Product Description
Afghan Cuisine: Cooking for Life is a collection of traditional Afghan family recipes that have been gathered and translated to English for the novice Afghan and non-Afghan cook. The intention of the book is to help Afghans and non-Afghan learn to cook delicious Afghan food in easy to follow steps. The book is written from the Western perspective and directions are provided to easily locate the needed ingredients and short cuts included for the person that is on the go. This book is the result of many years of collecting, research, observation, and practice in regards to cooking Afghan cuisine. It is very different than traditional Afghan cookbooks in that it includes traditional Afghan recipes that are easy to follow as well as non-Afghan recipes. A portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the women and children living in Afghanistan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Wonderful Addition to my Cookbook Collection
I ordered this book about a month ago, and both my mother and I have throughly enjoyed this book.The second day after receiving the book from Amazon, I cooked the Kabuli Rice and it was DELICIOUS!! My uncle LOVED the rice when he tasted it!
This cookbook has many wonderful recipes and the author of the book is also just as wonderful.From reading this book, I feel like I have gotten to know her and taste Afghan food through her senses.I recommend this book to everyone.

There were a few mistakes in the book, that I wish some editors were able to find.In the Afghan Bread recipe, the book calls for 5 lbs of white flour (or was it Wheat flour? I forgot but it was for one of those two).In fact, she meant 5 cups.We made it yesterday and it was sooo good!But I do recommend that this book be completely edited so that a person who has never cooked before, does not get confused.5lbs of flour is way too much!

All in all though, this is a wonderful book and I love it! It's great to eat something other than Indian food day and night! :)

Deceptively simple--wonderfully delicious!
When I started reading through the recipes in this book, I thought: "These are too simple!Not enough spices, not enough ingredients.This will probably come out bland!"How wrong I was!A potato dish (last night's dinner) called for only 6 ingredients (including spices!), was incredibly simple to make, and came out wonderfully fragrant and flavorful.The quarmas (meat dishes) I've made have likewise been easy to shop for and cook, but have been incredibly satisfying.For the bold cook, there ARE some more challenging recipes, such as complex chalau (pilaf/biriyani) dishes.But for those seeking a simple, tasty introduction to a new style of cuisine, I highly recommend this book!

WOW!!! Wonderful Recipes!!
If you have ever had afghan food, it doesnt seem very easy to make. This book makes it so simple and it will be the tastiest food you have ever had! I have only tried a few of the dishes and each one has come out tasting so authentic and delicious. My favorite so far is the potato borani and the khorshaid's chicken. I definitely reccommed this book to anyone from the most experienced to the most inexperienced (like me) cooks out there!

I definitely recommend this book!
I am married to an Afghan man and have had no prior experience to Afghan food before I had met him.Since then, he's tried to get me to learn to cook like his mother, however it's hard because I grew up on mac'n'cheese.But after a recent trip to Afghanistan, I felt that I should learn to cook because a) the food was delicious b) I respect his heritage and c) I don't want my kids to grow up on mac'n'cheese.This book made it really easy to follow and it included some non-afghan recipes which were a plus (I'm particularly fond of the macaroon squares!).Also, knowing that the proceeds give back to Afghanistan is important because having gone there, I know they need a lot of support to pick themselves up.It's great that this book helps to give back!

Easy-to-follow recipes that are delicious too!
I had one Afghan friend in highschool whose mom makes the best traditional Afghan food and bread I've ever tasted!At first I thought it would taste like Indian food.Although they are similar type dishes, the flavor of the food comes through so much more.Now that I'm in New Jersey, I don't see her but I can make the same homestyle type dishes every now and then.My favorite are the boulani's with potatoes! ... Read more

Product Description
Vegetarian and vegan cooks will find over 150 spicy recipes in this cookbook, from main course curries and side dishes to spicy nibbles and traditional accompaniments. There are specialities from a wide range of places, including Nepal, Afghanistan, Burma, Thailand and Malaya, as well as India. ... Read more

Product Description

Situated at the crossroads of four major regions--the Middle East, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Far East--Afghanistan has survived centuries of invasions, whether military, cultural or culinary. Its hearty cuisine includes a tempting variety of offerings: lamb, pasta, chickpeas, rice pilafs, flat breads, kebabs, spinach, okra, lentils, yogurt, pastries and delicious teas, all flavored with delicate spices, are staple ingredients.

