Notes about Recipes in this book

• Mango aubergine slices (Amchur baigan tukde)

  • Schooffiecooks on March 27, 2026

    Didn't fry the eggplant, but made a lasagna together with the tomato tamarind sauce!

• Salmon curry

  • Foodycat on April 04, 2023

    I cludged together this recipe and a similar one that she has on her youtube channel which uses cod - so instead of frying the fish and adding it to the curry, I just put pieces of cod on to the sauce for 5 minutes at the end. Really nice - definitely done within 30 minutes - very light and fresh-tasting.

  • Clog on September 03, 2023

    A beautiful combination of flavours and a real winner.

• Spicy tomato & prawn curry (Theeki tamatar zingha curry)

  • infoforerk on September 05, 2024

    Very quick recipe using the blender. Half the onion, double the garlic, plussed up the red chilis. Subbed sliced chicken breast for the shrimp. A light sauce, very full flavored. Probably even better with fish. Add some spring/summer vegetables like snap peas, diced squash, etc.?

  • Pandan on October 02, 2024

    Easy and fast dish, but quite a lot of liquid. I froze some leftover curry sauce without the shrimps to have again with some fried tofu or shrimps.

  • Beth891 on May 27, 2025

    Delicious! I swapped the whole chilli for a couple of tsp of steenbergs tikka masala spice and added half a low salt chicken stock cube and no black mustard seeds as I didn't have any. I also sauted the onions first before blitzing. I made the full quantity of sauce for 2, expecting to have half the sauce left but I probably ended up with slightly less than half sauce left. I would definitely make it again, it's full of flavour and speedy.

  • Clog on October 13, 2025

    Easy sauce to make and very tasty as is. Plenty of scope for experimenting with ingredients and flavours.

• Black pepper chicken (Kali mirch murg)

  • angrygreycat on August 23, 2022

    Super quick to come together and I loved the hot pepper bite. I have to admit I am a fan of black pepper anything so maybe I am biased. One kid loved it and the other didn't. Will make again

  • pomona on November 03, 2023

    The lemon/black pepper/mint flavour combination is so good. A nice quick dinner with rice and yoghurt and coconut sambal from the fridge.

  • infoforerk on September 14, 2024

    Pronounced pepper flavor was very good. Mint was a welcome different flavor.

  • crysta_63qusi on March 15, 2026

    Delicious and easy, but we can only handle 1/8 of the chilli powder.

• Butter chicken (Murg makhani)

  • angrygreycat on August 23, 2022

    Really great tasting butter chicken sauce. The proportion of sauce to chicken is a bit off. I would double the curry ingredients next time. Definitely will make again

  • ccanderson210 on September 18, 2022

    Lovely dish. We made with the spiced layered flatbread.

  • anya_sf on October 22, 2022

    Quick, easy, and very enjoyable. Lacking mustard oil, I used canola oil plus a little wasabi paste. The sauce was less creamy than some versions of butter chicken, but the butter flavor was there. I stirred in an extra tablespoon of cream. I just cooked 6 large thighs and there was enough sauce without being super saucy.

  • infoforerk on September 09, 2024

    Easy and fairly quick to make. Used mustard oil, Kashmiri chili powder and kasuri methi from Int'l grocery--made a difference. Mild heat, deep flavor. Could double the spices to good effect next time.

  • bob.mack on December 18, 2025

    I enjoyed this one. I didn't substitute any ingredients and I though it came out great.

• Korma-style chicken curry (Korma murg curry)

  • infoforerk on October 11, 2024

    Different type of curry. Very good. Uses blender to make very smooth sauce. Definitely shines with naan.

• Malvani-style chicken sabji (Malvani sukka murg)

  • anya_sf on February 03, 2024

    The spice "paste" was very liquid, but did cook down. The chicken was very heavily spiced (it probably didn't help that I only had 3 chicken breasts, not 4), so pretty intense on its own, but quite enjoyable when eaten together with Indian coleslaw, plain yogurt, and paratha. It would also be good with rice.

