Rating: 
Summary: A great start toward Indian cooking
Review: My wife and I received this book a month ago, for Christmas 2002, and have been cooking our way through it ever since. We are both vegetarians and, while not Indian, have had authentic Indian cooked food. The recipes are fairly well done, easy to follow, and obviously well tested. Unlike some cook books, the times are correct, the food tastes "right," and the descriptions are accurate. It is well worth having this book as a good introduction to Indian style cooking. Try the Eggplant and Potato side dish (as a main course) over rice, it's wonderful! There are a few minor annoyances that cause me to only give four stars rather than five. First, the index is horrible. Looking up dishes by the Indian names is tedious as the book has been almost over Americanized. Second, with a title with the word "classic," I am disappointed in the number of items that tell me to "buy this at the store/nobody makes these from scratch anymore/this is too complex, here is a simplified version" in this book. I appreciate the information, but I don't want the variation, at least not without the true recipe too. Third, even most of the side dishes will feed an army. Not being Indian, I would like even more information on meal planning than is given. If I made all the things suggested, we would be eating the same meal for a week straight!
Finally, the book doesn't go into much detail about the different regions and I would prefer to have things divided into regions as well. Again, these are minor, and I recommend this book as a good first book, but the recipes are good, so give it a shot! Oh, there are some typos in the book too, and considering how long it has been in print, they should have been fixed long ago!
Rating: 
Summary: A Vegetarian Delight
Review: This book is a must for anyone who wants to add a new dimension to their vegetarian cooking. Julie Sahni's classic edition manages to convey a thorough and informative description of recipes and ingredients that truly adds to one's appreciation of the varied cuisine of India. A masterful addition to your cookbook library for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST INDIAN VEGETSRIAN COOKBOOK
Review: This book is a MUST if you are interested in cooking authentic Indian vegetarian-one to one. I am not an Indian but an Indo-vegetarian, meaning I cook mostly Indian vegetarian food because I believe it is the best in the world. Almost everything I've made from this book has been AWESOME, from vegetable lentil curries of south India to paneer cheese dishes of north. This is the first book that taught me, correctly, the art of making dosa-the silky rice crepes of Madras and dokla, the feathery, lentil chiffon cakes of Gujrat. My Indian friends, who love my cooking, think I am some kind of a reincarnated Indian soul. All I do really is follow Julie Sahni's recipes. I own many Indian vegetarian cookbooks but hardly use them because none produce such great results, time after time. I think it is Julie Sahni's amazing knowledge of combining spices that make the dishes taste so extraordinary. I highly recommend this book. It is THE BEST.
Rating: 
Summary: Blah.
Review: this book was an utter disappointment... perhaps there are subtle differences in approaching indian cuisine... i bought this book because 1) there are few indian veggie cookbooks; 2) all the other reviewers raved about it.... blah.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite cookbooks!
Review: This cookbook absolutely rocks. It is a 500 page tome of fantastic recipes. Its starts with a good explanation of ingredients, spice blends and builds a solid foundation of knowledge about Indian cooking. While some of the dinner recipes are complex, I could easily live off of the side dishes. Before this book, my experimentation with Indian food was hit or miss. Now I am always happy with the results. A must-have for vegetarians.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful healthy eating!
Review: This is a super reference. From the fascinating description of her sister's wedding that another reviewer mentioned, Sahni goes on for 120 pages giving the basics of Indian vegetarian cooking...then on to the extensive recipes. My favorite so far has been gobhi masallam (stuffed cauliflower with tart tomato-coriander sauce). Even my husband who is dubious about cauliflower loved it! A sign for me that I must purchase a book is contining to check it out of the library for long periods of time...which I have and must get my own copy soon.
This book plus her earlier volume "Classic Indian Cooking" make an excellent pair. Both have plenty of information but do not repeat each other much.
Rating:
Summary: Vegetarian's Delight...
Review: This is Julie Sahni's second long awaited book after Classic Indian Cooking. Recipedelights.com thinks this book is a must-have for Vegetarians since it explores the riches of India's vegetarian and grain cooking. It begins with a simple explanation of the ingredients and techniques characteristic of this cuisine. She goes on to describe every classical blend of curry in the Indian tradition, with accompanying recipes on how to use them. A masterful selection of India's vegetarian cuisine- from delicate curries to fiery hot dals- all healthful and delicious.
Rating:
Summary: A useful addition to your vegetarian collection
Review: This is my second favorite Indian cookbook (I think the best is by Yamuna Devi). Some recipes are disappointing (only 4 stars...). BUT a few of them are absolute jewels (Blue Mountain cabbage, turnip and orange rice, for example). Get this book just for those, they are worth it.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Vegetarian Cookbook...Period!
Review: This is one of the best vegetarian cookbooks ever (and thus an ideal gift for meatless friends). Sahni points out, quite persuasively, that vegetarian cuisine has unfairly gotten a bad rep from insipid California Lite health food style cooking. Indians have been vegetarian for millenia--time enough to forge a full-flavored, satisfying, nutritious solution for those hoping to eat healthier. Sahni's writing is direct, wise, and funny ("This dish was a favorite of the British during their brief but memorable stay in my country..."), and her wonderful chapter on ingredients alone conveys enough knowledge for the reader to cook without reading further. Sahni's cooking style is very "down-home", and these recipes--neither stilted nor diluted for Westerners--are skillfully designed to help you to cook likewise.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book, she explains everything very well.
Review: This is the best Indian Cookbook that I own (and I have several as my husband is South Indian). The author gives a complete explanation of all unfamiliar vegetables and spices. The recipes are relatively easy to follow, and she lets you know when you can use convenient U.S.-style prepared foods instead of doing everything from scratch. My Indian friends were amazed that I could invite them over for Idlis without 24 hours of preparation. The only problem is that recipes are indexed by her English translation of the Indian name, so if you want to make Idlis, you have to know that she calls it something like "Bean and Rice Dumplings". I recommend this book, and wish she had a non-vegetarian version. The book would be even better is it had photographs (there are none)
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