The Indian Vegetarian Cookbook

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A dal can easily anchor a vegetarian meal, and it’s very versatile: thinned a bit it becomes a soup, let it thicken and it’s a stew you can serve over rice or with flatbreads, let it thicken some more and you can shape it into patties and fry it, or turn it into a ‘base’ on which you can place interesting toppings — think strips of roasted red peppers, diced boiled egg tossed with herbs, runny poached egg sprinkled with chili flakes and nestled in a hollow on top of the dal, spiced lamb meatballs, grilled summer squash etc. For example: the oven roasting technique that some recipes use is a great alternative to roasting the vegetable in the traditional, laborious way; especially if you are trying to cook while balancing multiple other priorities in a given day. The recipes are clearly written, super tasty, and surprisingly easy to throw together my nine and six year old daughters often help out ! India has the world’s largest vegetarian population so it’s little surprise that it leads the world in veg-focussed cuisine that’s so packed with flavour it’s hard to miss the meat or fish. The end result is a soft, deeply flavored dal with bits of crunchy fried shallot and a faint zing from the chilis (most of the heat is cooked out during the simmer, but there’s still a bit left).

Though it lacks stylistic pizazz, it is packed tightly with excellent recipes, pairing suggestions, practical advice and cultural insights. I love the author's extensive introduction and commentary throughout the book, especially where he weaves in anecdotes from his childhood and family life.So I end up with an expensive jar of unicorn hairs or toasted phoenix feathers which sits rebukingly in my cabinet for months, if not years, to come. For those living their lives out of vegan and vegetarian cookbooks, this could prove a definitive volume on their shelves. This should be fine if you are a lacto or a lacto-ovo vegetarian, but tough luck if you are a vegan.

MADHUR JAFFREY is the author of many previous cookbooks--seven of which have won James Beard Awards--and was named to the Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America by the James Beard Foundation.Jaffrey explores vegetarian cooking in India through regional and modern dishes, presenting uncomplicated recipes with flavor and history. Madhur Jaffrey also does not fall prey to one thing that I have come to abhor with other Indian cookbooks - the recipes get watered-down to be more accommodating. Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item.

We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. It was easy and fast enough that I made it during the before-school rush on a weekday morning, and it was so good that I made a second, larger batch the same day to have it on hand. I am less concerned about the authenticity of recipes than I am about the tastiness, variety, and difficulty of the recipes.With more than two hundred recipes, beautifully illustrated throughout, and including personal photographs from Jaffrey's own travels, Vegetarian India is a kitchen essential for vegetable enthusiasts and home cooks everywhere. Pushpesh Pant simplifies this hugely popular cuisine with easily achievable, nourishing, and authentic dishes. The regional chapters allow readers to build up culturally-connected menus with ease too – Baljekar’s recipe introductions frequently include directions to appropriate accompaniments. Jaffrey travels from north to south, and from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal, collecting recipes for the very tastiest dishes along the way. Featuring sections such as First-Timer Recipes and Kid-Friendly cooking this is the perfect cookbook for the novice Indian cook who wants to get their whole family involved in meal prep.