  • infoforerk on August 11, 2024

    Delicious spice mix even though I didn't have black cardamom or star anise (ONE each!). Next time cube chicken instead of thin slices so as not to overcook and less water. Maybe something thicker than water. Actually tastier the next day.

• Spinach chicken (Saag murg)

  • anya_sf on August 07, 2023

    Ingredient list is missing spinach

  • infoforerk on September 14, 2024

    Delicious. Pureeing with hand blender may not be strictly necessary if the tomatoes and onions are finely diced. Next time try frozen spinach or chopping spinach before wilting. Compare to Best Every Curry page 46 Chicken Saag.

  • infoforerk on November 11, 2024

    2nd time with frozen spinach. Still excellent. Upped spices by 25-50% and added a fresh serrano pepper.

  • anya_sf on December 03, 2025

    We enjoyed this very much with the tamarind and sesame seed rice, as recommended. I used 12 oz spinach, so increased the water to 150 ml, and had to turn the stove on for a few minutes to wilt the spinach.

• Masala chicken (Masala murg)

  • nomeshk on February 15, 2026

    Picture in the book doesn't match the instructions - photo shows whole chicken thighs, instructions tell you to cut thighs into pieces. The "marinade" is so thick and pasty it's basically a dough. Recipe as written gives no indicators or description of the correct texture. I added a bit more yoghurt to try and get it to coat the chicken. When pan frying, it took twice as long to cook through and the coating fell off in crumbly chunks. It did taste really nice, but I think it's a very poorly written recipe that assumes a lot of knowledge many cooks won't have. If someone else has made this with greater success, let me know where I went wrong!

• Mixed vegetable curry (Mix sabji)

  • anya_sf on October 22, 2022

    Very flavorful. I used the suggested vegetables but could definitely see using this recipe for whatever I had on hand.

  • Leo on January 06, 2024

    Really good base for a veg curry. Not tomato heavy which makes a change. Worth using the amchur which adds interest. I used chickpeas as well as the recommended veg.

• Spinach & potato sabji (Palak & alu sabji)

  • breadenthusiast on November 10, 2025

    Recipe also found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcM-L1b4oBA. Took me about 50 minutes, the potatoes needed to cook for a bit longer. Good flavour, easy to cook, will probably cook again on a weekday night.

• Garlicky mushroom sabji (Lehsun mushroom sabji)

  • pomona on June 11, 2023

    Delicious. I had it with the spinach onion pulao and it was great.

• Cumin & mango powder cauliflower pepper sabji (Jeera & amchur gobhi Shimla mirch sabji)

  • anya_sf on March 06, 2022

    This worked well using 1 lb frozen cauliflower florets, maybe 1 bell pepper's worth of frozen pepper strips (which were soft rather than crunchy as Chetna indicates the fresh ones would be), plus some frozen corn. The sweetness of the peppers and corn went well with seasonings. This was a good, quick, and easy side.

  • Schooffiecooks on March 27, 2026

    This one was soo good!

• Carrot & pea sabji Gajar matar ki sabji

  • Bloominanglophile on April 09, 2025

    This was easy and good--part of a 4-dish "Meal Plan" suggestion found in the back of the book.

• Paneer & pea masala (Paneer matar masala)

  • Logan92995 on August 11, 2024

    A little underwhelming, if I'm being honestly. It was missing just that little something extra to put it over the edge -- maybe some garlic,or umami would have made this one better for me.

  • ckpeters on May 03, 2025

    Preparation straight forward. Very bland. Definitely needs something to perk it up.

• New potato & tomato curry (Alu tamatar curry)

  • infoforerk on October 11, 2024

    Fresh tomato is wasted on this curry. Try 14.5 oz. fire-roasted, diced tomatoes next time. Increase spices and peppers. Try adding fish or sausage to make it a meal.