This cookbook includes over 100 recipes, all adapted for the North American kitchen, for favorites like "Mantu" (Pasta filled with Meat and Onion), "Shinwari Kebab" (Lamb Chops Kebab), and "Qabili Pilau" (Yellow Rice with Carrots and Raisins).The author's informative introduction describes traditional Afghan holidays, festivals and celebrations.Also included is a section entitled "The Afghan Kitchen," which provides essentials about cooking utensils, spices, ingredients and methods.Complete with b/w maps and illustrations.

Customer Reviews (25)

Afghan food, minus spices.
Why on earth would you write an Afghan cookbook and leave out the spices? I love Afghan food and this book was a huge disappointment.I find it hard to believe that well-made aushak has no flavoring other than salt and mint.Worse than worthless, because it could have been so much better.

Great book!
This is a great book! All of my life, I have botched Afghan food because traditionally ingredients are not actually measured. It's always a pinch of this or a little bit of that. Now I can actually cook something without worrying about putting too much or too little of something. She does a great job of making cooking simple! I'd highly recommend this book to Afghan cooks and non-Afghan cooks alike!

Afghan cooking for a total non cook.
This book is the best I have read in a long time. It not only tells you how to cook Afghan food, it tells you about its history and why some of the thing are done in an Afghan house-hold.
Being a terrible cook and non Afghan myself, this book has helped me cook some lovely food for my Afghan partner.
It is easy to follow and has some brilliant sketches of traditional Afghan life and food.
This is more than just another cook-book... A must for anyone intersted in Afghan anything.

Afghan Food and Cookery
This is outstanding because there are so few books with Afghan food as the topic. Even this one is about 50% Pakistani and Indian along with about 50% Afghan, but the 50% that is unique makes it worthwhile to own.

H.M.
This book is great if you like Afghan food this is the book for you.

I have been using this book for a long time and it is just great.


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Product Description
This digital document is an article from Vegetarian Journal, published by Vegetarian Resource Group on January 1, 2010. The length of the article is 3110 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Camels and caravans: from Afghanistan to the vegan table.(Recipe)
Author: Zel Allen
Publication: Vegetarian Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2010
Publisher: Vegetarian Resource Group
Volume: 29Issue: 1Page: 6(5)

Article Type: Recipe

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Countries and Their Cultures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1510 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the broad range of popular religious culture of the United States at the close of the twentieth century. Beliefs, practices, symbols, traditions, movements, organizations, and leaders from the many traditions in the pluralistic American community are represented. Also includes cults and phenomena that drew followers, such as Heaven's Gale and UFOs. ... Read more

Product Description

A bounty of more than 240 recipes from the regions of France reveal the rich and varied produce of the world'srenowned center of gastronomy. France the Beautiful Cookbook gives a rare insight into the less -publicized side of French cooking: a cuisine which has been passed down through families by word or mouth. This home cuisine, so rich in history and tradition -- and so delicious - simmers and bubbles on family stoves and in country inns throughout each region.

France the Beautiful Cookbook takes the reader from the countryside to the table. It explains the vital link between each region's history , geography and culina traditions, story, people who make the food so unique. Without the abundance of oysters, withoutcassoulet withouthochepot, without the bourride without the wines and beers that go with them, France would not be France.

Specially commissioned photographs graphically convey the diversity and beauty of France's terrain: the craggy hills of the south, the coastal fishing villages along the western coast, the lush pastures of the Loire, the colorful Mediterranean, and the alpine regions and volcanic plateaus of the center.

The recipes are recorded in this beautiful book by the Scotto Sisters - food writers Marianne Comolli, Elisabeth Scotto and Michéle Carles -- who grew up in Paris, spending the summers of their childhood in the French countryside. Each Cookbook is the story of an ancient treasure trove of French regional gastronony eloquently narrated by Author Pludlowski and superbly captured in color by photographers Pierre Hussenot and Leo Meier.

