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A review by uncle_remus
Indian-Ish: Recipes and Antics from a Modern American Family by Priya Krishna
3.0
3.5 stars
I liked the spunkiness of this book. There is much feeling of love (especially towards mom) and concept of family, and appreciation. The backstories are fun and interesting. This feels like a glimpse into someone's private life, and a family's recipe book that was suddenly made available for everyone.
However, this is a book of recipes. As such, I was not terribly impressed with some of the recipes. As the author notes, many Americans tend to think of Indian cooking as the heavy flavorful dishes in Indian recipes. And, this is what I was looking to find, but, alas, did not. I see 'pizza' made with Indian bread, and (seemingly) pages and pages of toast or salads. Maybe this is what Indians in America eat, but not what I was expecting. I realize that many Indians are vegetarian, even vegan, but with Modern American Family in the title, I was expecting more meat dishes... (the book only has 1 chicken and 3 fish dinners). Granted those recipes look good, I just wish there were more of them. One recipe has 3 ingredients, and the only directions are to toss all into a bowl and mix them together. "That's it." Maybe this is a family favorite, like one sister writing it down for another, but not what I was expecting from cookbook. A final nit is not all finished dishes are pictured. I would like to see some of the more complex dishes pictured, rather than a picture of a cup of tea. The cartoons lend some frivolity, but adds nothing to the cooking or recipes and many seem like inside (family) jokes. Maybe these are good for a website, or magazines, but in book print, I think the space is wasted where more recipes, or more appropriate pictures could have been placed.
I liked the book. It's a fun read, but falls a little short as recipe book. Yes, the title says "Recipes and Antics" but the antics are very personnel / familial and, to me, do not translate well to a large unknown-to-the-author audience. A love story of (her) Mom and for (her) Mom, with some of her recipes and memories... but she is not my mom or my memories. While I can relate, it's a little like reading someone else's private diary that's sitting on the kitchen table saying "read me." While invited to read, it seems a bit too private. Maybe it's just me.
I liked the spunkiness of this book. There is much feeling of love (especially towards mom) and concept of family, and appreciation. The backstories are fun and interesting. This feels like a glimpse into someone's private life, and a family's recipe book that was suddenly made available for everyone.
However, this is a book of recipes. As such, I was not terribly impressed with some of the recipes. As the author notes, many Americans tend to think of Indian cooking as the heavy flavorful dishes in Indian recipes. And, this is what I was looking to find, but, alas, did not. I see 'pizza' made with Indian bread, and (seemingly) pages and pages of toast or salads. Maybe this is what Indians in America eat, but not what I was expecting. I realize that many Indians are vegetarian, even vegan, but with Modern American Family in the title, I was expecting more meat dishes... (the book only has 1 chicken and 3 fish dinners). Granted those recipes look good, I just wish there were more of them. One recipe has 3 ingredients, and the only directions are to toss all into a bowl and mix them together. "That's it." Maybe this is a family favorite, like one sister writing it down for another, but not what I was expecting from cookbook. A final nit is not all finished dishes are pictured. I would like to see some of the more complex dishes pictured, rather than a picture of a cup of tea. The cartoons lend some frivolity, but adds nothing to the cooking or recipes and many seem like inside (family) jokes. Maybe these are good for a website, or magazines, but in book print, I think the space is wasted where more recipes, or more appropriate pictures could have been placed.
I liked the book. It's a fun read, but falls a little short as recipe book. Yes, the title says "Recipes and Antics" but the antics are very personnel / familial and, to me, do not translate well to a large unknown-to-the-author audience. A love story of (her) Mom and for (her) Mom, with some of her recipes and memories... but she is not my mom or my memories. While I can relate, it's a little like reading someone else's private diary that's sitting on the kitchen table saying "read me." While invited to read, it seems a bit too private. Maybe it's just me.