Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chilli paneer

  • Frenchfoodie on August 17, 2022

    This tasted good and looked great, really golden from the sauce and frying. I doubled the sauce and added chopped bok choi to make a main dish. Really simple store cupboard standby recipe.

  • Ganga108 on August 06, 2023

    A fabulous dish that tastes better than the restaurants. It is very easy to make from your pantry. I added garlic to the sauce, and will add some chopped red capsicum next time. The recipe specifies "chilli sauce" - I used sweet chilli sauce which is perfect. For other chilli sauces, check the sweetness level of the finished sauce and add sugar or sweet soy to balance it if needed. Served with Sprouted Brown Rice (India Gate). This rice is new to me and I am loving its nutty taste.

• Onion and tomato uttapam

  • Ganga108 on January 26, 2023

    This is an easy breakfast, snack or dinner (at our place) if there is batter ready-made in the fridge. I used this recipe as a base, added tempered mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves to the batter, as well as onions, chillies and tomatoes. The too-rough-chopped coriander was scattered over the top. I could have added more green chilli than I did. Delicious with a side of spinach for a quick weeknight dinner.

  • Ganga108 on February 08, 2024

    Uttapam this afternoon, with some fresh batter. Making 2 versions, this one with just tomato and onion, and one from Spice in the Kitchen with a mixed topping. They are so easy to make - fabulous fresh batter from the Indian shop and chopping the ingredients in a mini processor, it is just a matter of cooking them. Delicious! They give pizza a run for their money.

• Sambhar

  • Ganga108 on November 18, 2023

    I learned to cook sambar from S. Meenakshi Ammal, and her wonderful tutorials on traditional sambars in Cook and See. This recipe deviates from that traditional approach, and that makes me somewhat sad. Yet I am making it as I want to taste the difference. Note that it is best to soak toor dal for a while before cooking, and that it is likely to take more than 30 mins to cook. In Sambar you cook it until it is disintegrating, to create that tell-tale brothiness of sambar. Ammal is very specific about how vegetables for sambar are cooked. Makan doesn't address that at all. Ammal doesn't use onions either, although others might.

• Chana dal with luchi

  • Beth891 on July 28, 2024

    Tasty but not my favourite recipe. I skipped the chilli as cooking for a toddler and it was still very flavourful. I skipped the luchi and made naan instead and served with tandoori chicken and spiced basmati rice.

• Mussori dal

  • Ganga108 on January 30, 2025

    Excellent! So good. Eaten like a soup (YUM) or served with veg sabzi, chutney and rice.

• Misal pav

  • Yildiz100 on March 08, 2021

    400 ml water looked like too much at first but it thickened up nicely. Just watch the salt! I reduced to 1/2 tsp and it was plenty. Also, instead of adding the cooked potato at the same time as the tomato and water, I waited until the tomato and water had simmered a bit. I didn't want the potato to boil for too long and break down into a puree. Used a few spoons of canned tomato puree instead of fresh tomato and kidney beans instead of 3 bean salad. Next time I would double the recipe.

• Sticky Bombay chicken

  • inflytur on October 15, 2019

    Great. Chetna says to remove the skin but I plan to try skin on because I suspect the crispy skin would make the dish even better.

  • Beethoven26 on December 27, 2025

    We make this regularly with chicken drumsticks. Super easy and delicious.

• Vegetable pulao

  • Ganga108 on November 21, 2024

    A relatively easy pulao - just the chopping and sauteing of a few veg. The rice can be pre-cooked and veggies pre-chopped. There are good serving suggestions in the notes. It is very delicious (surprisingly so). A new favourite.

• Egg rice

  • Ganga108 on June 07, 2024

    A great way to use up left-over rice. It is a spicy version of how I'd make weekend brunch scrambled eggs for the kids when they were growing up, with rice added. It is very very good. (I will also add finely chopped vegetable, anything that needs using up.) Have made it with tofu scramble instead of eggs as well - quite good.

• Corn on the cob with lime and chilli

  • Ganga108 on January 21, 2024

    Divine. Also good to "roast" the kernels from the cobs in a pan, and sprinkle with the salt, chilli powder and lime juice before serving.

