Madhur Jaffrey's Instantly Indian Cookbook: Modern and Classic Recipes for the Instant Pot(r)

I really feel that i have to defend this cook book. As i recent purchaser of an Instant Pot and a lover of Indian food I preordered this. I have made two things so far. The instructions are straight forward, easy to follow and have made delicious meals. Looking at the negative reviews -its for an Instant Pot, the directions are easy if you have one. Yes, the recipes have a lot of ingredients-i for one have made hundreds of curries and most are the same-i have all the ones she uses and more. Rick Steins India has more complex directions and ingredients.It has beautiful pictures. My only negative is i would have liked more recipes for what i paid but so far, delicious, healthy, quick easy food with easy to follow instructions-Just what i want. Just remember to have a separate seal especially for cooking curries. I use the red one for cooking any curry in my IP. I like this book, a lot.

I've made several recipes from this book and all have been wonderful. She teaches us westerners how to combine spices and how to use our beloved Instant Pots almost like a musical instrument - combining steam, sautee, pressure, slow cook, etc to get the very best from our ingredients and gadget. This one cookbook where I want to make every recipe, because all the ones I've tried to date have been super. You MUST also make her garam masala mix <smile>

I was also surprised to see the bad reviews! I was struggling to find recipes for my instant pot as online resources are too US-focused and I couldn't find a recipe book I liked. As I'm a big fan of Madhur Jaffrey I was very pleased when I saw she was doing an instant pot book. I did have to buy a set of cup measurements, but they only cost a couple of pounds. So far I've made four recipes and they've all turned out very well. In particular the Buttery Dahl is to die for, seriously scrumptious and incredibly easy to make. There's also very helpful instructions for boiling eggs in the pot, ok there are (contradictory) recipes for this everywhere, but this one really works and the eggs are perfect, better than making them on the hob. I make a batch every week and take them to work for a snack. I'm looking forward to cooking more from this book.

I bought an instantpot especially for use with this book. Jaffrey doesn’t disappoint. Very authentic meals created in minutes.

I find American measures a pain to work with. The point of using a pressure cooker is to save time but the recipes I have looked at have a LOT of ingredients, just getting them together rather negates the whole point of using a pressure cooker in my view. I have returned the book for a refund.

Lovely collection of curries

Have been a fan for decades. This was definitely not her best effort, not many recipes and very Americanised. Going back.

Rubbish. No new recipes just rehashed dated. Also be aware dedicated to pressure cooking techniques.

Fullträff!Väl beskrivna recept! Fantastiska smaker stor variation, lagom med information om hur man tillagar rätterna!Denna boken blev min första ”go to” för hemmalagad indisk mat! Madhur blev min guru!Kan bara rekommendera!!!Finns en uppsjö av fina och intressanta indiska kokböcker - har köpt rätt många efter denna!Återkommer dock fortfarande ofta till dessa recepten och även hennes andra böcker..Om ni vill lära er att laga ”riktig” indisk mat med egen garam masala och alla andra underbara kryddor köp denna (eller någon annan av hennes otaliga böcker) och grotta ner er och njut!Rekommenderar starkt🤩

I have been cooking using her cookbooks for over 30 years and never tire of them. Easy to follow instructions for exotic results.

Seduced by Madhur Jaffrey's reputation, I wanted a contrast to Urvashi Pitre's Indian Instant Pot cookbook, something that might take me to a higher level. How wrong I was! Far too many recipes having nothing to do with the Instant Pot, and it's as if the book's editor just threw something together in a couple of days to bank on Jaffrey's prestige. A major disappointment.

I LOVE this cookbook! I think I've set a personal record sticking Post-It Notes on pages of recipes I want to try--this despite dozens of beloved cookbooks in my possession. This is my seventh IP cookbook (Zimmerman, Randolph, Clark I, Lawrence, ATK, and a $0.99 one that wasn't worth a penny). It's my third Jaffrey cookbook (the seminal "World Vegetarian," and the more recent "Vegetarian India"). And my umpteenth vegetarian cookbook, going all the way back to Moosewood.This book is about 160 pages chock-full of recipes and tips. There are LOTS of recipes. Some of the recipes cover 3 pages: the author wants to make sure we thoroughly understand her recommended technique. I don't need another IP encyclopedia, but I'm excited to try tested recipes from this esteemed cookbook author. Furthermore, unlike some others, this book is specific to the Instant Pot. The author points out that Indian cooks have been using pressure cookers for generations, so here she combines this tradition with her trials of our brand-new beloved Instant Pots.Ms. Jaffrey knows all about writing cookbooks for an American/Canadian audience, so the ingredients are accessible. In my remote location I won't find bird's-eye chilis, but the author tells me that I can substitute jalapeno. I'm not going to pay a small fortune for an amazoned can of Alphonso mango, and I can't amazon urad, but that's only two recipes. I can amazon everything else, such as asafetida and mung dal.The author frequently offers suggestions for substitutions (lemon juice for tamarind paste, for example) or indicates that hard-to-find ingredients (at least in my location) such as fresh curry leaves are optional. I love that she gives us her favorite brand names for some ingredients.Ms. Jaffrey makes a point of using plain old supermarket white mushrooms, canned (or frozen) coconut milk, store-bought rice noodles, and frozen peas. And--newsflash--Madhur Jaffrey says that she actually finds it more convenient to buy ghee from an Indian grocer than to make it. Not only that, she uses Pepperidge Farm sliced bread for her croutons. It's so refreshing to see a renowned cookbook author make her recipes' ingredients so accessible for home cooks! The author provides an excellent chapter on "Spices and Special Ingredients" which discusses not only how to prepare special ingredients, gives us some alternate names which may come in handy if you're lucky enough to shop at an ethnic grocer, and also tells us where to find them.The recipes are primarily vegetarian, and so bean and grain recipes abound; however, lamb (6 recipes), fish (2 recipes) , littlenecks, shrimp, squid, ground turkey, chicken (6 recipes), oxtail, goat, pork (2 recipes) and chicken stock make an appearance.The author gives us precise instructions for rinsing, soaking, sautéing, cooking at low or high pressure, slow cooking, and releasing pressure for every recipe. Her headnotes are informative, telling us what we want to know about a little bit of the dish's history, plus information on ingredients, including substitutions.Another reviewer said that "many many" recipes did not use the IP; however, my count disagrees with this. Except for her final chapter on home-made spices and sides, I found only 8 recipes (usually with rice) using only the "Sauté" or "Steam" functions and not pressure-cooking. I'm excited about learning to use the "Steam" function. The author on rare occasion uses the IP's "Slow Cook" function. However, she does tell us precisely how to use settings such as "Rice," against which other authors have warned me away. I really can't wait to follow Ms. Jaffrey's instructions for using "Rice." UPDATE May, 2021: I should have written much earlier that I found her instructions for making basmati rice “Perfect!” I also have made quinoa so many times in the IP according to her instructions, and, again, it is always perfect despite the many ways that I have come to tinker with it: for example, cooking with aquafaba from my last dried bean cookery or/and with tomato sauce!Finally, the book is beautifully designed. True, most of the recipes do not have photos, which I know is important to many readers. However, I find valuable that every time an IP function is needed, the recipe says, in RED "sauté" or "low pressure" or "high pressure."I can't wait to try at least a dozen of her recipes. Thank you, Ms. Jaffrey!

Simple to follow.