In 1997, we were fortunate to celebrate Sri Krsna Janmastami at Ramesta dasa’s beautiful log home along the Skagit River in Washington. At the time, Yamuna devi and Dinatarine devi were living on the property, working to establish a Vedic cooking school and retreat program there.
I have fond memories of spending a day in the kitchen with Yamuna dasi on that occasion. I image that everywhere she travels, devotees along the way have a similar experience to mine…. the happiness of having watched a master devotee cook preparing sumptuous preparations for Sri Sri Radha Krsna.
Yamuna devi’s skill in preparing Krsna prasadam is known worldwide amongst the devotees, but her mastery of Indian vegetarian cooking is also known outside the community of devotees, thanks in large part to the publication of her famous cookbook, “Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking”. First published in 1987 by Bala Books, this award-winning cookbook sets the standard for all those interested in learning the fine art of cooking Indian vegetarian.
“Lord Krishna’s Cuisine” is an amazing 800 page compendium of recipes, instruction on cooking methods, gear and ingredients, and stories that give us a peek into prominent residential and temple kitchens across India. Best of all, Yamuna devi shares the stories of her personal experiences with Srila Prabhupada, who taught her not only the fundamentals, but also the fine points of cooking for the pleasure of Sri Krsna.
First edition copies of this great cookbook are long gone, and the reprint edition, with new cover design, has replaced it. First editions can be found on Ebay, and bring increasingly high prices.
One of the few missing elements in this great cookbook is detailed sub-indices on topics of particular interest to the devotees. For example, there are many wonderful references to Yamuna’s cooking pastimes with Srila Prabhupada, but one can’t easily search for them in the alphabetical General Index. These jewels can only be found as you read your way here and there throughout the cookbook. Because these little gems are our great favorites, we compiled the following index for easy reference.
Similarly, we’ve compiled topical indices for temple and family recipes referenced in the cookbook. Each index offers the recipe title and page number which correspond to the 1987 first edition. While page numbers may be slightly different in the later edition, you can easily find them by recipe title.
