Easy Indian Cooking [Paperback]

Suneeta Vaswani (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2004

Savory Indian recipes.

Indian cooking is exhilarating and exotic -- and now it's easier than ever. Although Indian dishes are richly flavored, they need not be complicated to create in an American kitchen. Easy Indian Cooking features 125 recipes that are easy for beginners and appeal to experienced home cooks. The authentic flavor of these easy-to-prepare recipes will delight and amaze.

Vaswani's repertoire of exciting and inspired recipes ranges from classic recipes from North and South India to favorites from her family and friends. Each one is adapted for North American home cooking.

Following the recipes in this book, any cook can create delicious dishes such as:

• Masala Coated Baked Chicken
• Pork Vindaloo
• Curried Spinach and Cheese (Saag Panir)
• Cardamon Scented Lamb
• Basmati Rice Layered with Fragrant Chicken
• Tandoori Shrimp

In keeping with traditional Indian cooking, Vaswani includes a significant number of vegetarian dishes. She also shares insightful cooking tips and her wealth of Indian cooking techniques. In addition, there are suggestions about where to find ingredients and spices and, if necessary, substitutions. Exploring the wonderful world of Indian cuisine has never been easier. Easy Indian Cooking is the perfect place to start.

(20040324)

Editorial Reviews

Review

[Vaswani's] simple recipes and concise explanations made the cuisine embraceable. (Dai Huynh Houston Chronicle 20071114)

I enjoy Indian food... but usually, preparing it at home is just too much work. Until I discovered [this book]. (Deborah S. Hartz South Florida Sun-Sentinel 20040708)

After 26 years demystifying Indian cuisine... Vaswani has published her first book... aimed at beginners, as well as experienced cooks. (Tina Danze Dallas Morning News 20040526)

A nice introduction... The best thing about the book is that the dishes... are indeed easy to make. (Marialisa Calta Newspaper Enterprise Association 20040411)

Makes Indian cooking manageable... not only simple flavorful recipes but also an informative synopsis of a complicated subject. (Janice Schnideler Houston Chronicle )

Presents more than 130 authentic recipes and demystifies their preparation with concise explanations of the basic cooking techniques. (Trenton Trentonian )

Includes an excellent explantion of spices, spice blends, and herbs including garam masala. (Kathie Smith Toledo The Blade )

Impressively thorough. Vasvani displays a depth of knowledge about regional foods. (Tara Duggan San Francisco Chronicle )

About the Author

Suneeta Vaswani was born in Mumbai, India and moved to the U.S. in the late 1970s. Based in Houston, she has written for Bon Appetit and is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP).

(20040324)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Robert Rose (April 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778800881
• ISBN-13: 978-0778800880
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #445,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional, April 3, 2004

By 

Jay P. Francis (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Easy Indian Cooking (Paperback)

I love the way the book is laid out, it is designed to make following the recipes fast and easy. There are three columns for each recipe, the left column has the measures listed in English units, the center column lists the ingredients, and the right column has the measures listed in metric units. The cooking instructions are excellent. The headnotes consist of information on the dish and tips for the dish. This is a cookbook by a teacher who knows how to put a recipe together.

Here's the beauty of the book, by way of example. How many times have you seen a cookbook recipe that calls for, say, "1 onion chopped"? What size onion would that be, exactly? Here in Texas an onion can be pretty big. In Europe, they aren't as big. What Suneeta has done is demystify the list of ingredients by using measures of cups, teaspoons, and tablespoons, or, metric weights. This is awesome! It makes the recipes foolproof. And it gives you a baseline for later changing the recipe up to suit personal tastes.

I own 5 Indian cookbooks, and I have read quite a few more. But this is the one that I default to.

I would recommend starting with the following:

Chicken in Cashew Saffron Gravy
North Indian Lamb Curry on Bread
Whole Baked Masala Cauliflower
Bell Peppers with Roasted Chickpea Flour
Dhokla (a fast and easy recipe using cream of wheat that produces beautiful results)
Split Yellow Peas with Tamarind Chutney
Gena's Kababs (flavored with green onions, ginger, cilantro, crisp fried onions)

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Indian Cookbook, November 6, 2004

By 

Mary E. Harvill (Spokane, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Easy Indian Cooking (Paperback)

I read an article in my local newspaper reviewing this cookbook with recipes. So I tried one of the recipes in the newspaper article..Chicken with Aromatic Spinach. My family loved it and they aren't Indian foodies. So, I bought this cookbook, my first Indian cookbook. It is a gem!

The recipes are easy to follow and recommend ingredients that are easily obtained at a "normal" American grocery store. The city where I live does not have a proliferation of "ethnic" grocery stores, so I especially appreciated this.

The recipes trend more heavily towards vegetables. There are short sections for chicken, seafood, pork and lamb. Though I am not good with breads and yeast, the bread recipes looked easy enough that I may venture an attempt at one or two of them.

I would have liked to see more chicken recipes. Perhaps the author is saving them for a second cookbook which I will definitely buy.

I heartily recommend this cookbook!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great recipes!, November 25, 2004

By 

H, Grammer (Lynn Haven, FL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Easy Indian Cooking (Paperback)

This cookbook has many of the traditional flavors I was looking for. Having never cooked Indian before, I appreciated the clear directions, and listing of spices, foods, and terms used in indian cooking. I use this book the most out of my four Indian cookbooks.