Vij's at Home: Relax, Honey: The Warmth and Ease of Indian Cooking [Paperback]

Vikram Vij (Author), Meeru Dhalwala (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2011

The team behind the world famous Vij’s and Rangoli restaurants in Vancouver have an approachable follow-up to their award-winning, bestselling cookbook Vij’s: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine. The easily adaptable, versatile recipes in Vij's at Home are tailored for busy households like theirs. Meeru and Vikram share how to prepare flavorful vegetarian dishes that go from stove to plate in less than 45 minutes as well as easy Indian seafood, poultry and meat dishes that come together in 20 minutes then simmer while the home chef sits down with a glass of wine, or helps the kids with their homework. Interspersed throughout, the endearing couple share aspects of the home life of busy restaurateurs, who still manage to cook with their daughters, eat at the dining room table and throw parties for friends.

Pull up a chair—Meeru and Vikram invite you to dinner.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...it would be hard to imagine a warmer, more easygoing introduction to Indian cuisine in North America than the one put together by the Vancouver restaurateurs Meeru Dhalwala and Vikram Vij in their Vij's at Home: Relax, Honey"—Sam Sifton, The New York Times

"[Dhalwala and Vij] simplify Indian cooking for North American home cooks without sacrificing the integrity of the cuisine. ...A friendly, accessible book in which many cooks will delight. Recommended."—Library Journal

"this cookbook underscores how simple Indian cooking can be and how attainable it can be even on busy weekdays if you've got the basic ingredients on hand."—Portland Oregonian

“...easily among the finest Indian restaurants in the world”—Mark Bittman, The New York Times

"Vij’s is at once an excellent restaurant and a curious one, Indian without being doctrinaire about it, utopian without being political."—Sam Sifton, New York Times Magazine

About the Author

Vikram Vij was born in Indian and grew up in Amritsar and Mumbai. He studied hotel management in Salzburg, Austria, before moving to Canada to work at the Banff Springs Hotel. He opened the original 14-seat Vij's Restaurant in Vancouver in 1994.

Meeru Dhalwala was born in India but moved to Washington, D.C., at a young age. Prior to moving to Canada, she worked on human rights and international development projects. She and Vikram live in Vancouver.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre; 1 edition (April 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1553655729
• ISBN-13: 978-1553655725
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #622,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy and delicious March 18, 2011

By Redhead

Format:Paperback

I love this recipe book! I love Indian food but usually it can take a while to make. This is fast, simple, everyday food that is really delicious. I LOVE the brussels spouts recipe, paneer with spinach and tomatoes (I even made my own paneer) and the spicy cauliflower. Nothing hasn't turned out delicious! It is particular good for vegetarian options.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Indian cookbook for beginners or experts September 12, 2011

By Elina R.

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a great cookbook and guide for Indian cuisine. It includes beautiful photography of all the dishes and visual guides for preparing them. It has an especially helpful section on all the herbs and spices used in Indian cooking and the basics on how to prepare and combine them. This is great when you're improvising--which I often do. The books also suggests how to combine individual recipes together to create complete meals. I totally recommend!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm excited to try these recipes! March 12, 2011

By Seattle Cook

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just received "Vij's at Home" yesterday. I had pre-ordered it in September because I am such a fan of Vij's restaurants (Vij's and Rangoli in Vancouver) and the first cookbook by Vikram Vij and his wife, Meeru Dhalwala, Vij's: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine.

I'm not a vegetarian, but this new book has many vegetarian recipes that really look inspired. I'm excited to try them! I've lately discovered how easy it is to cook dried beans with my slow cooker; Vij's at Home has given me many ideas for making fabulous meals using cooked beans and lentils.

There are also chapters on seafood, poultry, and meat, including recipes for goat. Since we have markets in our neighborhood that sell goat meat, I may have to give it a try.

Besides all of the great-sounding recipes, there's helpful information about Indian ingredients and how to use them. This beautiful book makes Indian cooking very approachable for North Americans and I know we will enjoy many new recipes from it.

Now, if only Vikram and Meeru would open a restaurant in Seattle!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars He does it again! June 12, 2011

By Phil

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

After years of using his first cookbook, I jumped on the occasion to buy this one! Once again, the instructions are great and the food is just as tasty as you could ever want. Well done Vij!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Like everyone before me, FIVE STARS!!!! INCREDIBLE! July 27, 2012

By Ashley

Format:Paperback

This is THE greatest cookbook I've ever used or owned!

I cook from this every week, typically a few times a week. I can't get enough - EVERY recipe was a whopping success (though I too can't get the oven-baked chicken with yogurt recipe to not curdle, but it didn't matter - it tasted like heaven anyway!).

