Texistani : Indo-Pak Food from a Texas Kitchen

Here they are, the real things–These recipes are good enough to fool Indo-Pak friends. In fact, one friend wanted the recipe book after seeing it! She was very impressed to see all her favorites, laid out in black and white. She’d always believed that the only way to get this food was to have her Mom cook it–she’s delighted with the cookbook. Note that the Chicken Corn Soup is THE recovery and comfort soup of the decade, as well as tasting great! Worth the price for this recipe alone.

NOTE: This book has no illustrations or photos, and is simply typed. You don’t buy it for the production values–you buy it for the recipes. It’s obviously something that was tossed together for friends and took on a life of its own. We should all gently nag the author to do a new edition with Pagemaker or a similar package.
Rating: 5 / 5

I *LOVE* this book. It is admittedly very slim (to put it tactfully); 32 pages, each half of an 8.5×11-inch sheet, and unquestionably printed and “booked” at home. But I couldn’t care less; I buy cookbooks for the recipes, and these are well-tested, perfected, loved by the author and her friends/family, and taught by people from Pakistan who grew up loving them. (Since the only Pakistani I have ever met was a Girl Scout visiting the USA about 30 years ago, and I have never before seen a Pakistani cookbook, I was thrilled to find this wonderful, TNT collection.) Each recipe is prefaced by a description of the recipe, how to serve it, etc., and the directions are exceptionally clear. I’m thoroughly delighted with my purchase. The price is very modest; personally, I would have paid much more for such a tried-and-true collection of recipes that are almost impossible to locate — and I, myself, would much prefer a book comprised of X tried-and-true well-tested favorites than one with umpteen others just to pad it out and make it look better (so that testing them becomes a culinary version of culinary “Russian Roulette”, with no way of knowing which ones are even edible). In this book, you know that every recipe was collected, tested, perfected, and loved by the author and her family/friends — and, to me, that is priceless. I cannot sufficiently recommend this book; I am really excited about it.
Rating: 5 / 5

I take issue with Ms. Hale’s detractors. True, the book looks like one any middle school class with a long stapler could put out, but the print quality in my copy is just fine, thank you. The quality of the recipes is what I care more about, anyway, and the food described in this little book is yummy. The recipes are straightforward, with easy-to-find ingredients, plus measures in American terms so I did not have to clumsily translate from the metric (.325 kg) or from the cryptic (#2 of tomatoes). I also enjoyed Ms. Hale’s homey comments about friends, neighbors, and trying out these recipes herself. Very useful and fun collection of recipes.
Rating: 5 / 5

I’m one of those people who can’t boil water without burning it but I have a friend who’s a marvelous cook, and we both enjoy the spicy but subtle and exotic flavors of Indian cooking.
This book is a treasure trove of marvelous recipes, written so that even a so-so cook can achieve marvelous results. If you want a cookbook that just looks pretty on your rack, pass this one by, but if you want clear directions to gustatory paradise, this is a must-have.
Rating: 5 / 5

A learning experience in the art of eastern food preparation. Including comprehensive information on the secrets of the foods. Eastern friends maintain that no one without East Indian/Pakastani ethnic background cannot master their cooking. Following this cookbook will prove them wrong.
Rating: 5 / 5