Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking: A Cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey

Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking: A Cookbook Reviews

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  Rachel

  I bought this book because I was stuck in the food doldrums. Everything I made seemed to turn out as the same boring Rachel-mush. I'm the kind of person who reads cookbooks for ideas, but rarely actually follows recipes closely. So my idea of a good cookbook is one that is fun to read and makes me excited about experimenting with new ingredients and techniques. I have looked at this book every day since I got it last week and I have made some delicious new dishes like: sauteed fava beans with scallions and chard, and tofu and shiitake mushrooms simmered in dashi and topped with radishes, toasted sesame seeds and soy/mirin sauce. Yummmmm. These things aren't directly from the book, but I never would have thought to make them otherwise.
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  Samantha

  Madhur Jaffrey has written many many great cook books, but this is my all time favorite. It has hundreds (something like 400) recipes from all over Asian -- China, India, Japan etc... And every recipe I have tried has been excellent. Most are fairly straightforward, though some require a trip to your local Asian or Indian grocery. Some favorites are: Green Bell Peppers Cooked with Chick Pea Flour, Tomatoes Cooked in the Gujurati style, Diced Potatoes with Spinach, and Sweet Corn and Egg Soup.
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  Zoe's Human

  A wonderful cookbook for vegetarians or folks who simple want to increase and vary their vegetable consumption. Recipes range throughout Asia including Southern Asia as well as parts of the Middle East. Stylistically it is beautiful, though currently out of fashion and lacking the photos desired in modern cookbooks. It also shows its age a bit in terms of cookery styles and defining terms more commonly understood now (not to mention a reference to the yellow pages and a once help list of Asian markets.) Nevertheless, the recipes are easily understood and modified for individual tastes in addition to wide reaching in flavors and contents.
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  Erik

  I like this cookbook, but I have one major gripe (it's a gripe that I seem to share with many other people): the spice measurements are WAY too low. For any recipe that I've tried (saag paneer being my favorite at the moment), I go with at least 1.5x the amounts of spices and flavorings like peppers and ginger, occasionally even doubling what the recipe asks for. Only then does the food begin to taste the way I expect it to taste. It's a disappointment for sure. Lots of folks are terrified of breaking free from the confines of a recipe. Those people will unfortunately get less than stellar results for following the rules.
  
  Go heavy on the spices/peppers/flavorings. Trust me, you'll be glad you did.
• 
  Shane C

  Delicious of book!! congrats!
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  Birret

  Instantly and always in my top 5 cookbooks. This Jaffrey tome in particular made Asian vegetarian food approachable and even easy for someone raised on meat-and-potatoes and 80s casseroles.
  - Focused on flavorful fresh whole foods before that was a thing
  - Straightforward recipes with suggested alternative ingredients where needed
  - Conversational tone was easy to follow and not unlike learning from an auntie in the kitchen
  - The glossary, suggested menus and general information were particularly helpful in those pre-Internet days.
• 
  David

  Not only is this a joy to read but the recipes are wonderful. 50% Indian and 50% other Asian cultures including Indonesian and Caucus! Madhur Jaffrey's commentary is very complete and unpretentious. I have learned cooking techniques and get continually exposed to new vegetables and spices. Plus, there is a great glossary and index. Any vegetarian who is stuck in tofu and soy should find some new food pathways through this book.
• 
  Megan

  I felt like an old hippie vegetarian when I bought this at a used bookstore months ago - the cover design, text, layout, paper scream that. But this is classic Jaffrey (was it her first?), and a solid jumping off point for cooking Indian food at home. I just trust her, and she's helping me clean out my pantry. Madhur told me just what to do with that old sack of chick pea flour (how did that get in there?) and 3 half-full bags of yellow lentils.
• 
  Ashwini

  Extensive selection of vegetarian recipes, arranged thematically. Some great explanatory notes on specific ingredients like tofu. Good tips & tricks for known recipes like 'Upma'. I tried several egg dishes (kookoo), tofu (Tofu in Spicy Sauce) and salad recipes. So far, all the recipes were a success. Some E. Asian ingredients, esp in the Japanese dishes require more investigation, i.e. they are not readily available in all stores. But super-interesting to read about them.
• 
  Joan

  These recipes often sound a bit strange to me, or the ingredients are not ones I'm likely to have on hand at the same time. Nevertheless, it's a great book - has never once let us down. As for the spices, the recipe is just a guide. Depends on the freshness of the seasonings and your own tastes, but probably they are written to be on the mild side. I also find the amount of oil called for to be a bit much and just reduce it or substitute water sautéing.
• 
  Jennifer

  I love this cookbook! If I could only have one cookook, this would be it. The pages are tattered and yellowed with turmeric stains, but I treasure it all the same.
  
  This book is filled with vegetarian recipes from all over Asia. Most of the recipes can be made vegan by simple substitutions. Starters, rice, veggies, noodles and sweets are all included in this little gem of a book.
• 
  Kate W

  One of my favorite cookbooks. I only had 2 cookbooks in college and this was one of them. When procrastinating from studying, I would cook from this book: spicy Indian potato patties, chickpea and tomato stews, coconut and potato curries, green beans with sesame and ginger. I can't imagine cooking without this book.
• 
  Lisa

  So many delicious recipes! I haven't even been able to try half the ones I want to yet, because there are just so many. I like that there are recipes from a wide variety of cultures as well. My only complaint is that some of the ingredients are hard to find in a town like Kalamazoo!
• 
  K

  I've enjoyed the dishes from World Vegetarian more than the recipes from this book. Of course this cookbook is much older than World Vegetarian. Some of the recipes are interesting to read but I'll stick to World Vegetarian as my go to Madhur Jaffrey cookbook.
• 
  Hannah

  This is one of my all-time favorite vegetarian cookbooks. Recipes from all over Asia, I have yet to try one I don't like. Many have become standard dishes.
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  jenny

  super collection of asian veg stuff. great 70s-style drawings, to boot.
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  Andy

  The reason I learned to cook. Hunting down spices is a transformative experience.
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  Roniq

  Just got this for xmas, thanks mom!!! Love it.
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  Kristen

  Love this book, it is always off the shelf and people are always asking for the recipes from meals cooked from it.
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  Valerie

  I have now owned several copies of this. The binding/format is not very sturdy.
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  Catherine Woodman

  One of my favorites by Jaffrey and amongst the first of it's kind in the late 70's
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  MM

  Well I haven't made all that much from this (there are so many recipes!), but what I have made has been truly excellent. The cold lentil salad and lentil/spinach have become go-to dishes for me.
• 
  Nancy Noyes-ward

  A good solid book for Eastern Cooking. I use as a guide and vary with taste. She is entertaining as a writer. I have several of her books. Recommended!
• 
  James

  Some good recipes, possibly too many locales included, but great when it was first published. No nutritional data, normal for cookbooks of this vintage.