, but definitely worth the effort. One of my favorite recipes is the calzone with tomatoes and mozzarella. The book is divided into the following chapters- 1) The Italian Kitchen, 2) Antipasti, 3) Soups, 4) Sauces, 5) Pasta (make your own), 6) Cheese and Eggs, 7) Rice, Beans & Grains, 8) Pizza & Torte, 9) Vegetables, 10) Salads, 11) Breads, 12) Desserts, and 13) Ices,

Enjoy!

The Complete Book Of Vegetarian Cooking is a coffee table size cookbook full of lavish color photos of mouth watering vegetarian recipes from many cuisines. Recipes are brief, one page, almost dwarfed by the tempting full page photos. A handy feature is the listing of ingredients and garnishes at the left side of the page of the recipe. Recipes are divided into easy numbered steps, some of which are illustrated with photos at the bottom of the page. The Complete Book Of Vegetarian Cooking has excellent layout planning in general. In addition, the introduction contains valuable information regarding nutrition for vegetarian cuisine plus s suggestions for vegetarian shopping lists and the Vegetarian Store-Cupboard. The remaining chapters are organized into Starters and Salads, soups, Snacks and Light Meals, Pasta, Grains and Legumes, Stir-Fries and Sautes, Casseroles, Bakes, and Roasts, Barbecues, and Desserts. Some recipes that appeal to eye and palate are Moroccan Orange &Couscous Salad, Carrot & Cashew Nut Coleslaw, Avocado & Mint Soup, Eggplant & Mushroom Satay with Peanut Sauce, Stir-Fried Greens and Grilled Haloumi (a Cypriot cheese which "remains firm, takes on a marvelous flavor when swiftly barbecued"), and Winter Vegetable Cobbler with Tomato and Red Onion Salad. For dessert, there is Blackberry, Apple & Fresh Fig Compote with Honey Yogurt, Boston Chocolate Pie, and Passion Cake. Studded with sparkling gems of vegetarian cuisines, The Complete Book Of Vegetarian Cooking is a beautiful cook book for all kinds of vegetarians, even half hearted ones. One thing I would like to suggest is to list the nutritional values per serving for each recipe, but this is a minor note. It contains a flavorful spread , a survey of vegetarian delights.

Nancy Lorraine Reviewer

Substantial, well-organized and useful cookbook. Attractive color photos of each dish will make you drool and inspire your inner chef. Wide range of recipes for snacks and appetizers; salads; main meals; pulses, grains, and pasta; special occasions, and more. And the desserts, ranging from wholesome to mortally sinful, are more than worth the price of the book. Every recipe I've tried has been quick and easy to prepare and wonderfully yummy.

This cookbook is amazing! It has a wide selection of delicious recipes I'd never heard of before. They're pretty simple and quite impressive when served to a party. What looks like it took all day to make really only takes about 30 minutes!
Each recipe also features nutritional value.
This cookbook is a must have!

The photography in this book is wonderful. For me, seeing a delicious dish is such an invitation to make it. All the recipes I've made in this book have been exceptionally good. I've gotten repeated requests to continue to bring to parties the dishes I've made from the recipes in this book. I love it!

This slim 2-volume set is a good, solid introduction to South Indian cooking, and is a must have in every Tamil bride's trousseau. This book is the equivalent of "Joy of Cooking," or Betty Crocker's cookbooks. In some houses in Southern India this book is a treasured possession that is handed down the generations. I got my copy from my brother-in-law when he found that I was floundering in the kitchen while trying to rustle up simple South Indian dishes.

Originally the book was written in Tamil, and then translated into English, and because of this there exists a gap in the way things are described. For instance, the book often suggests adding a pinch of this or a pinch of that while preparing the dish. The trouble is how does one determine how much is a pinch, especially if you are new to South Indian cooking and are unfamiliar with the ingredients that are being used. If you can overcome this, this is a great book to have.

Intially, you might find that naviating this book is a little choppy, but eventually you will get the hang of it.

The book has many recipes and are also categorized in different sub-headings. There is a certain charm in the way the book is written and organized, and you can see the love Meenakshi Ammal had for rustling up her favorite dishes.