Dakshin: Vegetarian Cuisine from South India

The Best Veg Indian Cookbook I've Found

I never write reviews for products, but LOVE this book, so I have to put in my two cents. I'm American, but married to a vegetarian from South India who loves to eat food that reminds him of home. The recipes in this book, according to him, are very authentic, and we have yet to try one that doesn't taste delicious. This book is also very vegan-friendly. However, if you are not familiar with how food differs between the regions in India, you might be a little disappointed. You won't find recipes in this book for popular Indian restaurant menu items. Dishes like Chana Masala, Muttar Paneer, and Baingan Bartha are North Indian, so are not included in this book. But who wants to eat the same old stuff anyway? Thank you, Chandra Padmanabhan, for helping me impress my husband and his family with my cooking!!!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent cook book for non-Indians wanting to emulate South Indian cooking

My wife and I are not from India, but have always enjoyed the food at South Indian restaurants (Udupi Bhavan, etc.) This cookbook is amazing and transports you to a different culture instantly... well-organized, simple recipes even if at time a little time-consuming, it's a perfect way to "travel" right in your own kitchen to exotic places. Did not find the spices too much, and you can always cut back a little on the chilies if it's too spicy. Some dishes are more delicious than others, but the recipes are all amazing. Ingredients easy to find in your local Indian store. Makes me want to be a vegetarian all the time...

VERY good cook book!

This is one of the best cook books I own. I was always at a dilema as to how to prepare many of the traditional South Indian dishes I had as a child. This book solved that. I get great results with EVERY recipe I tried. Just follow the recipe and the result is perfect. The spice amount is perfect also - very authentic. This book is a must if you enjoy South Indian cuisine.

A Decent Book

'Dakshin' potrays the vegetarian cuisine of Tamilnadu. Being a lover of this cuisine I can say with certainty that the spices used are a little too strong. It definitely can be milder and if so would taste better! One can still bring out the flavor of the dish without burning the tongue with the amount of dried red chillies used in the 'sambar powder' or in the blended gravies used. I would definitely use a milder version, better flavored cookbook for this cuisine.

Making South Indian cooking easy

This lavishly photographed book is devoted to South Indian vegetarian cooking. The recipes use exotic Indian spices and are quite easy to make, even for the novice cooks. The chefs at ... feel that this book takes out the mystery from the traditional cooking of the South. A must for any "South Indophile".

Finally a cookbook that transports you backhome instantly!

I am so glad I found this cookbook, having lived in the west for so long I was craving to go back home to sounth india - I must admit one of the most important reasons drawing back is the glorious food. This book and its recipes do that so effortlessly. The recipes are easy to follow and the results are consistent, allowing me to create food that has so many memories. Food I thought I could never replicate, because I assumed one needed to be as old as my grandma to make food this tasty. Thanks for giving a whole bunch of us a chance to enjoy food that means so much to us.

We enjoyed this book

We consider ourselves (I am including my wife too here!) good cooks and we really enjoyed perfect taste we could recreate using the recipes contained in this book. Rasams are excellent so are Sambars. You will certainly enjoy this book too.

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