Rasika: Flavors of India

I first saw this book in a library, & I salivated at the wonderful recipes inside. I'm a fan of Indian Cuisine, & this book is a keeper!!

I haven't yet visited Rasika, but I love Indian cooking and this one had a number of dishes that I enjoy so I decided to try it out. Having an Indian grocery accessible will definitely help in creating the recipes, but you could also order things online if they aren't as accessible in your area.So far I have made the makhani sauce, paneer makhani, and the saffron pulao. They are a tad time consuming as you are cooking with fresh ingredients. It also helps to have a vitamix to puree the sauces to be smooth. There is mention of freezing things before adding cream or salt, so it may be advisable to double quantities if you're going to make many sauces. I found the recipes to be approachable, although there were a few hang ups I encountered along the way. Sometimes the directions were slightly vague and mustard oil is often marked not for consumption, though many people cook with them anyway. The results were good. I wish I could give this a 4.5 star rating. I had to doctor some recipes up with extra salt and I decreased the amount of water for the makhani sauce to have it a bit more thick and rich.The saffron pualo is nice. I like the technique to make it and will use that again without question in other recipes.I think the recipes are do-able and not as fussy as others have mentioned. It may depend on your comfort level and time to invest in making these foods.

I have really enjoyed reading this book. The photography is stunning. There are brief backstories on the owner and chef's journey that was interesting to learn. There is also a section on the ingredients and techniques. For a food lover who enjoys Indian cuisine, especially the creative dishes at Rasika, but has little experience with Indian preparations and spices, this is a wonderful and informative book. Some of the recipes are straight forward and I will certainly try them, others like the famous Palak Chaat, are more involved and I will leave to the professionals.

Rasika is a destination restaurant with an amazing staff. Each time I have been there, I have discovered new flavors and approaches that I wish I could create at home. Now that THE Rasika book has been published, I may have a chance to learn some of the secrets. The background behind the restaurants of Ashoka Bajaj is wonderful and makes me want drive up to DC and go to Rasika or Rasika West End. The recipes of Vikram Sunderam are presented clearly with beautiful photos. I appreciate his tips within the recipes. I doubt my Chicken Tikka Masala will ever taste as good as theirs. All the same, when not in DC, I can learn more about Indian cuisine and experiment with a variety of recipes while I dream about the next time I am at one of their restaurants.

If you love Rasika and like a challenge in the kitchen, add this cookbook to your library.The recipes are challenging and techniques take a couple of tries to master in many cases, but the outcome is worth the work to get there.Before you embark on a recipe, be sure you have the ingredients, the equipment and that you understand the technique. Trying to figure any of that out "in the middle" of cooking is very difficult.

I checked out Rasika from the library first to try out several recipes. I made Chicken Green Masala, Chicken Makhani, Kashmiri Cinnamon Salmon and Sea Bass in Banana Leaf. All of the dishes were fun to make and outstanding in flavor. This is my 4th cookbook of Indian cooking and I'm happy to say that it provides different recipes than my others and I can't wait to make more of them. I also look forward to my next trip to DC, as I plan to make reservations to eat at the restaurant Rasika. Highly recommend!

This is our favorite Indian restaurant in Washington DC. The food is delicious and creative. The ingredients called for can be hard to find but worth the effort. Some of the technique translated to the home kitchen is a bit wanting (failure risk). But totally worth the effort!

This very good cookbook presents relatively easy recipes for some of Rasika's best dishes. I am a major fan of the restaurants and cook Indian food as a hobby. I found the explanations of the dishes and of the individual spices extremely helpful. Some are simple but wonderful, like the cauliflower and peas, which virtually anyone can cook well.

I have made two recipes both of which were delicious, but time consuming. A number of recipes recommend the use of a NutriBullet for lengthy periods of time. I made the Kashmiri Chili Paste, which instructed blending for five minutes (and some recipes have longer blending time). I’ve included a picture showing the results of blending for the recommended time (overheating and a paste explosion)! If you’re using a NutriBullet follow the appliance’s instructions very carefully rather than just following the book’s instructions like I did!!!

I liked this book very much. I particularly like the curried chicken with pistachios. Some of the ingredients were difficult to source in my town.