kathleen440's Reviews
60 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title 
| Date | Rating | Recipe Title
50 Great Curries of India
By Camellia Panjabi
Silverdale Books - 2005
Loved the flavor of this, although there seemed to be too much sauce - next time I will use more than one pound of eggplants.
useful (1)
660 Curries
By Raghavan Iyer
Workman Publishing - 2008
Very flavorful - the bell pepper dominates the taste. I thought 2-inch cubes of chicken worked better than the large slices.
useful (1)
Terrific. The sauce is on the thin side, but it's really flavorful.
useful (0)
I wish the saffron had been more prominent, but the flavor of this stew is really good.
useful (0)
Wonderful flavor - love the prominence of the cloves. I found it a bit too spicy, I'd reduce the cayenne by half next time.
useful (0)
The pork was a little dry, but the flavor was great. The sauce was very thin.
useful (0)
I love this dish. I've made it according to the recipe but I think it's better with half and half instead of cream and cayenne instead of Thai chiles - the sauce ends up looser and a little spicier. Also, I do not have Asian markets in my area and have successfully substituted Mexican frying cheese (queso para freir).
useful (0)
Very coarse texture - I mashed it up a bit. The flavor was fine but not as vibrant as I'd hoped.
useful (0)
Yum. I mashed the potatoes a bit at the end to create a more uneven texture. I also reduced the chiles by half - it was a little too spicy! This curry is better after it sita for a day or two.
useful (0)
This curry is kind of bland compared to the others I've tried. The recipe is also huge - no need to make more than a half batch.
useful (0)
The flavor of this dish is pretty good, but the sauce ended up gritty and gummy. It didn't keep/reheat as well as the other curries I've made from this book.
useful (0)
So yummy! The paste gummed up my blender, so I could never get it down to a smooth consistency, but the flavor was great even with a somewhat chunky sauce. Use really fresh cauliflower for this one.
useful (0)
Delicious. I had been looking for a different way to eat green tomatoes, and this is it. I used tiny eggplants, both globes and long skinny ones, from my farmer's market. I wouldn't use a big eggplant from the supermarket, it won't be as flavorful. I like eggplant skins, so I'll always make this recipe with small eggplants.
useful (0)
Outstanding! I upped the amount of mace a bit. Use the really small, thin-skinned bell peppers (from the farmer's market) if you can get them. I also used skinless bone-in chicken thighs, as I typically do with chicken stews in general, and thought it was great with the dark meat - moist with extra flavor from the bone.
useful (0)
This blend is very aromatic; the flavor is heavy on cinnamon.
useful (0)
Very good - but you have to be a fan of beets to like this, it's still very earthy. Use the beets the same day you buy them so the greens won't be too wilted.
useful (0)
Wow - I found this to be a totally novel way to put together two ingredients that I think of as traditionally Southern. You have to like okra in all its goopy glory to eat this stuff, though. Embrace the slime!
useful (0)
I loved the flavor of this - very earthy. The Balti masala is wonderful. I did end up with a lot of extra liquid, though - next time I'll start out with 3 cups of water instead of 4.
useful (0)
Who knew? This sauce is so tasty - in addition to using it for recipes in this book, I've used it to build pasta sauces - anywhere you would use caramelized onions.
useful (1)
My favorite of the spice blends I've tried so far - use it for mutter paneer.
useful (0)
This is really different, smoky from the black cardamom and anise-y from the fennel. Delicious with lentils.
useful (0)
Mmmmmm. I used half and half instead of cream and it was still great. The flavor is sweet, nutty and spicy all at the same time.
Edit: My boyfriend proclaims this "the best side dish you've made so far" out of this book. Try it, you won't be disappointed.
useful (0)
Oh, man. This might be my favorite recipe in the whole book. The greens are incredibly sweet, and the texture of the cheese is a great contrast. A couple of notes:
I substituted frozen spinach and turnip greens (8 oz. of each) for the fresh spinach and mustard. Just thaw them a bit and add them in step 3. You could hypothetically substitute any leafy green - collards, swiss chard, kale - for the mustard greens, provided the sauce is still half spinach.
