From India: Food, Family & Tradition

"Vannakkam" is a Tamil saying signifying "welcome," and that is exactly what this wonderful cookbook does—it invites you to a better degree of Indian food. Kumar Mahadevan, the skilled gourmet expert behind Australia's notable eateries Abhi's and Aki's, weaves more than 100 plans with the interesting story of his family's excursion from India to Australia. A fiery mix of contemporary food and credible cooking, From India covers fish dishes, for example, rava methi machi, vegan sides, for example, gutti venkai koora, and a full setup of customary curries, composed by the preferences: pungent, unpleasant, harsh, hot, and sweet. This delightful outing, with establishes in Ayurvedic standards, will take you from the local passage of India to the roads of Australia while never leaving your own kitchen

About the Author
Kumar Mahadevan trained as a chef in Madras and later worked at Bombay's Taj Mahal hotel. He worked in war-torn Iraq before moving to Australia. Kumar and his wife, Suba Mahadaven, opened their first restaurant, Abhi's, in Sydney in 1987 and their second, Aki's, in 2003.

Can't get enough of this cookbook. I love Indian food, but in the past when I've tried Indian cookbooks they've been super intimidating, and the food didn't taste nearly as good as takeout. This book has been a game-changer, though. It's loaded with recipes that are really accessible and really delicious. And if you collect a handful of ingredients, you should be able to make pretty much everything in the book. Indian dishes are now our go-to in my household. Oh, and it's a beautiful book, too, always a bonus! -SRooock

May I just say that this is a beautiful book! The cover is blue padded fabric with a gorgeous design that you just want to drink in. Moving to the inside, it just keeps getting better. A feast for your eyes as well as your palate, "From India" is filled with mesmerizingly beautiful photos both of food, as well as what looks to be family heirlooms. "Vannakkam" means "welcome" in Tamil, and this book welcomes you into the Mahadevan kitchen and their lives. You are drawn in and part of you wants to drink in the beauty of the book, while the rest of you wants to run for the kitchen and start cooking! I do recommend you pick up a few essential ingredients before you begin cooking out of this book. Items such as green cardamom, ghee, cumin seeds, curry leaves, chili powder (NOT the American version!) and more are used liberally throughout. Very few, if any, recipes can be made with pantry items on hand unless you keep Indian and/or Asian items readily available. Even a simple Pistachio Ice Cream calls for ground cardamom.I would have to say, this is probably my favorite Indian cookbook I've reviewed to date. It is a feast for the senses, inside and out. The recipes are delectable, and easy to follow. If a particular recipe takes a long time or in especially complicated, the author notes that, which is very nice. It would be nice if the recipes had the approximate time needed to execute the dish. While not necessary, it is a help for anyone not used to cooking Indian food to have an idea of how much time they can expect the execution of that dish to take. -Samdrakitchennook

What an amazingly gracious family - i feel blessed to be reading and sharing their journey. The title is perfect it is all about food and family and the recipes they share are so authentic. -Liz