• paisleymonsoon on December 28, 2020

  This is one of my absolute favorite cookbooks. I grew up in the Deep South of the USA and am in love with Indian food, so this is a perfect marriage of those two cuisines. Come for the vindaloo and chicken and waffles, and stay for the eggs and biscuits.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Spice to Table date oatmeal

  • TrishaCP on March 13, 2017

    I really enjoyed the flavors of this oatmeal. I would eat cardamom in just about anything, but I thought the salt also really made a difference here. I found I needed to cook the oatmeal about twice as long as indicated by the recipe (and by the package instructions on the oats) to get them sufficiently softened. I did like the results from toasting the oats, though I wish the recipe had considered a stovetop method. The instructions to crush the cardamom were confusing. You had to return to the ingredients section to know that she meant crush to extract the seeds. (I would grind them to better disperse the flavor.)

  • chawkins on May 11, 2017

    We liked this a lot. It is a nice change to our regular peaches and cream oatmeal. After blooming the spices in the ghee (I just used unsalted butter), I added the oatmeal and toasted them for a good 10 minutes on the stove top. After simmering for about 15 minutes, the oatmeal was beginning to stick, most of the water had evaporated, maybe I need to have it covered? Anyway I added a whole can of coconut milk at that point and eventually added another 1/2C of water as well. For my peaches and cream oatmeal, the oatmeal to liquid ratio was 1:3 and I cooked it in the IP, so no evaporation. The oatmeal to liquid ratio here is 3:8, and cook uncovered, so a lot of evaporation, I'll definitely add more water on my next cook.

• Nutmeg scented crêpes filled with coconut and jaggery

  • MmeFleiss on June 05, 2017

    Way too much nutmeg. It overpowered the whole dish. The recipe does have potential though. I might try it again with about 1/4 teaspoon.

• Egg bhurji

  • paisleymonsoon on December 28, 2020

    This recipe surprised me. I assumed the cilantro would make it taste like a Mexican dish, but it did not. I will be making this again and again.

• Cardamom stewed plantains

  • Senkimekia on March 30, 2017

    This was very simple to make and I enjoyed both the texture and the flavor. The starch from the plantain permeated the coconut milk and thickened it to a chowder consistency. May have to try using plantain as a thickener in other applications.

• Quick Tellicherry buttermilk biscuits

  • paisleymonsoon on December 28, 2020

    These are addictive. The pepper gives it something extra that makes these very special biscuits. You can substitute the 2 cups of self-rising flour with 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp salt, and 3 tsp baking powder.

• Fiery mango jam

  • Mtetpon on May 18, 2019

    I made this with jalapeños as I didn’t have Thai chilies. It was wonderful but missing the heat.

• Atlanta buttermilk peach lassi

  • Senkimekia on March 30, 2017

    It was refreshing, cooling and minimally tart.

• Kerala fried chicken and Low Country rice waffles with spicy syrup

  • paisleymonsoon on December 28, 2020

    One reviewer said that this recipe is worth the price of the book (as is the vindaloo). These 3 recipes are good together but can easily be separated (chicken and syrup one day and waffles and syrup another) since they are so time-consuming. To avoid burning the chicken and undercooking, it may be better to use chicken strips or cubes. I find that I don't care for curry leaves (they taste like motor oil to me), so I'll omit them next time. Also, don't skip the spicy syrup for a flavor layer for either of the dishes.

• Country captain with lemon relish

  • Senkimekia on March 30, 2017

    This was a very complex dish to make but I think overall it was worth the effort. The sub recipe relish to serve on the side really enhanced the dish, do not skip. I did not have Meyer lemons available so I used a combination of lemons and orange. The dish had a wonderful depth of flavor; warming, earthy with a touch of heat.

  • imaluckyducky on April 17, 2017

    This recipe's chapter is supposedly recipes dedicated to "lunch plates and simple pleasures." Please do not do what I did and assume this chapter means "quick". This took over two hours to make, not including ingredient prep. Granted, this is partially my fault for only skimming the recipe and apparently only picking up on the 1 hour roasting and the 8 minutes sweating the veg. That said, this is DELICIOUS. Holy cow. The sauce ends up being warming but not overtly "hot", and the spice ratios are good. The currants (I used raisins) add a subtle sweetness, and the almonds add textural interest. If not service with lemon relish, this recipe benefits from adding acid after cooking down the tomatoes and before nesting the chicken in the sauce/placing in the oven. I used fresh squeezed lime juice for this purpose. Will make a triple batch of the sauce next time - this will freeze remarkably well. The toddler loved it too.

