Rating: 
Summary: Accessible, Readable, Authentic
Review: Sahni's a terrific writer and educator; what's more, she knows when to inject her own opinion and when to convey unannotated Tradition. This is a highly polished (but extremely approachable) work, beautifully organized and each recipe carefully developed. A wealth of knowledge awaits you.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Window Into India
Review: Some eight years ago or so, I decided to try to impress both my vegetarian and non-vegetarian friends by making them some authentic Indian dishes. The only thing was, I had no real idea of what I was getting into, as almost all of the Indian food I had eaten had been in restaurants in London and the East Village in Manhattan. Somehow I found my way to purchasing "Classic Indian Cooking." Slowly and methodically, I then made my way through the very helpful discussions about such things as roasting and crushing spices and herbs and techniques for preparing onions, garlic and ginger root as bases for various curry dishes. I've since learned that this cookbook was ranked last year as one of six all-time cooking "bibles" by the New York Times. I can see why. It's not a picture text (although there are some helpful illustrations); it's a text for teaching yourself a wholly different cuisine whose fundamental cooking techniques may be completely foreign to many home chefs in the United States, although that seems to be changing. There are some simply astonishing recipes in this book. You will need to take your time though, because they can be complex and may require preparation of recipe components a day ahead of the time you plan to serve your meal. You should take Julie Sahni's words to heart that cooking should be a "relaxing" enterprise. If pressed to choose a favorite recipe, it would have to be "Keema Bhare Bandh Gobhi" (meat-stuffed cabbage rolls with ginger lemon sauce), which has a vegetarian counterpart in "Aloo Bhare Bandh Gobhi" (same cabbage rolls, but a vegetarian version stuffed with a spicy potato filling). The extraordinary taste of this meal cannot be found in any Indian restaurant of which I am aware (they tend to stick to a small repertoire of established recipes that in no way define the range of cuisine actually available in India). I have seen these cabbage rolls almost voraciously consumed. That--in my book--is the mark of a great meal. So, my friends over time have been duly impressed and I must say that I've become a much better cook because of "happening" across this true classic of varied Indian cuisines. Hope you have as much fun with it as I have had over the last eight years!
Rating: 
Summary: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK.
Review: The recipes in this book are really really bad. I know this because I come come from a family of great cooks (Indian.) all the recipes are filled with tons of cardamon and cloves, just given fancy names. Just to make sure I tried some of them and could barely eat it, and im a really good cook. Her supportive material for the text is just as bad as her cooking. They make no sense, unfounded and lack structure of any sort. In my opinion this woman should be banned from writing any more cookbooks. I could go on and say how much I hate this book, the only reason im here is to tell you NOT TO BUY THIS BOOK.
Rating:
Summary: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK.
Review: The recipes in this book are really really bad. I know this because I come come from a family of great cooks (Indian.) all the recipes are filled with tons of cardamon and cloves, just given fancy names. Just to make sure I tried some of them and could barely eat it, and im a really good cook. Her supportive material for the text is just as bad as her cooking. They make no sense, unfounded and lack structure of any sort. In my opinion this woman should be banned from writing any more cookbooks. I could go on and say how much I hate this book, the only reason im here is to tell you NOT TO BUY THIS BOOK.
Rating:
Summary: A must have book!
Review: This book is a goldmine of information about Indian cooking. From how to select and grind your own spices to a wide variety of recipes. And with the author's personal anecdotes thrown in too. There are easy recipes, and complex recipes, but all are fun to prepare due to the author's detailed instructions. Everything I've tried has been wonderful and received rave reviews from my guests!
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Book on Technique
Review: This book taught me the basics of cooking Indian food. The first few chapters alone were worth the full price of the book. Although my favorite Indian cookbook is Jaffrey's "An Introduction to Indian Cooking" (the spice combinations in Jaffrey's recipes are superb), Sahni does a better job of organizing and explaining the fundamental techniques. The recipes are less complex than those in Jaffrey's book, but sometimes Sahni's simplicity is a welcome change. Lastly, all recipes can be prepared with much less fat than called for, but the onions will not brown well.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing...
Review: This book was ranked among the top-six all-time cooking bibles by the New York Times. The moghul cuisine recipes are clear and detailed, without being "too-detailed". Julie Sahni uses her amazing knowledge of combining spices to make the dishes taste extraordinary. One of the sections is devoted to basic cooking techniques, concepts and description of Indian spices. Recipedelights.com recommends this book to the cooking experts as well as the beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book !!
Review: This book was ranked among the top-six all-time cooking bibles by the New York Times. The moghul cuisine recipes are clear and detailed, without being "too-detailed". Julie Sahni uses her amazing knowledge of combining spices to make the dishes taste extraordinary. Meant as much for the cooking experts as it is for the beginners, one of the sections is devoted to basic cooking techniques, concepts and description of Indian spices. (This review has been taken from recipedelights.com)
Rating:
Summary: Good for beginners
Review: This book was too basic for me. I was looking for something different.It had very standard type recipes. Would love to have a non-veg south Indian cook book especially fish recipes of the Konkan Coast. I'm going to return "Classic Indian Cooking". For those who would like this type of book pictures would be helpful.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent cookbook for your collection
Review: This is a really wonderful cookbook. Her guidance in preparing Indian food is flawless, even if you aren't quite sure what to expect. Even the simple lentil dishes (dahl) are a delight. In my collection of Indian cookbooks, I consider this one to be parallel to "The Joy of Cooking" among my western cookbooks. For those concerned about availability of ingredients and prohibitive costs, try namaste.com -- they have Indian grocery items for very low prices, and free shipping.
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