Fresh India: 130 Quick, Easy, and Delicious Vegetarian Recipes for Every Day

This recipe book has got to be one of the best recipe books ever. And I mean - the instructions are exactly on point. If the book says you'll fry onions for 15 minutes, you'll fry them for 15 minutes. I love to cook, and nothing gets under my skin more than recipes that say "fry an onion for 2 minutes until golden" and you KNOW that it takes at least 15 minutes to have a golden fried onion, and then in reality, you spend 15 minutes instead of 2 minutes as the recipe called for. So, with this book, it says 15 minutes, it's 15. It says 2-3 minutes, it's 2-3 minutes. I love it. All quantities are also exact. I've made a lot of recipes from this book already, and they have all been 100% on point. Meera Sodha has got to be simply the best recipe writer. The recipes themselves are delicious and fairly easy to make (probably too complicated for a person who only knows how to boil an egg, but if you've done an entree before, then you'll be able to follow these recipes just fine). That said, this is an Indian cookbook, so you'll need the spices (and a spice grinder to make it really top-notch) to make these dishes. This cookbook also has recipes on how to make things like paneer (cheese) from scratch or make your own spice mix (garam masala), and I've done both, and it was incredibly straightforward. I'm amazed that I managed to make my own paneer, and it's all thanks to this book. Lastly, the author lives (and was born) in the UK, and she has a Western understanding of ingredients (i.e. limit the butter, etc). In her recipes and the short notes above each recipe, she explains how she deviates from the traditional recipes, if she does, and I like her honesty and her humor. If you want a great book on Indian cooking, get this one. It is one of my favorite cookbooks of all time, and I have a hefty collection of cookbooks.

Great recipes. Easy to follow. Well laid out

I absolutely love this book. Firstly, it's beautiful. Which who doesn't want a beautiful well crafted cook book with colorful vibrant pictures? Secondly, the set up of the book is delightful. Meera gives nice anecdotes to go with each recipe and chapter and explains things with grace and ease. Secondly, I love her 10 tips and insights at the beginning. (Particularly the piece about practice practice practice and that not all chiles are created equal. TRUE.) Thirdly, I've found that the recipes are easy to veganize (for all my fellow vegans out there). The recipes are more straight forward and less complex compared to Vegan Richa's Vegan Indian cookbook, which is nice for weekday cooking. Finally, and I suppose most importantly, everything I've made is delicious, flavorful, not too heavy, and a real crowd pleaser. I cannot wait to continue cooking my way though this book! Thank you Meera for sharing your delicious goodness with us all.

I've been slowly cooking through the book over the past month. Easy to follow directions that warn ahead of time if you need a blender or food processor (which is not very often). The recipes have a lighter and fresher feel than traditional dishes. The only drawback is the lack of specific recommendation on pot/pan sizes (although you might get an idea from some of the 'action shots' in the book). I went out and bought a 5qt sauce pan to comfortably accommodate a couple dishes that had plenty of vegetables to mix in. I now recommend this book to anyone who will listen.

I was intimidated by Indian food. I loved to eat it but preparing it seemed beyond my limited kitchen skills. This book comes to the rescue with proven recipes and careful step by step instructions. Add it to your bookshelf and get ready for wonderful meals.

This cookbook received a lot of buzz and now I understand why. All recipes I‘ve tried so far have been delicious. My kids keep asking me when we‘ll have potato dosas again. Also some options that you won‘t see on a typical restaurant menu - like squash and black-eyed pea curry. Well written recipes and great flavor. Note that you will need some specialty ingredients but well worth it. Overall a great choice for a cook looking to delve into Indian cuisine.

I knew the author was great because East is one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. This one is another favorite already. Great flavors, easy to follow recipes, and approachable enough you'll actually use the book. We've made one recipe (paneer butter masala) twice this week and plan on making another recipe tonight

I was a HUGE fan of Made in India, so eagerly awaited the US publication of her follow up. And so far, it's been great. I made the tamarind eggplant curry, and grilled cabbage with coconut, both excellent. Being that eggplant is a favorite of mine, I was excited to see an entire chapter dedicated to eggplant. I like the organization of the book, breaking things down by main ingredient. Overall, I highly recommend both this and Made in India (which has meat recipes if you're into that).

Je découvre la cuisine indienne avec ces recettes. Tout ce que j'ai fait est super bon.

