Entice With Spice: Easy Indian Recipes for Busy People [Hardcover]

Shubhra Ramineni (Author), Masano Kawana (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2010

Entice with Spice shows Indian food enthusiasts how to prepare delicious meals at home without spending hours in the kitchen. A first generation Indian-American, author Shubhra Ramineni has developed a no-fuss cooking style that re-creates authentic Indian flavors using easy techniques and fresh and readily available ingredients.

The Indian food lover will find nearly 100 recipes—from samosa to naan and mouthwatering curries—for easy-to-make versions of popular dishes from both the North and South of India. Throughout this practical book Shubhra shares tricks and shortcuts she has learned from her mother, who is from Northern India; her mother-in-law, who is from Southern India; family members in India, and professional chefs in the U.S. With a friendly, reassuring voice, Shubhra shows busy home cooks how simple it is to quickly prepare a homemade Indian meal that tastes wonderful, looks elegant and is healthy, to boot.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Engineer and Indian cooking instructor Ramineni entices readers with a beautiful cookbook full of traditional Indian recipes adapted for busy American kitchens. Beginning with thorough explanations, from terminology to spice mixtures, she provides time-saving suggestions and tips for preparing ingredients (including some unusual ideas, like using gram flour for a facial mask). Most recipes are accompanied by Masan Kawan's beautiful color photos, and cook-ahead instructions for storing and reheating are provided. From restaurant favorites like Chicken Tikka Masala and Mulligatawney Soup to new creations like Dad's Baked Salmon, the book is filled with mouth-watering recipes. In addition to vegetarian and meat-based entrees, Ramineni also includes beverages, desserts, breads, soups, and salads. Readers will appreciate substitutions for unusual ingredients, like lime juice instead of dried mango powder when making mint chutney. Complicated recipes are often accompanied by step-by step photos, making even stuffed dosas and paneer possible for the home cook. Readers seeking healthier recipes will appreciate that Ramineni has replaced ghee with vegetable oil and wields cream with restraint, though she doesn't sacrifice authenticity; samosas, for instance, are still fried. This may be the Indian cookbook that American foodies have been waiting for.
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Review

"[A]n excellent beginning Indian cookbook; highly recommended."—Library Journal

"Geared to suit the on-the-go lifestyles of today's professionals, Ramineni has produced a tantalizing collection of easy-to-prepare Indian recipes. Beautiful photographs of dozens of traditional Indian dishes are sure to whet anyone's palate."—ForeWord Magazine

"Shubhra is a great cooking instructor. She is teaching food she knows intimately, and yet she is always learning something new and bringing that to the kitchen. Her passion for Indian food and her ability to pass that on to her students is her greatest gift. She removes the mystery from Indian cooking and makes it easy, quick and tasty."
—Jason Cammack, Culinary Coordinator, Sur La Table

"Shubhra's approach to Indian cuisine is easy, straightforward, and utterly delicious. I have had the opportunity to work with her on a few Community events and her cooking style, the simplicity of the recipes, and the passion behind her work has made me a fan for life!"
—Nick Fisher, Whole Foods Market

"Engineer and Indian cooking instructor Ramineni entices readers with a beautiful cookbook full of traditional Indian recipes adapted for busy American kitchens. Beginning with thorough explanations, from terminology to spice mixtures, she provides time-saving suggestions and tips for preparing ingredients (including some unusual ideas, like using gram flour for a facial mask). Most recipes are accompanied by Masano Kawana's beautiful color photos, and cook-ahead instructions for storing and reheating are provided. From restaurant favorites like Chicken Tikka Masala and Mulligatawney Soup to new creations like Dad's Baked Salmon, the book is filled with mouth-watering recipes. In addition to vegetarian and meat-based entrees, Ramineni also includes beverages, desserts, breads, soups, and salads. Readers will appreciate substitutions for unusual ingredients, like lime juice instead of dried mango powder when making mint chutney. Complicated recipes are often accompanied by step-by step photos, making even stuffed dosas and paneer possible for the home cook. Readers seeking healthier recipes will appreciate that Ramineni has replaced ghee with vegetable oil and wields cream with restraint, though she doesn't sacrifice authenticity; samosas, for instance, are still fried. This may be the Indian cookbook that American foodies have been waiting for."—Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; Hardcover with Jacket edition (September 10, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804840296
• ISBN-13: 978-0804840293
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 9.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Asian > Indian

More About the Author

Hello....I am an Indian American rasied in the US on traditional Indian food. After completing graduate school, I would come home late, tired and hungry from work. Instead of constantly picking up food on the way home or resorting to a frozen meal, I decided to to learn how to quickly make tasty and healthy Indian dishes. Over the course of several years, I have compiled quick and easy Indian recipes from my mom and mother-in-law. Now I can quickly prepare a satifying and delicious Indian meal in minutes using easy to find spices at my local grocery store and basic cookware. I teach my quick and easy Indian cooking techniques at Sur La Table, Williams-Sonoma and Whole Food Stores. I hope you enjoy making my dishes and become pleasantly surprised at how easy Indian cooking food can be. Enjoy!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended, August 29, 2010

By 

Jay P. Francis (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Entice With Spice: Easy Indian Recipes for Busy People (Hardcover)

I've had the pleasure of taking some of Shubhra Ramineni's cooking classes here in Houston. So I've gotten to taste some of the dishes that I knew would be included in this cookbook when it came out. I came to this already being a 'fan-boy'of Shubhra's cooking. But what I am saying here comes from the heart as this book truly lives up to the promise. If you're on my gift list for Christmas this year, this is probably the book that's gonna end up in your stocking.

