Elegant fusion fare
If you are looking for a cookbook that combines Indian flavors with French sensibility you will be happy with this book. As others have mentioned it is not a traditional Indian cookbook, but as long as that is your intention going in it will not bother you. What I appreciated about this cookbook were the breadth and elegance of the recipes provided and the beauty of the accompanying food photography. The photographs do a great job of not only showing you what the final dish should look like, but inspiring you to try recipes you might otherwise pass by. The directions are very clearly written and I have yet to encounter a recipe that didn't meet my standards. Yes, the yields for the recipes are more than I typically need, but I have no trouble halving the recipes and still getting great results. Of the things I have tried before the Peach Ginger Frozen Souffles were absolutely fantastic and garnered rave reviews.
My only nit is that I wish there were more vegetarian recipes in the book, particularly ones that could be served as a main dish. One thing I've always enjoyed about Indian cuisine is the availablity of creative vegetarian dishes and this book felt heavy on meat and seafood. Other than that though it is a very great book and helps you make elegant, restaurant-quality meals.
Overall this is a great book. If you're looking for an Indian fusion cookbook that yields elegant results you will appreciate it.
Fusion at its Highest Level
For those who think that "fusion" cooking is no more imaginative than a Reese's ® Peanut Butter Cup, think again. The nuances of Raji Cuisine: Indian Flavors, French Passion, by the late Raji Jallepalli-Reiss, are not easily discerned from these well thought out recipes. One has to embrace the texture, the bouquet, the seemingly irreconcilable conflict and yet compatibility of the merger of these two considerable and at times complex methods of cooking - from preparation to serving - in order to appreciate the wonderful dishes set out in this book. Taken from her successful restaurants in Memphis and New York City, when prepared with the attention to detail they command it becomes readily apparent why her restaurant was nominated for James Beard Awards in 1996 and 1997.
As is the case with too many restaurant inspired books, the portions, usually for six, are a bit large for those who want to eat gourmet food in the comfort of their own homes. My preference is always to expand a recipe rather than contract it. Also, as is the case with any cookbook inspired by Indian cuisine, substitutions and shortcuts are not always easy to accommodate, but if you embrace the concepts behind these dishes you can quickly improvise. One of my favorites is the Filet of Beef with Butternut Squash Consommé. Complex, elegant, well suited to a good Châteauneuf - du - Pape or Gigondas this is but one of many presentations embracing the full breadth of fusion so apparent throughout this book.
This is not Indian food, it is a unique style of cooking influenced by Indian and French concepts, ingredients, preparation, and presentation. Would this be one of my top ten cookbooks to buy? No. But after I learned all that was to be learned from those ten, this would be the eleventh.
Not what I had hoped for.
I cook often and adore Indian food. These recipes are a bit labor intensive as they often require oils and other elements that you must make before beginning the recipes. And the results are good but lack that Indian 'spice' (not heat - but intensity, rather) that I had hoped for. So I will continue to play are with Madhur Jaffrey's authentic (and delicious) recipes, incorporating French elements on my own. I have had better results that way.
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