The story: Now the weather is cooling, it is time to cook warming wholesome foods, not just boring (in my opinion) stews with dumplings and the like, something more exciting and adventurous. I adore Indian food and have decided that my wholesome fare would be based on this cuisine. I have never cooked any Indian fare in my life and so a book or books able to teach/inspire me were the order of the day. I opted for Fresh India just because I liked the look of it Ü The book: Comprising of 302 pages in hardcover, with vibrant coloured front and backboards in orange, green and white, measuring H25.75cmx W20.25cmx D2.5cm. Meera’s introduction is a mere two pages long followed by a photo of her with, I presume, her mother and father (there is no reference to indicate who the companions are) her ‘mother’ has a wonderful homely smile that is so endearing! There are helpful Weights & Measures and How to Use This Book pages. 10 Ways to Raise Your Game in the Kitchen gives tips and reassurance regarding the certain aspects involved. The chapters are headed: Starters & Snacks, Roots, Squashes, Tubers & other things, Gloriously Green, Aubergines, Salads, Egg & Cheese, Pulses, Rice, Breads, Pickles, Chutneys & Raitas, Puddings and finally Drinks. Each chapter begins with a full page narrative pertaining to what is about to follow. This of course can be skipped if you’re ‘not interested in the back ground chat of the writer’ as one reviewer put it. Each recipe begins with an introductory note detailing the origin of the recipe, how it was developed and what other recipe(s) will compliment the dish. Again this can also be skipped to view the recipe immediately below. After the recipes there is a page dedicated to Indian Health Remedies, which is intriguing. The Recommended Suppliers page that follows gives details of online retailers. Then there is a Thanks page followed by the index. Another reviewer commented that ‘The recipes seemed tailored to the UK palate and some are at times odd combinations of ingredients. Certainly not authentic Indian vegetarian cooking’. I concur that some are not authentic; they are either Meera’s inspiration or her interpretation of familiar recipes. There is also the use of canned chickpeas, frozen peas and rapeseed oil. Whilst I may not advocate their use, the majority of people these days do not have the time to soak and boil dried beans, nor shell fresh peas. Rapeseed oil has a high smoke point and has less saturated fat than ghee. That stated, there is no reason why one can’t modify the ingredients for the more time consuming and possible cholesterol inducing versions (!) For example, I am vegan so for the Grand Vegetable Biryani I substituted the paneer cheese for firm tofu. Nothing is written in stone so there is nothing to stop the imagination and personal preferences from taking over. Substitution isn’t a crime, whether by an author or the person reading. The verdict: Looking at the recipes, there is too much salt being used (my opinion). Consequently, I have refrained from adding any salt at all and let the combination of spices and produce do the talking; so far it has worked. However, in the 10 Ways to Raise Your Game section, N°1 states Taste as You Go; if salt is an issue for you, ignore the quantity specified and TAYG! So far I have cooked, Sweet Potato Vindaloo**, Pumpkin, Black Eyed Bean & Coconut Curry and Grand Vegetable Biryani. Each one has tasted sublime. Vindaloo doesn’t have to blow your brains out with heat, it has to be flavoursome with a kick and this recipe fits the bill. The Pumpkin and Black Eyed Bean I kept going back for more and the Grand Vegetable Biryani is so colourful with an explosion of tastes. There are enough photographs for those who like pictorial narrative and viewing the end result, although not all recipes are represented. Bearing in mind that I have never cooked Indian food before, you could say therefore, I am easily impressed by this book. That is not the case. My mother, born and bred in Italy, I was used to Mediterranean flavours and having travelled to many foreign lands over the years have tasted a multitude of wonderful foods, I am not easily impressed and know what I like and don’t and I like this book very much. The recipes I’ve tried were excellent and there are a plethora of wonderful treats in store waiting for me to try and I am looking forward to the experience. An excellent, straightforward book, written with love and enthusiasm. **please note there is a typo in the recipe which calls for ¾ tablespoon of chilli powder, the bracketed narrative which follows states (or to taste). Therefore I have interpreted (this) as originally calling for ¾ teaspoon (or to taste), which is what I used and it worked perfectly. Of course, feel free to add ¾ tablespoon if steam pressure forcing its way out of your eardrums is your thing Ü

This is a great book for vegetarians or vegans looking to cook indian curries. I found the recipes inspirational and with a nice variety of different recipes. It is well illustrated and well written. I have tried several recipes and they've worked well. Some ingredients may be hard to find depending on where you live.

Recetas muy imaginativas y no excesivamente complicadas. Hay algunos ingredientes que no se encuentran en cualquier tienda o súpermercado (hojas de curry y de methi, por ejemplo), pero aquí en Amazon sí. A veces compro libros de recetas y sólo hago unas cuantas, pero de este libro haré todas, seguro.

I love Meera! I have all her books. Her recipes are easy with easy to source ingredients and taste amazing. More books soon please!