The book seems to fill a particular void in the market: An Indian home cookbook that is very accessible, personal, fairly thorough, with great recipes, and loaded with the practical tips and bits of helpful information that one tends to wish for in a cookbook but seldom finds. It’s like having an experienced guide there with you as you plan and cook. Ms. Bhargava additionally goes the extra distance of maintaining a website with videos of cooking techniques to supplement the content in the book…

Mrs. Bhargava’s cookbook is so successfully written as a loving Indian mother to the scores of Indian Americans interested in maintaining Indian culinary tradition, she instead inspires nostalgia among her readers for a time when Indian food just showed up on the dinner table, uncomplicated by thoughts as to which pots and pans, sweet and sour spices, raw or cooked vegetables, are necessary for enjoying a magnificent Indian meal that seemed to come from nothing but love.

My husband often tells me the meals I make from this book are sometimes even better than what he eats at home…

The book’s organization is some of the best I have ever seen to the point that I would say it is unique. Bhargava has even gone so far as to have a single but critical introductory page of the book tabbed so that you are sure to read it and find success. Adding a tab is no trivial expense in publishing and I find its inclusion a clear indicator of how committed to her reader’s culinary success the author is.

This book is an amazing resource, and even though I am a chef, the book is not too complicated for the average American cook. Color photographs (that look like the real deal….meaning I don’t think they’ve been staged at all) accompany each and every recipe, so you know what the recipe will really look like when you’re finish…. And my Indian food-loving clients have been happy as clams!

It is, to date, the best book I followed in the preparation of the wonderfully fragrant foods of India. I highly recommend the book, and appreciate the care with which it was written. I will treasure it just as much as my mother’s inherited, hand written cookbook next to which it resides on my kitchen shelf.

The book is a treasure for amateurs like me and for seasoned cooks alike. The recipes are utilitarian, the photography makes it even more delectable and while the food cooks, one feels like re-reading the acknowledgements. At the end of the book, TLC tips provide guidance for safety, how to deal with cooking crisis, storing, and proven household medications..

It is my “go to” book on everything that is Indian cooking. Her recipes are really easy to follow and the layout is superb. It is definitely a complete guide to Indian cooking from great tips to info on spices to meal ideas for different types of parties. Pushpa has definitely added something in these recipes which transforms you into a great Indian chef. She will definitely have all your guests thinking you’re the best Indian cook..

I am featuring books all week about mothers or grandmothers since it will be Mother’s Day in the UK on Sunday, April 3, 2011. Your book was a perfect fit for my Mother’s Day theme.
See:
http://culinarialibris.blogspot.com/2011/03/lets-hear-it-for-ladies.html