I also pureed the sauce in my food processor before adding the paneer and cream, to give it more of a restaurant-style texture. I loved it prepared this way.
useful (3)
Yum. I used half spinach and half chard, and it was delicious, but it would be great with just spinach too. I like to puree the curry in my food processor before adding the chickpeas to get a more restaurant-style texture in the sauce.
useful (0)
I loved this! The rice cooked up perfectly and the flavor was great.
useful (0)
I really enjoyed this one - it's aromatic and mild (in terms of heat) but has a lot of pungency from the oil and black cardamom. Definitely seek out mustard oil for this dish - it wouldn't have nearly as much character with canola oil.
useful (1)
Wonderful flavor, and so simple. I couldn't get the potatoes to crisp particularly well, but it still turned out really tasty.
useful (0)
Yummy, and easy. The Maharashtrian garam masala makes this one just a little different. I like to reduce the amount of water just a bit - I think it's plenty saucy with the juices from the chicken.
useful (0)
This is a really interesting technique, and I like the dish a lot, though I think I would prefer to fry the spices in oil first.
useful (0)
Holy crap, I love this soup. I made it for our Seder this year and it was a huge hit. The instructions are really easy to follow, and the matzo balls themselves turned out great.It's rather spicy, so tone down the chiles if you prefer.
useful (0)
Keep it simple, stupid. A good, basic raita recipe that will never fail you.
useful (0)
Simple, mild curry that's great for people who are new to curry, but still satisfying for those who make it at home every week.
useful (0)
Straightforward but good - I like the balance between the coconut and the chiles, the coconut keeps it from being too hot.
useful (0)
Another solid, straightforward curry that's a great introduction to Indian flavors. Very simple flavor profile.
useful (0)
This recipe is deceptively simple, but the flavor is vibrant and balanced. Like pretty much every other chicken recipe in this book, I prefer to make this with bone-in thighs and legs.
useful (0)
Sometimes you just want a rich, restaurant-style curry, and this hits the spot. I prefer to make it with bone-in thighs.
useful (0)
Quite good! What seems like an odd assortment of ingredients (potatoes, onions, bell peppers, sweet spices, raisins, and cashews) comes together in a delicious whole. I did feel that there was a bit too much liquid left at the end, so next time I think I will cook the curry uncovered for the last 5-7 minutes. This recipe is a great use for the Balti masala, which I love.
useful (0)
Hot damn. This may be the best thing I've made in this entire book. It's rich, sweet, and fragrant, but has a great savory quality from the lamb. The lamb leg in my market was very expensive so I deboned, trimmed, and cubed several shoulder chops with very good results. This recipe also gave me an excuse to make the Rajasthani garam masala, which was excellent. I highly recommend this dish.
useful (0)
This spicy-sweet blend is dominated by mint, which makes it a perfect match for lamb dishes. I don't think it would be out of place sprinkled on breads, either!
useful (0)
The author wasn't kidding about this curry being tart! I didn't love the flavor. It was a bit strange, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I used the Punjabi garam masala.
I also used canned/drained/rinsed kidney beans, which ended up with a strange rubbery texture. Next time I will dry this with dried beans.
useful (0)
Love the flavor of this. It's a big hit at dinner parties. It's also easy to cook in combination with other dishes (doesn't require a lot of babysitting) and it's compatible with the most common dietary restrictions (vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free).
The sauce is thin compared to a restaurant-style chana masala, so I often cut the water by a third or even half.
useful (0)
Yum. The beef wasn't as soft as I would have liked, so I'd up the braising time to 1.5-2 hours. Otherwise, I loved it.
useful (0)
Wonderful. The panch phoron gives this a great bittersweet flavor, and I loved the texture. A great accompaniment to any of the other mustard-based curries in the book.
useful (0)
Yum. I used half and half in place of the cream, as I do with pretty much every recipe in this book, and it was still yummy.
useful (0)
I love this one. Creamy and balanced, with a lot of sweetness. This is a good one for dinner parties, it's a crowd pleaser. I reduce the salt by half, though - 2 tsp. is too much.
useful (0)
I love savory/sweet dishes, and this is one of my favorites. Who would have thought to eat spinach and raisins together? As with all of the chicken recipes in this book, I use chicken thighs instead of breasts for extra richness.
useful (0)
Classic Indian Cooking
By Julie Sahni
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1980
Yum. I used 2 cups of whole-milk yogurt and omitted the sour cream; substituted cilantro for mint; and refrigerated the raita for about 2 hours before serving. This was a delicious accompaniment to my dinner.
useful (0)
From Mom With Love . . .: A Complete Guide to Indian Cooking and Entertaining
By Pushpa Bhargava
Crest Books, Inc. - 2009
I would definitely precook the potatoes next time - despite cutting them into small pieces they took far longer than the recommended 5-7 minutes to cook. I really enjoyed the flavor of the spices, though.
useful (1)
Outstanding recipe, and very easy to execute. This is the aloo gobhi recipe I always go for.
useful (1)
Yummmm. This is so easy, especially if you already have the precooked masala on hand. I used canned/drained/rinsed beans, and ended up adding about 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the recipe to get the consistency and flavor I wanted.
useful (0)