BUY EVERY RECOMMENDED SPICE/INGREDIENT. You can find them online, in specialty shops, or for the cheapest option, go to the Indian grocer!

I had never used kokum before - I had never even heard of it. NOW, it's one of my all-time favourite tastes! Amazing! :)

Same with amchur/amchoor ("green mango powder"). THIS is that TASTE you get when you eat out at an Indian restaurant but can never quite replicate it yourself at home. Well, you can when you have the right ingredients!

BUY the spices - it's really the only way your Indian food will taste Indian (not buying these spices would be like cooking Italian with garlic but missing out on oregano, basil, nutmeg....!). ;) It's really not that huge an investment if you shop around and find an Indian grocer (or try online). Stock up.

I've eaten at Vij's famous restaurant quite a number of times - THESE ARE THE DISHES THEY SERVE! :) So if you can't go in person, just get this book! It's so well-written - everything is explained in great detail. If you read it, you can do it! :) I also enjoy the anecdotes they share as to the genesis of some of the recipes.

The only drawback I've found is 'substitution'. If you decide to leave out ingredients (say a hard to find one), and/or substitute following their suggestions, it's never quite as good. But if you get the darn spices (just trust me on this!), you really CANNOT go wrong!...

Some of these recipes, once you buy the spices (which aren't that expensive! It's not like Safeway prices or anything!!!), are fantastically economical, too. And any lentil or pulse-based recipe is typically really high in fibre and good for you!

The other ENORMOUS benefit to this book is that you can cheat a little and cut back on some of the oil used, getting a lower-fat Indian meal. I can't think of anything better. All recipes also come with pairing advice (for casual meals, for dinner parties, and there's a separate section on wine pairings), so you don't really have to know ANYTHING except how to follow a well-written recipe! (You can do it!). :)

This book will make a lover out of anyone. Even the pickiest eaters I know, ones who don't like ethnic food, licked their forks clean! Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious Recipes with well rounded flavors November 28, 2011

By Regular Gal

Format:Paperback

Vij's recipes are so, so delicious and we are really enjoying working our way through this well illustrated book. This is a personal, family cookbook and you can feel Vij's generosity and warmth in the book, almost like going to his restaurant in Vancouver. The history of the recipes and the place they have in his life make this much more than just an offering of impersonal dishes. Also it is a pleasure to be able to quickly produce high quality Indian dishes at home, with well rounded flavors and a surprising variety of tastes.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing! October 6, 2012

By Woodsman

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've tried recipes from several Indian cookbooks, but the results have usually not quite matched my imagination or memories of flavors from restaurants. I've now tried nine vegetarian recipes from 'Vij's At Home' and every one has been excellent. I particularly like that most of the ingredients are widely available in northern climes - potatoes, green beans, mushrooms, spinach. While a few of the spices require a trip to an Indian market, most of the recipes can be made with only the spices available at your local grocery store. The cilantro chutney is addictive!

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite cookbook ever! March 11, 2013

By valerie paquin

Format:Paperback

I LOVE Indian food, but until I bought this book, my at-home attempts were blah. I have only tried the vegetarian recipes, so I can only comment on those. My comment is: AMAZING! I buy the real spices at World Spice Merchants (they have an online store, I believe). My main epiphany was that you need to add a LOT of the spices like cumin. And really go for it with the asofoetida. Does it smell awful when raw? Yes! But it is amazing when given a quick fry in oil before adding the other spices.

I have made my favorite recipes so many times that I feel comfortable substituting veggies and spices and using whatever canned tomato product I have on hand. My faves are coconut vegetable curry, baked brussels sprouts crumble, green beans potatoes and spinach in coconut curry, spicy cauliflower steak (I just cut up the cauliflower), yam and tomato curry, and curried deviled eggs. The recipes seem to take a while to cook at first, but I have improvised so many shortcuts that I can have dinner ready in 10-15 minutes with many of them--including washing and cutting veggies.

A couple of notes: Salt to taste; some of the recipes call for way too much salt for my taste. This is probably also true of the cayenne pepper. As listed, I would call these recipes 4 or 5 star, so just add the cayenne to taste. Most of the curries call for added water. This makes a thin, soupy sauce, so if you want a thicker sauce, just skip the water. For 2 people, I usually halve the recipes and still have leftovers for a day or two.

I cook from this book several times a week, so that most other cuisines have vanished from my house. I have never had anything bad from this book; everything has ranged from "really good" to "[drooling]".... I have never eaten at a Vij restaurant, but I'm sure they live up to the hype if this book is anything to go on. Read more ›