  • chawkins on May 25, 2017

    A very good version of country captain, love the use of grated fresh coconut as a garnish, it really added freshness to the dish. And don't skip the lemon relish, it sounded kind of weird, so I made only half a recipe using regular lemons, it really complement the dish well. The only issue was the direction for making the lemon relish told you to add water and cook until all liquid evaporates, yet there was no mention of how much and water was not on the ingredient list, so I did not add any and just cooked till all the lemon juices were evaporated.

  • Cdunn on June 22, 2017

    Where to find Kitchari Chili Powder that is listed in the Lemon Relish recipe? I have been unable to locate it or a recipe for the powder online. Anyone know a source?

• Southern-style pork vindaloo and green bean verakka with cardamom cornbread

  • clcorbi on March 31, 2017

    The result of this recipe is delicious, but only if you can work around some of the flaws of the recipe writing. First, the vindaloo--you are instructed to cut the pork butt into 1/4 pound slabs, but the photo shows small 1" cubes of pork, and there is never a step where you cut up the pork before serving. I went ahead and cubed the pork while it was still raw. Otherwise, I made the vindaloo as instructed. Same with the green bean verakka--no changes there. For the cornbread, I noticed that black pepper is omitted from the ingredients, even though it is called out in the recipe header. I added 1 tsp. I also preheated my skillet in the oven for 10 min before pouring the batter in, which the author doesn't advise, but that's standard cornbread practice. Recipe errors aside, the resulting dish is stunningly good. All the parts work so well together that I would suggest not to skip any. It's worth it. This dish made me want to cook more from this book, even though the typos made me sad.

  • khopkins1012 on May 08, 2017

    My family liked this meal. I cut the pork into 1" cubes. I didn't check if they were done until 45 minutes of simmering, as the recipe directs. They ended up completely over-cooked, so check the pork frequently. The pork vindaloo sauce also tastes good mixed into the Creamed spinach with fresh mozzarella on pg. 205.

  • southerncooker on May 09, 2017

    While we didn't care for the cornbread by itself it went perfectly with the other recipes pilled on top. I couldn't find the size pork butt called for so I got a package of 4 country ribs that was the right amount. I did have to cook about twice as long as called for to get tender and have them start falling apart. Once done I kinda shredded into chunks with a fork. We loved the pork and green beans and would eat them anytime. The only time I'd eat the cardamon cornbread would be with the other recipes though.

  • bisonrmr946 on January 02, 2019

    I should have looked at the notes prior to preparing the Vindaloo recipe. The recipe showed to cut the pork shoulder into 1/2 pound pieces. The only 2# pork shoulder I could find were already cut pieces, but they were in approximately 2" chunks. After 45 minutes of braising, these were no where near tender. I then looked at these notes, and realized that the 1/2 pound description must have meant 1/2 inch. I took the meat out of the braising liquid, and cut it into smaller pieces and returned it to the braise. Another 15 minutes braising, and the meat was tender enough, but still not fall apart tender. The original 45 minutes with these smaller pieces would have done the trick I am sure. The dish did have wonderful flavor however.

  • TrishaCP on January 14, 2019

    This was incredibly delicious with really complex flavors. As others mention, the components work really well together, especially the cornbread. (I would say that the flavor from the green bean seasoning was totally overpowered by the vindaloo though.) I am afraid my experience cooking the pork will only add to the mystery. I did cube it, but still needed more than the 45 minutes cooking time to get it tender.

  • Frogcake on June 19, 2019

    I just made the pork vindaloo, and I used pork tenderloin, cubed. It was delicious. Also added corn, mushrooms and roasted cauliflower. Served this with rice. Will try all the components together when I have more time.