As cookbooks go, this one is an absolute delight for the eyes. It is full of exceptional 'how to' photographs. Heck, this book is just one wonderful page of appropriate and helpful photographs after the next. Check out pages 56 and 57 where Shubhra walks you through the process of making dosa.

First section I started working from when I got my copy was the section on breads. She answered so many questions in this book about the best ways to make Indian breads in the home kitchen. Chapati. Naan. Besan Ki Roti. Aloo Ka Paratha. Poori. And my favorite: the puffed up 'beignet' of Indian breads, the bhatura. Again, spectacular photographs, making this my default grab-this-off-the-shelf-first book on Indian cooking.

Yeah, the sub-heading of this book is 'Easy Indian Recipes for Busy People'. And the book stays true to that theme. She has done a first rate job of understanding the logic of how these dishes come together and communicating the preparation of the dishes in steps that are easy to follow and fairly fool-proof. One of the very nice touches is that most of the recipes come with recommendations on pairing with breads or other recipes in the book.

Page 33: Lentils. Photos of the 7 most common lentils with descriptive info.

I fantasize about doing a "Julie and Julia' with this book and making my way through all of the recipes. I'm an engineer and a lot of my co-workers are from India. It would be so much fun to make this or that, bring it into the office and be able to share something home-cooked with them for lunch. But where to start?

Well, I can highly recommend the following to start with:

Oven baked tandoori chicken with a side of lemon rice
Spiced fish and rice with cumin and peas
Masala scallops with tomatoes and onions
Cardamon chicken
Dhuli masoor dal which is a Punjabi style lentil stew
Pepper shrimp on a stick

Oh yeah, there's also this great section near the front of the book of 'Tips and Tricks'. Basic techniques, freezing and reheating tricks, an Indian ingredients section, followed by a section on home-made yogurts, chutneys and relishes. Again, with just the best darned photography you could hope for.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressed!, October 26, 2010

By 

Patricia Holyszko - See all my reviews

This review is from: Entice With Spice: Easy Indian Recipes for Busy People (Hardcover)

I am a beginner cook. Most meals I have cooked in the past for my family are bland. Sometimes, I feel the need to apologize at dinner time for what I served my family. In many families such as mine, cooking was not passed on because of lack of time. So recipe cards or recipe books are the only way of really making up for what was missed. Entice with Spice not only makes up for what I missed, but also shares an entirely different culture and way of cooking that I thought I would never get the chance to experience in my own kitchen.

Entice with Spice helps me cook the way I always dreamed about. My family is also eating more vegetables because they are seasoned tastefully. Some vegetables are even hidden in the sauces such as tomatoes and onions. So, my husband who is not a fan of tomatoes and my daughter who is not a fan of onions, eats them without even knowing they did. Green Beans, which usually taste like crunchy water to me transformed into a sensational vegetable that I couldn't stop eating.

Entice with Spice, transports me to India at the kitchen table, where I can easily imagine my family riding Asian Elephants at Sunset!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tasty, Easy Recipes, April 14, 2011

By 

William - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Entice With Spice: Easy Indian Recipes for Busy People (Hardcover)

I took one Indian cooking class and really enjoyed it because the flavors were so unique and interesting. I wanted to explore the cuisine more, so I bought this cookbook. It's a great book that has wonderful, but quite reasonable recipes in terms of simplicity and preparation time. The book lives up to its title.

I had to find out where our local Indian grocery was to get the new spices and herbs. I'd say I bought about a dozen new items that weren't previously in my spice drawer. Garam masala and carom seeds are my favorites of the new spices I've been using.

I've tried the following recipes:
Mint chutney
Cardamom chicken
Chicken tika masala
Fragrant chicken curry
Oven baked tandoori chicken
Lamb Kebabs
Dad's baked salmon
Fish curry
Potato and pea curry
Spiced cauliflower and potatoes
Mushroom and pea curry
Vegetables and coconut curry
Rice with cumin seed and peas

All of them have been really tasty. When I cook the fish curry again, I'll use a more delicate fish. I used cod and it seemed a bit hearty for the dish. Red snapper was in the recipe, but I had cod in the freezer.

My favorite is the "fragrant chicken curry." The mint and cilantro combination with the chicken was really superb.

When I was cooking for my wife, I cut out the cayenne pepper because she likes spices, but not the heat that cayenne gives. The recipes still tasted great without the cayenne. When I cook for myself, I use the cayenne as directed. Perfect for me. I like some heat.

Cheers.