Rating: 
Summary: Lovely Indian Cookbook..........
Review: ............Madhur Jaffrey brings us the cooking she grew up with in Delhi in this wonderful cookbook in which she offers us not only great recipes, but an introduction to Indian cooking and sample menus. She also proudly imparts her own story of why she became a cookbook writer. Her pride in her culture and in the food of Delhi really shine through and make us want to share in her joy of preparing marvelous recipes.A few recipes from this book that I truly recommend are: Lamb Korma (can't be beat), Pork Chops Cooked with Cabbage, Lamb do Pyaza, Koftas, Tandoori Chicken, Fried Eggplants, Potato Patties and Kheer (corrected version). I'm sure, too, that there are many others contained in this cookbook that I have yet to discover! A few notes on the downside: there are no pictures in this cookbook. I personally enjoy beautiful photos to guide me through a recipe to its finished product. Some cooks may not be bothered by their absence. I have also found an error in a recipe (and honestly don't know if there may be more). The Kheer recipe clearly should call for more than a tablespoon of rice! Jaffrey's tone could sometimes also use some adjusting at times. It grated on my nerves tremendously when she referred to American rice pudding as "stodgy" and insisted that accidentally referring to kheer as rice pudding was insulting. She does this in several places throughout the book. This may not bother many of you who will really love this cookbook. Between my husband and I, Jaffrey's arrogance has sort of become a joke - as we read her occasional imperatives while we follow a recipe, we laugh, imagining that we are kids again, being yelled at in the kitchen by our mothers! Anyway, Jaffrey's faults aside, I strongly recommend this cookbook.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: After returning from a trip to India,
I decided I must learn how to cook the delicious
foods that I was able to sample in various regions
of that diverse and fascinating country.
"An Invitation to Indian Cooking" is the
book I bought, and it was clearly a great choice.
The book has been very carefully adapted by
the author for American kitchens - this in no
way "waters down" or "Americanizes" the recipes
as some other reviewers falsely assume has
been said. The book DOES, deliberately,
modify recipes so that they will be
authentic despite the differences in the
American market (our meats are more tender
and have more moisture, for instance, so the
methods for browning meat must be different
than a cook would use in Delhi). These changes
and adaptations are absolutely necessary to
assure the dishes will taste and appear as they
would in India. Ms. Jaffrey has done a marvelous
job and her instructions are not only easy to
follow, but the explanations are easy to under-
stand and appreciate. By all means, if you want
to try cooking Indian, buy this book - and her
others as well.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: After returning from a trip to India,
I decided I must learn how to cook the delicious
foods that I was able to sample in various regions
of that diverse and fascinating country.
"An Invitation to Indian Cooking" is the
book I bought, and it was clearly a great choice.
The book has been very carefully adapted by
the author for American kitchens - this in no
way "waters down" or "Americanizes" the recipes
as some other reviewers falsely assume has
been said. The book DOES, deliberately,
modify recipes so that they will be
authentic despite the differences in the
American market (our meats are more tender
and have more moisture, for instance, so the
methods for browning meat must be different
than a cook would use in Delhi). These changes
and adaptations are absolutely necessary to
assure the dishes will taste and appear as they
would in India. Ms. Jaffrey has done a marvelous
job and her instructions are not only easy to
follow, but the explanations are easy to under-
stand and appreciate. By all means, if you want
to try cooking Indian, buy this book - and her
others as well.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful way to learn Indian Cooking
Review: After spending some time in England, and falling in love with the Indian and Pakistan cuisine, I found myself wanting to make some of these dishes at home. My wife purchased An Invitation to Indian Cooking for me. I cannot begin to offer high enough praise for the book. Ms. Jaffrey makes the complex recipes of this part of the world not only reasonable for the average American cook, but gave my family and I the chance to try some fun and delightful recipes. All the recipes are translated to western measurements, and where possible into western ingredients (be prepared to track down a local Indian food store for some of the ingredients. Interestingly, some of the spices you might find at your local grocery store are usually cheaper at the Indian food stores).
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful way to learn Indian Cooking
Review: After spending some time in England, and falling in love with the Indian and Pakistan cuisine, I found myself wanting to make some of these dishes at home. My wife purchased An Invitation to Indian Cooking for me. I cannot begin to offer high enough praise for the book. Ms. Jaffrey makes the complex recipes of this part of the world not only reasonable for the average American cook, but gave my family and I the chance to try some fun and delightful recipes. All the recipes are translated to western measurements, and where possible into western ingredients (be prepared to track down a local Indian food store for some of the ingredients. Interestingly, some of the spices you might find at your local grocery store are usually cheaper at the Indian food stores).
