Author(s): Pushpa Bhargava
Publisher: Crest Books, Inc.
Publication Date: 2009-07-01
Pages: 182
Review: Pushpa Bhargava is an exceptional cookbook author. “From Mom with Love” is wonderful, user friendly & well written. A picture of every recipe, clearly written instructions, plus serving suggestions and tips make this a must have cookbook for anyone wanting to learn to cook Indian dishes-or expand their repertoire! As a vegetarian and a longtime Indian food enthusiast, I bought “From Mom with love…” last year, and it has since become one of our most dependable and beloved cookbooks.
The book seems to fill a particular void in the market: An Indian home cookbook that is very accessible, personal, fairly thorough, with great recipes, and loaded with the practical tips and bits of helpful information that one tends to wish for in a cookbook but seldom finds. It’s like having an experienced guide there with you as you plan and cook. Ms. Bhargava additionally goes the extra distance of maintaining a website with videos of cooking techniques to supplement the content in the book.
Even if you like to experiment as you cook, I’ve found that this collection serves as a great reference guide of sold, trustworthy standards to work from.
I have a particular pet peeve that many cookbook authors overreach to try to bulk up large volumes (or multiple volumes) with recipes that are rough and unperfected, and that don’t flow from the author’s heart and benefit from their long-experience in working with them over time. Clearly this was not at all the case with “From Mom with love…” These home-style recipes bear a much-appreciated personal touch. It’s been a delightful experience for us working our way through this aptly titled labor of love.I purchased this cookbook as a present for my husband who loves Indian food but never learned to cook it. We’ve now made several recipes (mostly our favorites from Indian restaurants, but also some we were unfamiliar with) and all of them have been delicious. Some recipes are complicated, others less so, but nothing has been beyond our skill.
Standout aspects of this excellent book:
- glossary explaining ingredients
- list of ingredients to have on hand
- list of special equipment needed
- menu suggestions for entertainment
- lassi and homemade paneer recipes
- suggestions for meals that freeze or keep well
- suggestions for recipes
Problem and suggestions:
- The list of ingredients preceding a recipe is not organized in the order of use. She might tell you to heat oil in a pan and then add two or three spices, but those spices will not be the first items on the ingredients list, they might be the 3rd, 4th, and 10th items in the list. To overcome this confusion we’ve developed two techniques:
1) Read the recipe thoroughly at least twice before starting to cook. If you are accustomed to scanning a recipe and then diving in, don’t be tempted to do that with this cookbook.
2) Measure out all the spices ahead of time. We use small dishes and organize the spices as they are used in the recipe. If 3 bay leaves, a stick of cinnamon and a tablespoon of turmeric all go into the pan together, we put those three spices into one bowl and set it aside, and so on for all the spices in the recipe. That way as you are cooking you can grab one bowl that contains all the relevant spices for that area of the recipe. This means you spend less time being confused by the disorganized list of ingredients. (And you can feel like the host of your own Indian cooking show)
I highly recommend this book especially if you have never cooked Indian food before. Don’t be intimidated by the long lists of ingredients for each recipe!
i have to write to say i am thrilled with my recent cookbook, “from mom with love.” i am new to indian cooking, and am so happy with this wonderful book. i have used the shopping list, have revamped my pantry, have made masala, and am planning a menu for this weekend, and this gem has inspired it all!! i really love the suggestions for cookware that are on each recipe page, and suggestions for complimentary dishes. recipes are easy to follow, the glossary of definitions/translation of products is wonderful, and the extra bonus of being able to email author for advice or to answer questions is great!! good pictures of what raw ingredients look like, and very appetizing pictures of final dish. anyone looking for a cookbook for indian fare, i highly recommend this one. p.s. my neighbors are loving it, too.Very pleasantly surprised - the recipes actually taste like they are supposed to. Perfect for those who are out of the house and wondering “How did Mom make it - my version tastes nothing like it” well.. with this book, it does. Geared more to the North Indian style of cooking, though it has some wonderful westernsouth indian dishes thrown in. Love the chapter on setting up your pantry, substitutions of food based on what is available in the US, and the tips. Excellent buy, the one recipe book that gets the most use in the kitchen.
Price: $27.95 Buy This Book