  • paisleymonsoon on December 28, 2020

    VINDALOO (5 STARS): The vinegar makes this dish extra tangy and craveable. Not too hot. I used pork chops which cooks faster than Boston butt. GREEN BEANS (3 STARS): I'll skip these next time. CARDAMOM CORNBREAD (5 STARS): When served under the vindaloo, it adds an extra flavor layer. I added freshly ground black pepper (like the biscuit recipe). They're not so great as a stand-alone or when they're cold, but they're a must-have for the vindaloo.

  • sonyarr on November 25, 2022

    The vindaloo was delicious! Probably wouldn't bother with the other parts again.

• Black cardamom smothered pork chops

  • chawkins on May 08, 2017

    Very good, spicy but not hot. I halved the recipe. Used Chinese black cardamom, no buttermilk, so used a one to one mix of sour cream and 2% milk. I'll cut the salt down a little in the spice blend next time just because I'm watching my salt intake.

  • paisleymonsoon on January 20, 2021

    This has a really rich flavor. The browned onions mix amazingly with the buttermilk and broth roux-based sauce for a craveable brown sauce. I halved the number of cloves because I'm not a big clove fan. This is one of those recipes from which you learn things. I think it's the buttermilk and browned onions that really bring it up a notch. Sour cream would also work nicely I think. I tried it the next night with dijon mustard instead of the spices and chicken instead of the pork chops. I'm kind of obsessed with what I can do with this sauce.

  • meggan on October 06, 2021

    Yummy. I also reduced the cloves and upped the pepper. I had extra sauce which I may use on chicken or meatloaf.

  • TrishaCP on February 28, 2022

    The sauce is incredible- the combination of black pepper, black cardamom, and cloves went so well together. I used the amount of cloves specified and loved it, but I have the Burlap and Barrel cloves that I find to be more subtle and smooth than other cloves. I cooked my onions 45 minutes rather than 15 to get them caramelized. Served with cauliflower rice.

• Mess o' greens with ham hocks and jalapeños

  • imaluckyducky on April 17, 2017

    Doubled the recipe, which entailed 1 cup of rice vinegar and 4 cups of water. I ended up having to remove half of the cooking liquid after 2 hours and replace it with chicken stock because, while I like a good tang, this was a bit much. Shame, because doing so got rid of some of the piggy goodness from the hocks. Will tinker with the recipe, as the kiddo inhaled the first bowl and demanded more.

  • runoutofshelves on July 28, 2019

    This was divine. Bought some collard greens. I had never cooked them before. Cooked them with a smoked trotter, and one tablespoon of grated palm sugar and one tablespoon of rice wine vinegar. They are fantastic and I can see what all the fuss is about. Had them with ribs and dirty rice and plantains and avocado.

  • TrishaCP on November 28, 2019

    Based on prior reviews, I halved the amount of vinegar and just added to taste when serving. These are really good greens. I made them with a combination of collards, turnip greens, mustard greens, and kale.

• Masala lamb burgers with mint chutney

  • spvla on May 28, 2026

    I’ve made this a dozen times and it always comes out great. Big hit for a bbq.

• Curry leaf and bacon hopping John

  • contrarywise on January 02, 2025

    Annual New Year’s Day black-eyed peas & rice for good luck. Used dried curry leaves rather than fresh as that’s what I had on hand. Didn’t soak the peas so I upped the water to 6 cups. Otherwise made as per recipe. Richly spiced aromas as it cooked, but could’ve used more heat from chiles. Next time, I’ll keep the seeds.

  • spvla on January 02, 2026

    Love this dish and make it almost every New Year’s Day with some adjustments: I halve the amounts of pork, beans, stock and bell pepper and leave everything else the same. Also subbed garam masala for ground cloves and felt that helped with flavor.

• Railways beef curry

  • vickster on May 07, 2017

    I really liked this dish, but I did make some variations. Instead of adding uncooked chuck I added some leftover tri-tip roast. And I didn't have curry leaves. Also only added 1/4 tsp. cayenne - 1 tsp. seemed like way too much! Other than that, I followed the recipe. My husband wasn't crazy about it - I may need to make some spice adjustments for him next time.

