Rating: 
Summary: Not really Indian food
Review: This book contains recipes for nothing but "watered-down" Indian food. Madhur has "Americanized" every dish, right down to the menu suggestions My question is why? Isn't this supposed to be an Indian cookbook? If you really want to eat REAL Indian food, I'd recommend buying a book by Shehzad Husain or Julie Sahni (author of Classical Indian Cooking, the best Indian cookbook out there!). Husain and Sahni don't water down their recipes, they add just as much spice as a cook in India would to their recipes, and the recipes are truly authentic. I must say, the recipes in Madhur's book are not atrocious, they all turn out quite tasty, and my "American" friends enjoy the food as well as my Indo-Pak friends. However, they don't taste "Indian", but rather like a hybrid of the two styles of cooking. I'm glad I only spent $... on this book. I saved the big bucks for Sahni and Husain's books.
Rating: 
Summary: I adore this cookbook!
Review: This is a great place to start if you're at all interested in cooking Indian. Everything I've made from this book has been wonderful ('though I do find myself cutting back on the oil and salt as a rule...). There's a nice mixture of vegetarian and meat recipes, along with wonderful chutneys, breads, etc. Jaffrey also provides menu suggestions for many different occasions. This also is a very nice cookbook to read, although her comments about the American palate are a bit dated...
Rating:
Summary: The BEST Indian cookbook out there!
Review: This is really an excellent cookbook. I've used it for around 20 years, and the pages are well-stained. The nice thing is that the recipes are truly adapted to American kitchens, which is not always true for Indian cookbooks. And the recipes themselves are delicious. I have turned many friends on to Indian cooking through this book, some of whom have gone out & bought their own copies. A woman- from India- with whom I work copied several recipes, then decided she needed her own copy of the book. There is explanation of Indian customs and cooking methods, also, in a breezy style that is almost conversational. Thorough, interesting, and best of all-- tasty!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Indian Cookbook Out There
Review: This was the first Indian cookbook I ever bought back in 1978. I've since bought over 100, but this is still my favorite, in fact I've had to replace it two times since then (the last time I got it in hardcover). Don't listen to the fool here who said this is "watered down" or "Americanized" Indian food. This fellow apparently thinks that Indian food must be blazingly hot to be "authentic." Nothing could be further from the truth. The recipes here are all authentically Indian although, yes, they reflect Ms Jaffrey's personal tastes. Of course, that's what makes this cookbook so charming. If you must buy one Indian cookbook, it should be this one. It is absolutely indespensible for any good kitchen.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Indian Cookbook of All!
Review: This was the first Indian cookbook I ever bought back in 1978. I've since bought over 100, but this is still my favorite, in fact I've had to replace it two times since then (the last time I got it in hardcover). Don't listen to the fool here who said this is "watered down" or "Americanized" Indian food. This fellow apparently thinks that Indian food must be blazingly hot to be "authentic." Nothing could be further from the truth. The recipes here are all authentically Indian although, yes, they reflect Ms Jaffrey's personal tastes. Of course, that's what makes this cookbook so charming. If you must buy one Indian cookbook, it should be this one. It is absolutely indespensible for any good kitchen.
Rating:
Summary: Ease into Indian cuisine
Review: This was the first Indian cookbook I purchased and is one of my favorites (of any cuisine). She explains the methods of Indian cooking step by step, allows for Western ingredients (our meat contains more water), and specifies which recipes are good ones to start with and which ones will be easier after you've had some practice. It's helpful to know of an Indian grocery store in your town before you embark on her recipes - first, she uses "real" Indian spices (not commercial curries), and second, these spices will be much cheaper than in a western grocery store.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Cookbook of All Time!
Review: We have a 1992 Tiger Books edition (UK), The Madhur Jaffrey Cookbook. This book combines Invitation to Indian Cooking and Eastern Vegitarian Cooking -- it's nearly a thousand pages long! We use it almost every day. What I like best about it are the illustrations, the detailed descriptions of the cooking techniques and ingredients (I'm always overwelmed with my own ignorance at those packets of strange things in an asian grocer!) -- and effusive way she describes the context in which she discovered many of the recipes and how they're eaten in different parts of India and Asia. Oh, and the recipes make for some incredibly good food. Although we're not vegetarians, we've found that the wide variety of vegetable dishes make for a more interesting way of getting enough vegetables, and having less and less meat in our diets--very good for the health, as are the spices!
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Summary: Indian cooking revisited
Review: When I came across Madhur Jaffrey cookbooks, I was dilighted. That also includes the book titled 'Invitation to Indian Cooking' It reminded me of the days when I was introduced to Indian cooking in Newcstle upon Tyne )England). Superb way of explaining and directing Indian cooking. I recommend All of Mdhu Jafreys cookbook to everyone, but I am afraid that I do not recommend her ready made curries available on the shelfs of the supermarkets around the world.
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