lyagushka's Full Review: Madhur Jaffrey - Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian
This cookbook represents the pinnacle of Madhur Jaffrey's collection thus far. Its scope is encyclopedic and it is beautifully and carefully written. I own two other cookbooks by Ms. Jaffrey; I think this one is the best for me. That said, it may not be the best cookbook for everyone.
Obviously, this book deals with vegetarian meals and dishes. I'm not a vegetarian, but I like to eat lots of vegetarian meals. I think anyone who's not a wholesale carnivore would enjoy eating many of the dishes in this book. There are dishes from almost every corner of the globe and Ms. Jaffrey puts her own finishing touches on many of them.
Jaffrey is obviously a masterful chef. Starting at the beginning, she includes tips on how to purchase high quality produce. She then carefully explains procedures for storing all kinds of food, cleaning it and preparing it as well as providing nutritional information for many foods. She discusses the use of dozens and dozens of spices and the mixtures that can be prepared from them. She also frequently gives suggestions for substitutions or alterations for times when you can't find some of the more exotic ingredients. She even provides information on where to find many of the less common ingredients called for in the recipes. Perhaps most importantly, she has a voice that encourages the reader to *try* these recipes. Other writers might intimidate; Jaffrey gently guides and is never preachy or more sophisticated than Thou.
Not all of the recipes in the book are full of never-heard-of ingredients and procedures. Jaffrey is not above explaining how to steam plain rice or bake a sweet potato. On the other hand, there are some recipes that I can't even imagine attempting, such as how to prepare home-made couscous by hand. Most recipes fall into the middle, requiring a moderate amount of preparation with relatively easy to obtain ingredients.
The book is 758 pages long and divided into chapters on Beans, Vegetables, Grains, Dairy, Soups - Salads and Drinks, Sauces and Flavorings, Equipment - Glossary and Resources, and an Index. There are 16 pages of gorgeous color photographs in the center of the book. I appreciate the fact that when she discusses, for example, cabbage she provides several different recipes (7 where cabbage is the main ingredient) using different cooking methods and makes recommendations for which variety of cabbage works best in a given recipe.
The bulk of her recipes hail from India, eastern Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. There are some American regional recipes and a few from Europe or South America. It is interesting to look up all the recipes from a particular country in the Index. Often, Jaffrey makes suggestions which help the reader round out a full meal centered around a particular dish.
It's true that many of the foods in this cookbook will seem 'exotic' and 'foreign' to most people. After all, it's an international cookbook. So it may not appeal to people who just want familiar, tried and true meals. It's probably not a good choice for the first cookbook to give to a budding cook. But for confirmed vegetarians, adventurous souls and moderately confident home cooks, this will be a boon to the cookbook shelf. If you are one of the former, you will not be disappointed by this cookbook.
I can also recommend these cookbooks:
• Indian Cooking - an excellent cookbook by Jaffrey for beginner cooks, includes many meat dishes
• Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone - Deborah Madison's compendium of vegetarian cookery - great dessert section
• Cooking with Pomiane - a deliciously nostalgic review of culinary history, narrated by a great wit
• The Boulevard Cookbook - sumptuous recipes from San Francisco's favorite restaurant
• America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook - trustworthy guide to all the fundamentals of home cooking
• Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America - accessible and delicious recipes for nibbles or a hearty meal
• The New Best Recipe - 1000 canonical recipes, perfected
• The Bread Baker's Apprentice - superlative, expert instruction for mastering yeasted breads
• Baking With Julia - Julia Child's award-winning "bakebook", covers all type of baked goods
• Dim Sum - a thorough introduction to these tasty Chinese morsels
• The Good Egg - fresh & tasty recipes based on the incredible, edible egg
• The Wellness Encyclopedia - an excellent reference guide to the nutritional facts on most anything you could put in your mouth
In her most comprehensive volume yet, Madhur Jaffrey draws on more than four decades of culinary adventures, travels, and experimentation for a divers...More at HotBookSale
Now in paperback, this cookbook contains more than 750 meatless recipes from virtually all of the world s culinary traditions. 16-page full-color inse...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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