• Clove and ginger butternut squash soup

  • Senkimekia on March 30, 2017

    This is one of my more favorite versions of butternut squash soup, I really enjoyed the creaminess of the coconut milk. I would add more spice the next time but it was good.

• Summer green bean and corn salad

  • tmitra on June 24, 2021

    The dressing is well-balanced, but the salad is underwhelming. It also doesn't keep as well as I'd hoped.

• Puff pastry samosa pockets with sirloin and sweet pea filling

  • Senkimekia on March 30, 2017

    Of the three we ate (chicken, beef, mango) this was our third favorite.

• Puff pastry samosa pockets with curry chicken filling

  • Senkimekia on March 30, 2017

    Good curry flavor. Of the three we ate (chicken, beef, mango) this was our second favorite.

  • imaluckyducky on April 19, 2017

    Again, the recipe is disingenuous with the amount of time to make the recipe. The recipe states to cook thinly-sliced onion the oil over medium (medium-high?) until "golden brown, 4-5 minutes." What? This often takes closer to 20 minutes.The puff pastry also takes a wee bit longer than 15 minutes to get some color and cook properly with the filling. I know this is me harping on a pet peeve of mine, but I much rather prefer an author be more upfront and have realistic time expectations. That said, the rest of the recipe came together nicely and the flavor of the filling is phenomenal and nuanced.

• Puff pastry samosa pockets with mango and jaggery filling

  • Senkimekia on March 30, 2017

    Of the three we ate (chicken, beef, mango) this was our favorite. I really enjoyed the counterbalance of the cumin against the mango flavor. It allowed this dish to exist neutrally between a sweet and savory world. Very enjoyable.

• Sweet potato and spinach bhajia with South by South's sweet and sour sauce

  • MelMM on January 31, 2019

    1-1-2018 First time I made these the mix was very dry and didn't hold together. But I tried again and made them a little wetter and they came out well.

  • jgkite on April 17, 2021

    The amount of spinach seemed too much. It didn't hold together and was ultimately a bit too 'green' tasting for my family.

• Golden potato croquettes or aloo tikki

  • paisleymonsoon on December 26, 2021

    This is destined to become a regular rotation item in our house. Basically, mashed potatoes with cooked onions, spices, and cilantro baked in patties. Everyone devoured these.

• Dutch cake rusk

  • pockems on October 14, 2024

    Nice, light, crispy and easy to make. Not super interesting.

• Green cardamom shrimp étouffée

  • pockems on February 18, 2026

    As written the cardamom overpowers everything and covers up the flavors of the mirepoix / shrimp stock - good but I think I'd rather have classic etouffee

• Mussels in light broth

  • meggan on April 02, 2017

    Very good though we didn't have the curry leaves and had to use basil. I might amp up the garlic next time.

• Marcus's turkey kheema sloppy Joe's

  • wcassity on July 07, 2018

    Okay but not great.

  • TrishaCP on March 24, 2022

    This was a quick and easy dinner with an arugula salad. The combo of the garam masala, pepper, and garlic powder was quite nice, though pretty subtle.

• Fishwife's pie

  • chawkins on May 09, 2017

    My husband liked it. I would like it better with a milder fish, but then I'm not much of a fish eater. I preferred my catfish fried. The topping was great, can't go wrong with garlic mashed potato. I used yellow mustard seeds rather than brown because that is what I have.

• Mint masala roasted chicken with fennel and potatoes

  • TheresaH on March 21, 2026

    One of my all time favorite chicken recipes.

• Down South goat biryani

  • laurenlangston on May 13, 2018

    I couldn't find goat on the day I was planning to make this, so I used the author suggestion of chicken instead. I went with bone-in, skin-on thighs, and the butcher cut them in half for me. I browned them in the ghee first, then cooked the onion in the resulting ghee/schmaltz. Gomez didn't specify to wash the rice first -- I'm really glad I did, because even with that washing, and the trick of putting a towel under the lid to catch extra steam, the rice was a little gummy. I think I'll try with 4c water instead of 4.5 next time. It also took much longer than 20 minutes to roast the shallots/garlic to photo-like quality -- I ended up putting the pan on the stovetop for a minute to get a good sear so I could serve it on time. I love the flavors in this, and the way the recipe was laid out in four sections across two pages was super helpful for a first-timer like me.

