Festival Samayal (Winner Gourmand World Cookbook Award) Paperback – October 1, 2014

Essential for TamBrams.

For a non-native Indian, it explains adequately. A good book for those who need more cultural information about Indian food and customs.

Very informative, but appears more like a booklet. For the price a hardbound version would be preferred.

Personally, I have never had the patience to look at a cook book and attempt to follow the recipes step-by-step. I review the first few pages and I'm totally intimated by the sheer lenght of each formula. However Vijji Varadarajan's book makes every recipe not only simple to follow but also very exciting to create. Each recipe is so quick and elegant that one is inspired to study and create more.Worried about the quality of the food? Don't be. Follow the guidelines laid out by this maestro and you simply cannot go wrong. Bon Appetite!!!

Festivals and food are core ingredients of culture. And this book is worth its weight in <<add your favorite substance>> and is arguably one of a kind.My wife recently got this book (with the other book by the same author.. do not buy the more expensive and outdated hardcover editions) and finds it to be very helpful. The cooking (and I am one of the prime beneficiaries) had improved perceptibly and has a lot of added variety. The author is very approachable by email, clarifies doubts (e.g., "cup" is equivalent to American teacup, types of onions, tomatoes to use) and offers suggestions for new recipes. It doesnt get better than that.My wife also *highly* recommends the book on South Indian Veg Cuisine by the same author.

Have you ever wondered living so far away from your home town, that you miss out on the slurpy foods you get to eat during festivals. I did and I always missed them. While searching on the net I landed on this wonderful book on Festivals. I had to have it. The descriptions of the festivals, the food you make, and the recipes are so authentic. I made the Ven Pongal and Shakkarai Pongal for the Pongal Festival and followed the recipe to the TEE. It was perfect. The book is a keeper, so we distant Indians dont loose our palates to the festival food.

This is a classic!! A must read for all Indian families. Very well written and well laid out book. Did not know that we had so many festivals in India!!!Great job!!!

Though the recipes are complete and comprehensive. The photos and layout of the book is amateurish. It is almost gaudy. I am surprised this book has fetched an award, if the book had been well illustrated and with the right pics it would be a winner! Be warned, the book contains only half of recipes and contains a lot of content on Tamil festival and their elaborate proceedings.

This book has been written for the non-Indian reader. Expect to see strange names given to familiar foods. However the actual names are also supplied and the recipes that we tried so far were authentic

Vijis books r excellent, lucid and vvvv useful.If prepared as written in the book,it works wonders.Congratulations mam to u and yr team.

Very good book and also a very good for gifting.

nice and delivered on time