Samayal: The Pleasures of South Indian Vegetarian Cooking

Media:	Hardcover
Author:	Viji Varadarajan
Publisher:	Orient Enterprises
Release date:	October, 2000
List price:	~~$29.95~~
Our price:	$19.77 that is 34% off!

Samayal: The Pleasures of South Indian Vegetarian Cooking

Average rating:

Authentic South Indian food

My mom bought Viji's 'Samayal' for poor cooking-challenged me a few years ago and I cannot tell you how helpful it has been so far. It features truly authentic south Indian food that I grew up with in India, plus the recipes are very simple and tasty making it very appealing. Also, it's not intimidating for non-Indians because it's not fancy gourmet -- a perfect addition to every vegetarian's coookbook collection.

Viji Vardarajan's book comes highly recommended!!!!! :-)

Not for beginners

While not an Indian, or of Indian descent, I've been cooking Indian food and shopping in Indian groceries for years now and this book was still beyond me. It seems to me it's designed for Indians who already know considerably more than the basic's of Indian cooking. First complaint is the lack of directions...many assumptions are used, especially in cooking or soaking times. For instance the book will say "cook," "fry" or "soak" but give no time range or indication of when to stop. My next complaint is that this book does not originate from the States and many measurements are not familiar to me (it uses tsp, tblsp and dessertspoon...how much is that?)Despite my shopping in Indian groceries for years now there are still many recipes that have ingrediants I've never even seen on the shelves...(methi leaves? til oil?).
I've owned this book for 6 months now and have not found a single recipe that has clear directions, ingredients I can get and measurements I understand. To own a cookbook and not use it is unheard of for me, but I've yet to be able to try a single one of these recipes.

A great addition

This book is really a great buy. Actually I purchased it as a gift to my mother who loves cooking. But, I couldn't resist trying out a few dishes on my own. Since its delivery a few days ago, I have already prepared 3 dishes from it.

I am familiar with South Indian cooking and still find this book extremely helpful when preparing some authentic dishes. I love the layout of the book (the contents and how the recipes are categorized).

It is definitely worth the money!

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