  • paisleymonsoon on December 28, 2020

    This deserves all the stars. Don't skip any ingredients. It's worth the time and effort. I've never seen goat for sale anywhere, so I used stew beef meat. It's best to make the various parts of this dish in this order: 1.Goat, 2.Rice (while the meat is cooking), 3. Garnish (prepare and then add to the already-roasting meat in the oven), 4. Assembling the Biryani.

• Country ham smothered cabbage

  • Senkimekia on March 30, 2017

    Nice juxtaposition of creamy and crunchy in this dish. I like this take on ham and cabbage combination.

  • paisleymonsoon on December 26, 2023

    We always cook Indian food for Christmas but had a ham to eat, so this made a nice compromise. I was dubious about buttermilk gravy, but it was the perfect complement for ham. I didn't add nutmeg because the ham was already sliced. If I do it again, I'll sautee the cabbage rather than boil it because it made the dish too wet.

• Vivid tomato and cheese pie

  • khopkins1012 on July 07, 2018

    This is a standout recipe. It's a showstopper when baked in a crust or a solid weeknight side dish when crust-less baked in glass Pyrex dish. You don't even need to dirty a mixing bowl because you can mix everything in the baking dish. Just begin by beating the eggs.

• Red pepper flake Brussels sprouts pachadi

  • Senkimekia on March 30, 2017

    A hit, loved this, will add this to rotation. A dish greater than the sum of its parts.

• Creamed spinach with fresh mozzarella

  • khopkins1012 on May 08, 2017

    On its own, this recipe is an average tasting creamed spinach recipe. Its flavor was elevated after combining with the Pork vindaloo's sauce from page 74.

• Almond and pear brioche pudding

  • Senkimekia on March 30, 2017

    Delicious!

• Cinnamon biscuit bramble cobbler and cream

  • southerncooker on April 30, 2017

    While we enjoyed this cobbler we like the blackberry cobbler I usually make a bit better. I used frozen blackberries I picked last summer. I wish I'd gotten more heavy cream for topping at the end but I only had enough for the dough. It's optional to add some when eating in the recipe but that's also how my grandma served her blackberry dumplings with sweetened cream or milk when serving while still warm and it was delicious.

• Smoky hazelnut chocolate cookies

  • southerncooker on March 26, 2017

    I couldn't wait to try these cookies since they contained Nutella. Had a hard time finding the hazelnuts called for. I ended up buying a big bag of mixed nuts and picking out the 1/4 cup I needed for the recipe. It was all of them in the bag. These cookies get their smoky flavor from smoked paprika. I love cookies warm from the oven but was disappointed when I tried these that way but they were much better once completely cooled. My family enjoyed them as well except for son who doesn't care for chocolate.

  • laurenlangston on July 25, 2017

    The photo in the book makes these look like chocolate crinkle cookies but they just spread and looked goopy. After baking them for twice as long as the recipe called for just to cook the raw out of the egg, I like the flavor a lot but the texture is unappealing. I'll try refrigerating the dough first next time.

• Bittersweet bird's eye tart

  • Senkimekia on March 30, 2017

    This was very good, the heat picked up at the end of each bite, delightful and tasty.

• Three spice carrot cake

  • southerncooker on May 09, 2017

    While the carrot cake is good we have another recipe we like better.

• Apple pie with jaggery cumin drizzle

  • meggan on December 04, 2024

    This recipe should have been good but I think there was something up with my oven because even after an hour, the apples were hard and the crust never browned. I will try again because it was a good idea.

• Cardamom cornbread

  • sarahkalsbeek on July 13, 2018

    The cardamom was way too strong in this - would cut it down. Also came out a bit drier than my family prefers.

  • TrishaCP on January 14, 2019

    I used the full amount of cardamom, and it was just right (except my cardamom was fairly ancient- I wouldn’t use the full amount of fresh). I didn’t notice any dryness, but it definitely isn’t a cakey style of cornbread.

• Coconut milk rice

  • PennyG on April 14, 2023

    I had some leftover coconut milk and needed an accompaniment for a black chickpea curry. This was perfect!

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