Jikoni: Proudly Inauthentic Recipes from an Immigrant Kitchen

This is an excellent book. The recipes are really inventive and completely delicious. I've used the book to recreate restaurant favourites and they taste just like the originals - notably the prawn toast scotch eggs with banana ketchup, the miso butterscotch cake with ovaltine kulfi, and the oyster pani puris. But don't buy the book if (1) you want some quick and easy. There are very few recipes in this book which are quick and easy; (2) you're not prepared to seek out ingredients you may not have. This was not a problem for me because I cook Indian and other ethnic foods regularly and have a very well-stocked kitchen, but other reviewers have complained about this; and (3) if you don't like multi-staged cooking. There's often a variety of steps/cooking methods/elements (such as chutneys etc). I have no problem with any of the above, because I know if you want to eat knock-your-socks off interesting food - it takes time, skill, and yes ingredients.

This cookbook came out in a glut of other great cookbooks.. so I initially missed its release.. I did finally take the plunge and when it arrived was immediately smitten with it. the influences for this book are ALL OVER THE PLACE... parts of Afica, India, Japan, Vietnam, Middle Eastern/Medd cooking.. and its GREAT!! The dishes that I have made so far (overnight tapioca with passion fruit/coconut bananas, green tea rice with salmon, and basil panna cotta with pineapple carpaccio) turned out amazing! I am currently curing a pork belly so I can make the bacon and waffles in the book.. yes.. it has inpired me to make my own bacon!!.. did i mention the waffles have cumin and fenugreek in them?! If you like stepping out of the box with your cooking, and dont mind 'exotic' ingredients that you have to hunt for.. (cooking ottolenghi recipes gives you a idea what I am talking about).. then this book is for you! If you hate that stuff.. then its not. Speaking of Ottolenghi.. he has a quote on the back, so its Ottolenghi approved.. and Salman Rushdie has a quote on the front.. now how many cookbooks can say that!!! I LOVE this book!

The book's design is nice, but the recipes are way too complicated for the average home cook, hard to get ingredients mainly.

Well written and quite lovely.

I bought this book because Jikoni is one of my favourite restaurants in London and I was going to attempt to make something similar at home, (we'll see how that goes!) I didn't realise till it arrived though, that as well it being packed with wondrous recipes it's also full of stunning photography and wordy descriptions that are so beautifully written (by the Chef, Ravinder Bhogal) The first thing I thought when I opened it was that one day (when it's covered in butter and flour stains) I am going to hand it down to my daughter - it's a piece of art and literature all in one...