Five Ways – A Book Review

When I first read about the announcement of Ria’s cookery book, I was excited! Was I surprised… No. Knowing her talents, the only question was when :)

If you’ve visited her blog or follow her on social media, I’m sure you’ve noticed her passion and love for home cooking/baking. I’ve been following her since the time she started blogging.

I was all set to buy the book when it releases and that’s when Ria sent me a copy and asked whether I could do a review. I was thrilled and more than happy to do it.

Before we get into the details of the book, let me tell you, I am not a professional book reviewer/critic. However, I’ve a decent collection of cookbooks that I’ve collected over the years and I’ll share with you why Ria’s book is a perfect addition to your cookbook collection or if you are yet to have one, this is a good one to start with.

The book is called “Five Ways” and it refers to the five ways of cooking: Baked.Fried.Steamed.Chilled.Stirred

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The entire book is divided into the above five sections and each section is again divided into three: Small Bites, Bigger Bites and Sweets. I liked that division, it gives you a mini meal plan starting with the appetiser and ending with the dessert in each category.

When it comes to buying a Cookbook, one of my thumb rules is to buy the book only if I'm sure that I’ll be cooking more than 80 % of the recipes given there. In this case,though I was sure to buy it, even before having any idea about the book, my thumb rule gives me a double thumbs up.

When you go through the book, you’ll definitely understand that this book is written by a seasoned home cook for the other home cooks. If you ask me home cooking is a sum total of everyday cooking recipes, party food recipes, traditional recipes, kid-friendly recipes, some fusion recipes, and lastly the most precious ones…the recipes which can be called “family heirlooms”. This book has it all!

The recipes are written out in detail and most ingredients used are easily available. I especially loved the “tips” given at the end of each recipe.

The book has recipes ranging from “Maharaja & Maharani”, which requires little to no effort and recipes like Layered Chemmeen Pathiri for days, when you are really in the mood to cook.

If you are someone who loves to entertain friends and family at home, this book is your perfect companion. You can create a wonderful menu by mixing and matching appetizers, main course, and desserts from the five sections of the book.

All in all, this book will be a great addition to your family kitchen. You can check out the book here

Sharing the pics of Chicken Nuggets and Bindiya (traditional coconut sweet) recipes that I’ve tried from the book. 

Chicken Nuggets were an instant hit and it disappeared from the plates in seconds. Jose and my nephews loved it especially with the homemade dip.

Bindiya is a traditional coconut sweet from Malabar side and it’s something completely new to me. Since I am a big fan of coconut and jaggery combo, I made it as a treat for myself and loved every bite of it. 

Ria, thank you so much for sending me the book and I wish you all the best!