Customer Reviews (9)

Don't hesitate to buy this!
Wow!What a find!This is an amazing book!You can hardly stop looking at the beautiful photos long enough to try the recipies!But when you do.........you'll be very happy!Be sure to try the Chicken Vinagrette on page 127, as it is the tastiest thing I have ever put into my mouth!

Tastes Authentic!
Instead of purchasing this book here, I recommend looking for it in stores like Waldenbooks or Barnes and Noble in their section of books on sale. These stores always have a section of huge books that have been marked down to very reasonable prices.

This book isn't particularly huge, but it is legitimate in its recipes. I have tried several recipes from this book and they've all come out wonderful and comparable to the "real deals" that I've tasted over in France myself. There was no need to alter any of the ingredients or amounts, as so far I've had no failures/disasters in cooking from this book. It is divided up into sections (poultry, fish, desserts, etc.) and each section opens first to an introduction to a region of France with a little bit of background. The book provides pictures for almost every recipe they list, which I know can be helpful to some readers/cooks to know what it is they're cooking.

I would say, though, that some of the recipes might require you to be a little adventurous, as of course these authentic recipes require foods that Americans do not normally eat very often (like lamb and rabbit, for example). But I've found that other than that, the ingredients were not so exotic that I couldn't find them in the store and was forced to make adjustments.

Love it
I love this book!Great recipes and information about the country.Glossary is extremely useful.

Armchair: 5. Recipes: 4.
I got this book on a closeout at my local bookstore, and at that low price the book is wonderful. I'd be a little less thrilled if I paid full-price... but only a little.

I would guess that most "...The Beautiful" books are probably purchased for their coffee table appeal. This is a large format book (12"x18"), with stunning photos of different areas of France and of the food (there's generally one picture of the finished dish for every two recipes). If you want a book to inspire you to travel to France or to go out to eat at a French restaurant, or if you are searching for an impressive and pretty gift, this is a no-brainer. It's gorgeous.

The recipes are very good, too, but I'm tempted to say that they're almost beside the point. There are 240 recipes, divided in menu-like sections (first courses, fish and shellfish, poultry and game, etc.) rather than regionaly. Each recipe is marked with the region it comes from, so you know that the mussels in cream is from Normandy and the veal rolls (paupiettes) are from Provence. There's also a couple of pages, with photos, describing each region. Nicely done.

I'm not knowledgeable enough about French cooking to speak to the authenticity of the recipes, but none of them were jarring. Most of the dishes are kept on the simple side (I get the feeling that the "real" version might require a few more hours in the kitchen), and they do have interesting, if short, introductions. The intro for cassoulet, for instance, gives a little history of this well-known dish, and mentions regional variations ("Toulouse adds Toulouse sausage, leg of lamb and confit"). You'll find the usual suspects of French cuisine; 240 dishes is a bunch, but far from exhaustive.

Most of the recipes are, as I said, very good. Their recipe for sole meuniere matches the one I use, and I have my eye on their recipe for beef braised with Calvados.

However, the book does show that it was written in 1989, when it was difficult to find some "exotic" ingredients. The recipe for chaoucroute (saurkraut with pork and sausage) calls for, among other things, a smoked kielbasa, and 6 Strasbourg sausages or frankfurters. David Rosengarten's _Taste_ has a whole chapter devoted to charcoute (which led me to spend my sole evening in Paris at a restaurant for which it's the specialty -- maybe I'll send him the bill), and it's obvious that these are gringo subsitutions. Kielbasa, maybe; frankfurters, no way. (Oddly, though, they don't shy away from dishes made with venison or rabbit, which I find much harder to find.)

As someone else mentioned, the desserts chapter feels short; there's about 20 recipes here, and I think most of us would assume that the French pastry section would be far larger.

Overall, this is a fine book -- particularly for inspiration purposes. If you can get it at a good price, grab it.

Beautiful and Easy
This book is really packed and pretty. The pictures are great, but I think it could have included more desserts. ... Read more