• Vegetable Manchurian

  • Ganga108 on June 19, 2023

    My friend made these after our discussion on Indo-Chinese food. She reports : Time consuming but surprisingly easy. Sauce was delicious, but balls not fully cooked through (despite extra cooking time), so I microwaved them for a few mins. Quite tasty but I think I would put grated onion or garlic in the balls next time, they lacked something. And will make smaller balls next time. But overall, quite successful!

• Ragda pattice

  • rhughes24 on December 29, 2021

    Similar (or the same?) as aloo chana chaat - love getting this at restaurants and very happy to be able to make it at home. This version is a bit mildly spiced so I double all the spices. Top with tamarind chutney and mint-cilantro chutney from this book, plus a tomato chutney I buy pre-made and sev.

• Masala papads

  • mjes on July 23, 2021

    Pappadums and their close relatives I usually have served with a variety of chutneys. This pairing with a fresh salsa is brilliant.

  • Ganga108 on January 02, 2024

    Brilliant! A gorgeous pre-dinner snack on a summer evening, eating outside. It is colourful and delicious with the chaat mix on top of the papads. Needs to be eaten immediately after the topping is applied so the juices don't soak into the papads.

• Masala chana chaat

  • inflytur on October 31, 2019

    A brighter version than what I get from my local takeouts. Delicious. Let onions sauté until golden before adding tomatoes and let the combination deepen in color before adding chickpeas. Blending the vegetables first is a nice touch.

• Chole

  • inflytur on April 21, 2020

    I made this after Ms Makan posted a video of preparing a version prepared in a pressure cooker with dried chickpeas. The flavor is rich, complex and not too spicy. It is definitely worth the time to look at the video before starting. http://chetnamakan.co.uk/chickpea-curry-chole-recipe/

  • Yildiz100 on July 28, 2024

    Very good! I can't decide if this is my favorite version of this dish. We'll have to do a comparison. As always, I reduced the coriander. Used 1 tsp.

• Potato and pea samosas

  • Frenchfoodie on February 22, 2026

    Dough was lovely to work with and these were tasty; good effort to reward ratio. I sprayed with oil and baked which worked fine.

• Tawa paneer

  • inflytur on October 22, 2019

    Absolutely delicious although spicier than other curries I’ve made out of this book. Next time I’ll use half the amount of chilli powder or the green chilli.

  • Shanria on February 27, 2022

    Yum with chicken instead. We cook 4x the sauce quantity. One of my favourite recipes.

• Mango lassi

  • Frenchfoodie on February 21, 2026

    Did not love this, made with alphonso mango puree it was too sweet and one dimensional.

• Masala chai

  • rhughes24 on December 29, 2021

    I sometimes cut back on the sugar if I am being health-conscious, but the recipe as-is is so good! Use Assam tea.

  • jdub1371 on August 25, 2022

    I made this with CTC Assam (very finely cut and curled tea leaves) and it was a bit too strong; regular whole-leaf Assam (or less of the CTC) would likely work better. As I like a spicier Masala Chai I would boil the spices for a few minutes before adding the tea and also add a small piece of cinnamon stick. As written it is barely sweet which is just right for me. Milk level was good too.

• Tomato and date chutney

  • Beth891 on July 28, 2024

    Delicious! I was missing a few of the whole spices (apart from the fennel seeds) so added ground instead and skipped the chilli. I used cherry tomatoes instead as I had a punnet that needed used up. This made the whole thing a bit sweeter so I added tamarind at the end for a bit more tang. I added a bit less water and cooked it a bit faster as I was short on time and it was still really good. Definitely one to make again

• Tamarind chutney

  • Foodycat on August 20, 2018

    Excellent. A very well-balanced sweet/salty/sour/hot blend. I drizzled it on bhelpuri, but I might have to make some other snacks as an excuse to eat it.

  • pomona on June 09, 2019

    why won't this note save as not a personal note?

  • rhughes24 on December 29, 2021

    A great, flavorful tamarind chutney. I usually end up adding more water to thin it, as this comes out quite thick.

• Mint chutney

  • rhughes24 on December 29, 2021

    Very good. Do pay attention to the quantities of herbs - I used way too many herbs one time and the consistency was off.

• Chaat masala

  • inflytur on October 31, 2019

    It isn’t difficult to make this spice mixture yourself.