From Gujarat With Love: 100 Authentic Indian Vegetarian Recipes

From Gujarat with Love is a delightful culinary book that takes readers on a flavorful journey through the cuisine of Gujarat. From the moment I met Vina-ben, I have been in awe of her kindness and love she puts in food. Her deep-rooted connection to her Gujarati heritage is evident throughout the book, as she mentions personal anecdotes, cultural insights, and mouthwatering recipes passed down through generations. My personal favorite is her khandvi recipe. Vina-ben taught me how it is made and I was amazed by how amazing it turned out. As I try more recipes, I see the amount of dedication that was put in this book. Through vivid descriptions and stunning photography, we see Gujarati culture and its importance. This book is a celebration of family, and heritage. Highly recommended for anyone with a love for good food and great stories.

What I liked> The design and art work on the book cover.What I disliked> - the recipes for cooked dishes in this book that are FRIED in deep oil.This is very un healthy way to cook! We lived in Mumbai for many years and of course our cook made wonderful vegetable dishes daily seldom ever fried. I am thankful that I did learn how to cook and memorize many good vegetable dishes of India on my own. I will try to adjust these fried recipes in this cook book from fried to baked. The dal and soup recipes are Great especially. Yes I do recommend this book.

My Girlfriend and I have had a lot of fun making the recipes in “From Gujarat with Love”. We had little previous experience with the Gujarat cuisine, but found it has its own unique flavor from other Indian cuisines. Specifically the recipes here make a strong use of mustard seeds, Asafoetida and green chilis which gives it a strong and delicious throughline that ties each of the dishes together.We have made about 9 of the dishes so far, spread across 4 meals. We sometimes mix the food here with other dishes, sometimes we only eat food we made from this book. We have loved every meal so far. We find especially the Pouri and the Yogurt Rait are great openers, starting a meal off with a burst of flavor that you can't stop eating.The main dishes are fantastic too. I am a Texas man and was a bit skeptical of an all vegetarian meal. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself always satisfied when I finished these dishes. The dahls provide a hearty and healthy meal that will not leave you scrounging around in the pantry afterwards.I have also found a good range of complexity and time presented in these dishes. If I want to spend the afternoon cooking, I can. If I need something to make after work, I can find that too. Some of the dishes really allow me to flex my chef muscles too, which I enjoy. Several of them also lend themselves to meal prepping, being able to make a large meal that can be eaten on throughout the week is very nice. All in All, 10 out of 10. Pick up this book to explore a cuisine that you do not find often in America.

Vina Patel’s beautiful cookbook demystifies the art of Indian cuisine!She writes with humor, intertwines personal stories, and has a very relaxed and matter-of-fact tone that gave me the confidence to work with spices and ingredients that were new to me. I have made about 5 recipes so far and my confidence has grown so I’ll continue to explore new dishes.Indian cooking is SO delicious and I was always hesitant to try - but the clarity of the instructions and little ‘tips’ are very helpful.In addition, the book is beautifully laid out and photographed - fun just to leaf through -I highly recommend!

So much more than a cookbook, it is a culturally enlightening experience that takes you right to the author’s roots. I could not put this book down! Vina offers pastes that shortcuts that take a foundational approach to nutritious and flavorful cuisine that gave a beginner like me the courage to cook. This is truly the only time I have read a cookbook cover to cover, and didn’t have to mark the pages that I can do. This book offers a beautiful level of practicality that is truly unique and masterful. I can’t wait for the next book or Vina Patel event…she has so much to teach! Amazing and artfully done!

Vina, I have had the honor of tasting most of your delicious recipes for many years. I basically grew up with your cooking as well. I have witnessed all the love and passion you put into every recipe, every spice, every moment enjoyed while eating and spending it with your family. The delicious Masala Chai tea I was always spoiled with 😋 How every recipe was so important because with the best ingredients it meant you were giving your family the best nutrition and lots of love along with it. Many of these recipes bring me so many beautiful memories, the magic of nostalgia takes me back thru time and fills me with warmth and happiness. I will try out every recipe and in doing so relive every moment spent with you and your family my dear friend. Many moments I will never forget. This book is absolutely amazing, thank you for sharing it with the world. Much love my dear 💕

Book has loads of heart felt recipes.Also very pretty looking book for the coffee table

From Gujrat with love, is truly the most informative book I've ever read regarding a big part of the Indian taste and Cuisine i.e. the Gujrati Cuisine, we've always been a fan of Gujrati food especially the Khandvi, Ive always admired having it and wanted to know how this was made, the book shares such an easy description of how these beautiful & tasty dishes are made.Mrs. Vina Patel, thank you for your efforts, I congratulate you for this wonderful & informative book, which helps many to know about so many hidden recepies.I highly recommend the book for those who have love for food.Farooq Jaipur

I'm a keen home cook and have made a fair amount of Indian recipes, but I'm definitely not an expert and didn't know anything specific about Gujarati food before picking up this book. Now I know it's delicious! I've cooked about a dozen recipes so far and every one has been really good, with several being outstanding - highly recommend the spinach chaat, cracked wheat khichdi and all the dals in particular. Everything has been simple to prepare and I found the instructions clear and well-written. Definitely pick this up if you have an interest in vegetarian Indian cooking, it's been a great addition to my collection!

Such great variety in this book, not only have I enjoyed cooking the recipes but the versatility has added some much needed spice (pardon the terrible pun) to my dinner parties and family meals!

I’ve been cooking lots of different cuisines for many years now, but for the past year or so I’ve been really interested in Indian authentic food, non of the jar sauces you can buy.I had bought this book because I have a friend who is from Gujarat (well DIU) and I wanted to see if he thought this book was really authentic or not? Now being English myself and never been to Indian, it would be hard to convince a real Indian person how Indian food should taste!Vina Patel really makes things simple at the start of her book by giving recipes for store cupboard Gujarat essentials (Dhana-Jeeru, pastes and pickles) although a lot of this cupboard essentials seem to make a lot and you might only use a small amount of it in one of her recipes, Vina does have great tips on have to store them for a few months so your not wasting anything. Little tip! Find a really good Indian store get to know the owner and I can tell you they will be very friendly and helpful and you will find every ingredient you need to use. (Or shop on Amazon for lots of the spices)Anyway, going back to this book! I have only made a few recipes yet (mind you I’ve only had the book for a few days) I had made my friend Vina’s spiced yogurt soup (Gujarati Kadhi) page 125 and yellow rice (Khichdi) page 184Well once he started to eat the food I had prepared I could see by his eyes he was really enjoying it, so I asked if he thought it tasted authentic to him? And with great delight he said “if I didn’t know you had cooked this I would of thought my mother was over here in your house.So if you are really interested in authentic Indian vegetarian food, I can really recommend this book to anyone.