|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review: ( 21 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Excellent recipes! Authentic taste! Jan 24, 2007
By Iris Cook
I have made five of the recipes so far and each has been a complete success. The only challenge, as another reviewer has mentioned, is compiling the necessary spices. Ajanta restaurant sells a spice box called "Shanti's Spice Box" for about $30 which is available on their web site. I've purchased two - one for myself and one for a friend. The ingredients in the box are in quantities proportional to their use in the cookbook, so pretty much everything you'll need is there. The spice box makes following these recipes really easy. The cooking techniques may seem a bit different, but they are well-explained and straight forward. Just read through your recipe completely and have everything ready before you start and it will be a success! Two favorites: the green bean and potato recipe shown on the cover and the prawns bhuna masala.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Never disappointing! Oct 23, 2006
By Tatiana Brovko
I bought this book after stumbling into the Ajanta restaurant in Berkeley. My friend and I were incredibly hungry and were craving Indian food- and Ajanta was the only restaurant left open on the top part of Solano Avenue.
I am soooo glad I accidently stumbled into that restaurant! That night they were having a party for Lachu Moorjani, who had just put out his cook book. I remembered really enjoying the cuisine (especially all of the dipping sauces used for the samosas), so I thought I should get the book and try recipes.
Me and my family have tried numerous Indian recipes from online as well as in other cookbooks, but the results are always substandard....sauces are drippy, no taste, spices aren't just right, etc. And when it is so easy to get good Indian food in Berkeley, I would just give up trying to cook my own Indian food...until I found Ajanta!
And now I live in a smaller Midwestern city with limited Indian restaurants (I think there are maybe one or two here)---I am soo appreciative of the book!
The Ajanta recipes are fabulous! Between my sister and I, we have made about 8 recipes- all of which turned out well, if not extraordinary. None were disappointing! And all were so tasty! I am so excited!! If anyone loves Indian food, this is the book for you.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
A Must-Have for Lovers of Indian Food Nov 27, 2005
By Winston K. Lerner
This is a must-have cookbook for lovers of Indian/Pakistani food. I own over a dozen Indian cookbooks (including several by Madhur Jaffrey; Julie Sahni; Pat Chapman; Udit Sarkhel; Nella Paniz; etc.). This is clearly the best of the bunch by a wide margin.
As other reviewers have noted, author Lachu Moorjani is owner and proprietor of Berkeley's Ajanta restaurant. The recipes in this cookbook demonstrate why his is one of the best Indian restaurants in the country. Moorjani has done an excellent job in scaling down and adjusting restaurant recipes in a way that allows the home chef to achieve restaurant-quality results. Many cookbooks miss the mark on this score, failing to fine-tune recipes for the home environment. If you look recipes in most Indian cookbooks, for instance, you will see that many typically require the home chef to add a cup or more of water to achieve the moisture in a curry or other recipe. Even when one reduces the sauce mercilessly, the result is almost always a thin, watery curry. The recipes in this book usually derive their moisture not from adding water and reducing, but from using tomatoes, onions, and other sources of moisture. The result is a thicker, more flavorful curry or sauce, comparable to what you get when you order the dish in a restaurant.
Not only are the recipes wonderful, they are easy to follow. The book is beautifully designed and illustrated, with recipes divided by region and organized as "feasts" with various dishes designed to compliment one another. So far I've made about eight of the recipes, and I've yet to run into one that wasn't delicious. Highly recommended!
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Well Worth the Wait May 01, 2007
By one wicked panda
My first experience with Indian food was back in 94 at Ajanta located on Solano Avenue in Berkeley, and I've fallen in love with Indian food ever since. The problem was, however, everywhere I went-- NOTHING compared to the dishes Mr. Moorjani created at his restaurant and I always craved to return to the area just to try what delightful creations he's created for his ever changing menu. SO I was extremely pleased when he published this cookbook, AND even more impressed when a novice like me tried to make 4 of the dishes and it came out just like the flavors at the restaurant. The recipes seem complicated, but if you enjoy cooking and love Indian food, the directions are detailed, easy to follow and worth the time and effort. The dishes are perfect to feed 4-6 people and I think the appetizer dishes ( i.e. portobella mushroom/asparagus) are ideal for an impressive potluck dish. Not only do you get GREAT recipes, but I appreciate the variety of flavors that reflect the different regions of India.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
A Ten Star Book From A World-Class Restauranteur Feb 02, 2006
By alexis
"author & web developer"
My husband and I have been devoted weekly diners at Ajanta in Berkeley, CA since the restaurant first opened and have awaited publication of this cookbook for many years. Lachu Moorjani exceeded every expectation I had in AJANTA: REGIONAL FEASTS OF INDIA.
One reason I have dined weekly at Ajanta is that I adore Indian food but have never been able to come close to capturing the subtle qualities of the spices in curries or the delicious and unforgettable loveliness of perfectly prepared basmati rice. With this publication, Lachu has given us the keys to many of his most delectable dishes.
Moreover, Lachu has included many yummy recipes we have not seen at the restaurant, dishes my husband came to love during his extensive travels in India. The dish Lachu calls "Sufi Halva" is a perfect example of this. I have heard tales of this dish for 25 years and have never seen it offered anywhere. Recipes I've found have always let us down, but not Lachu's.
I have been told I'm a "good" cook, and I've mastered several cuisines, but despite the fact that I own several other Indian cookbooks, Indian cooking has always eluded me. Fortunately, Lachu's instructions are crystal clear, enabling me to finally "get" the flavors of this wonderful cuisine.
AJANTA: REGIONAL FEASTS OF INDIA is beautifully photographed and meticulously published and will make a great addition to your coffee table as well as your cookbook shelf. But above all, if you want a truly exceptional cooking experience, get this book. You will not regret it.
See all 21 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| |
|
|
* Estimated shipping rate for US 48 states. Final rate calculated at checkout. |
