• fbcd on July 03, 2022

  This book is also available in The Madhur Jaffrey Cookbook, where it is accompanied by Eastern Vegetarian Cooking.

• nomadchowwoman on January 05, 2010

  I taught myself to cook Indian food with this book.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Lamb cooked in dark almond sauce (Badami roghan josh)

  • dimayhill on April 12, 2022

    Quite nice, will cook again

• Pork chops à la Jaffrey

  • swiand on March 22, 2026

    This was a nice Indian tasting American dish (as described by Ms. Jaffrey). Unfortunately, the family did not like it as much as I did.

• Marinated broiled chicken

  • tmitra on July 10, 2017

    Better grilled!

  • allisonsemele on January 28, 2021

    With the vinegar, this tastes a little surprisingly reminiscent of barbecue sauce. I pulled this out a little early, because the chicken was getting VERY dark, and I was worried about it acquiring a scorched onion taste, but it could have stayed in longer. Very good and pretty easy--will make again and try on the grill.

• Chicken Moghlai

  • fbcd on July 03, 2022

    Delicious! A dish for company and special occasions because it takes time to prepare, but it benefits from sitting a few hours before being reheated and served, so it is great for company meals.

• "Butterflied" leg of lamb, marinated and barbecued

  • Thredbende on September 07, 2011

    This is delicious. I use this recipe to change the minds of non lamb eaters to ardent fans.

• Kidney kabab

  • mcvl on December 25, 2018

    I made this for Christmas dinner -- used the yogurt mixture as a sauce rather than a marinade, and cooked the kidneys halved rather than cubed. I might decide to make this my regular Christmas dinner. Now that my husband has turned vegan, I am free to establish whatever traditions I like for myself.

• Marinated pork chops

  • Dannausc on July 02, 2018

    I cut the pork chops into chunks and cooked it in the marinade in a skillet. It was quite good.

• Green beans with ginger

  • mjes on April 26, 2018

    Getting ready for next month's cookbook club with a review of the first Indian cookbook I ever owned. This is a favorite recipe from the book. Ginger and green beans is a natural winner. I began making it less often when I learned the Thai version with coconut milk added (Beef with string beans and fresh ginger from Keo's Thai Cuisine by Keo Sananikone). However, this version remains in my active repertoire for the versatility in what it will accompany.

• Cabbage with onions

  • nina_rilqer on April 11, 2026

    Used red cabbage for delightful color, added raisins. The late stage addition of fried onions/ginger etc paste didn’t work for me (didn’t fry up correctly), possibly due to user error (I cut back on the oil and replaced the 1/2 onion with a leek). I’m also not convinced it was necessary.. or at least not worth dirtying a second pan

• Carrots and peas with ginger and Chinese parsley

  • clcorbi on August 21, 2017

    This was all right--all the spices were nice, but the veggies got a bit mushy for my taste, especially the peas. I think this type of dish just isn't my favorite.

  • nina_rilqer on April 11, 2026

    Solid. PreK crowd devoured. Note: today’s freezer section peas are not the same as those Jaffrey was cooking with in the 1970s. Wait to add peas till the very end, not midway through like she suggests.

• Cauliflower with ginger and Chinese parsley

  • allisonsemele on January 12, 2026

    Not bad—very similar flavors to the roasted cauliflower in Vegetarian India which I make at least once a year. It was possible to cook an entire cauliflower in a 10” skillet, but cumbersome.

• Cauliflower with onion and tomato

  • clcorbi on February 15, 2018

    Delicious, but the spices in this dish are VERY assertive.This dish is very tasty though so I'd definitely repeat. I served it over rice, but next time it'd make it as a side dish with something milder, like a dal, or else at least a cucumber raita to cut through all the strong, spicy flavors.

  • allisonsemele on November 18, 2020

    Delicious and easy. This might become my new go-to Indian cauliflower recipe. I did cut the oil down to a third cup, but will try again with the full amount to see if it makes a big difference.

• Mushrooms with cumin and asafetida

  • clcorbi on September 01, 2017

    Very tasty and simple to throw together on a weeknight (especially if you buy pre-sliced mushrooms). I would serve this with naan next time since it's quite saucy.

• "Dry" potatoes (Sookhe aloo)

  • bigwerk on June 14, 2011

    this is a great filling for Samosas

• Potatoes with asafetida and cumin

  • nhhale on June 02, 2026

    Has become a favorite, though we always add a small onion, finely minced, to the oil before frying the spices.

• Chicken biryani

  • Dannausc on July 03, 2018

    Good but not worth the effort.

• Canned chickpeas with garlic and ginger

  • lorloff on August 14, 2013

    Delicious. I used purple potatoes and chopped them and only par boiled them slightly. Also boiled down the sauce to thicken at the end.

  • clcorbi on August 21, 2017

    Agree that this is delicious. I made this with yukon gold potatoes, and used only three potatoes because it seemed there were more of them than the chickpeas--I'm guessing that in the UK potatoes are a lot smaller. Anyway, I also didn't bother boiling the potatoes before dicing--I just peeled and diced them, added them to the curry, and let the whole thing simmer for an extra 20 min or so until everything was nice and tender. The flavor is really nice, verging almost on too salty, but if you are serving this over rice then it's perfect. Next time I would add a bit of tomato paste, not just tomato sauce, to up the tomato flavor a bit.

• Masoor or arhar dal with vegetables

  • JuneHawk on May 21, 2024

    This has good flavor. Could use more heat, but that may be because I used Kashmiri red chilies, which are not very hot. Do note that the cooking time may change drastically depending on your masoor dal. I used masoor gota (without skins) and my dal was cooked in 20 minutes, versus the recipe's 1.5 hours.

• Yogurt with spinach

  • Dannausc on July 03, 2018

    I used this recipe for inspiration. I used arugula and beet greens in place of the spinach, as that’s what I had on hand. I didn’t have enough yogurt so I used about 1/3 sour cream. I added a T. of lemon juice. It was pretty decent.