Rating:
Summary: Still the Best Indian Cookbook
Review: Fifteen years ago I bought An Invitation to Indian Cooking when Indian food was still hard to find. This was my first Indian cookbook and is still my favorite. Jaffrey explains the unusual (for an American) techniques and leads you through the recipes so carefully that you will lift the lid of the pot and smell the wonderful fragrance of Indian food with amazement! Just do as she says and you will have delicious Indian meals. I have served some of her recipes at parties and received wonderful compliments, even from people who thought they wouldn't like such food. I'm on my second copy of this book -- the only cookbook where that is the case! It's the best!
Rating:
Summary: Good guide, but not as authentic as I would like
Review: I am an American-born Pakistani and grew up in New York eating Pakistani food everday. Pak/Indian cooking techniques were not new to me, but I didn't have much practice cooking before I recently got married (Mom did all the cooking). Now that I needed to cook for myself and my husband, I needed to learn how to make food other than the basic Lentils and Rice (Daal Chawwal). My Mom's a great cook, but she was not the best at giving me detailed instructions on exactly how much of each spice I needed to put into the food to make it taste and turn out right. I guess with so many years of practice, everything seems like "a pinch of this and a dash of that". I needed to know exact measurements and quantities. A Pakistani friend of mine bought this book by Madhur Jaffrey and raved about it. Also I tasted some of the recipes she made out of it and they tasted really good! (and she couldn't even boil water before this). So I decided to test this for myself. I started out with something simple, the "Chicken cooked with Yogurt". This was supposed to be a curry, but it took a detour at the end of the recipe when Madhur asks you to add the 4 sliced onions you fried in the beginning and removed, back into the mixture. It turned out to be "Chicken Do Piyaza" (Chicken with onions) rather than Chicken cooked with Yogurt. And all those extra onions don't really help much with gas either. Overall, I think this is a good guide and starting point, but I would still modify the recipes to my own taste. It's definitely great for learning the basics of Indian cooking, and how much salt/pepper etc.. is needed for each pound of meat, rice, vegetable you cook. Now when I discuss recipes with my Mom, they make sense and turn out right. The downside of this book is that I feel it is not authentic enough. These dishes seem to be "toned down" for people who cannot handle much spice, and I feel that people unaware of how Indian food is supposed to taste won't feel the real essence of it. I felt that her use of Cayenne pepper instead of Ground Red Pepper took the essence of Indian food out of all her recipes. By the way, I added 1 heaping teaspoon of Ground Red Pepper to the Chicken with Yogurt recipe and I think it turned out much better than if I had used 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (I don't know any Indian women who even own Cayenne pepper in their spice cabinet). Also, next time I make Chicken with Yogurt, I'm only frying one onion in the beginning to get the essence of the onion into the oil, and then the onion will be chucked.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to Indian cooking
Review: I am on my second copy of this book because I used my first copy so much that it fell apart! This book is an excellent introduction to Indian cooking. Ms. Jaffrey explains ingredients and how to use them so that anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of cooking can make delicious curries. My only complaint is that I find I have to increase the spices, sometimes even doubling them, because a dish is too bland. That may be because the spices available to me here in America may not be as flavorful as what is available in India. I know my Indian friends import their spices from India regularly and store them in the freezer. I cook from this book several times a week. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Especially for us
Review: I bought this book based on a review I read at RecipeDelights.com. I just wanted to share it with you- Madhur Jaffrey is an international authority on Indian food and the host of several tandoori-driven TV shows. This illustrated book, with more than 200 recipes has been written especially for non-Indians. She walks you through each step of the process. Just follow her detailed directions and you will end up with mouth-watering dishes. HTH.
Rating:
Summary: Any cookbook by Jaffrey is great, but this one's the best
Review: I bought this book when it came out in paperback for the first time. It cost all of $3.95, so that should give you an idea of how long ago that was. I have used it and loved it ever since. I've bought other Indian and Asian cookbooks, including some by Jaffrey, but this one remains my favorite.
So why is "An Invitation to Indian Cooking " so special? For one thing, the fact that it's written to be used by "American cooks in American kitchens" doesn't mean that the recipes have been modified to death. Jaffrey includes an extensive section on spices and a preliminary introduction on Indian cooking in general. If you read these, you come away with a basic understanding of Indian cooking techniques. That may not sound so unusual today, but it was, back in the early 1970s when this book first came out. There are no pretty pictures in this cookbook, but Jaffrey provides very detailed instructions in her recipes as to what the food is supposed to look like at each stage. This really helps if you're not familiar with Indian cooking. Her recipe headnotes and endnotes give helpful suggestions as to what to serve the dishes with and possible variations. As far as I'm concerned, "An Invitation to Indian Cooking" is a true classic.
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