• Cauliflower & sugar snap pea curry (Gobhi aur matar curry)

  • anya_sf on September 27, 2023

    Simple, enjoyable, mild curry. I just had dried curry leaves (no idea where to get fresh ones) and used sweet potato instead of potato and (frozen) peas instead of sugar snap peas. We had it as a main over rice and topped it with chili sauce and plain yogurt for more flavor.

• Yogurt lentil curry (Dahi dal)

  • angrygreycat on July 21, 2023

    Needs a bit more chili or maybe just some chili crisp drizzled on top

• Beany stew curry (Rajma stew curry)

  • Logan92995 on December 14, 2024

    Just not very good and kind of flavorless. Second recipe I've made from this cookbook now that has disappointed

• Courgette moong dal with tomato tempering (Moong dal with tamatar ka tadka)

  • infoforerk on September 21, 2024

    Delicious! Subbed shredded Brussels sprouts for the zucchini.

• Pickle-spiced chickpeas (Aachari chole)

  • Foodycat on November 28, 2022

    Takes a well-stocked spice cupboard, but I have one so I was able to do this without buying anything. Smells absolutely gorgeous cooking, and tastes lovely.

• Black-eyed bean & mushroom curry (Roungy mushroom curry)

  • Clog on June 24, 2023

    Superb as leftovers - the flavours blend very well.

  • Bloominanglophile on April 09, 2025

    I didn't have quite as many mushrooms as I thought (some started deteriorating), but that didn't really affect the dish--it was still substantial. Part of a 4-dish "Meal Plan" recommendation found in the back of the book.

  • nomeshk on February 26, 2026

    Have made this multiple times, flavoursome and easy. I always go with the longer cook time to thicken the sauce.

• Mint & carom seed roti (Pudina & ajwain roti)

  • Bloominanglophile on April 09, 2025

    I thought these were very nice, and easy to make. One of a 4-dish "Meal Plan" suggestion found in the back of the book.

• Spiced layered flatbread (Lachha paratha)

  • anya_sf on February 03, 2024

    My first time making paratha, I had to watch a video on how to shape them, which was actually quite easy. Irish wholemeal flour seemed to work okay in place of chapati flour. Using ghee and Nik Sharma's chaat masala, these were quite flavorful. Now that I know how easy these are, I'll definitely try other flavors of paratha (garlic butter comes to mind).

• Tamarind & sesame seed rice (Imli & till ke chawal)

  • anya_sf on December 03, 2025

    I had slightly less rice but kept everything else pretty much the same, adding salt to taste. This tasted great with spinach chicken, as suggested, but would also be great with a less saucy dish since the rice was quite flavorful.

• Spinach onion pulao (Palak pyaaz pulao)

  • anya_sf on February 25, 2023

    Delicious rice dish with a hint of heat. Nice with the fish and lentil curry, but would be equally good with less saucy dishes, or even on its own, especially with raita.

  • pomona on June 11, 2023

    So easy, delicious and a great recipe.

  • infoforerk on August 11, 2024

    Delicious. Easy. Next time much less salt.

• Chicken & potato pulao (Murg & alu pulao)

  • angrygreycat on July 31, 2023

    I enjoyed this, definitely need a side dish like the cucumber raita. Makes a ton, way too much for the three of us, will probably cut recipe in half next time.

• Cauliflower pulao (Gobhi pulao)

  • Idril on January 30, 2025

    Pleasant with perfect reliable measurements as always from Chetna. Great separated grains with a nice subtle flavour and spice, no need to adjust the rice to liquid measurements for me. A good way to use up an elderly cauliflower. It’s maybe not the most exciting dish in the world but it’s a solid side. Served with palak paneer.

• Indian-style fried rice

  • anya_sf on March 06, 2022

    Amazingly, I had 900 g leftover cooked rice in the freezer, mostly basmati, which I figured was just right here. As written, this recipe is more of a side or base. I turned it into a one-dish main by using 14 oz green beans (just halved), some frozen peas, cooked chicken, cashews, and scrambled egg. I just used 1 tsp chili sauce for a hint of spice and needed to add a little more oyster and soy sauces. We really enjoyed this. I especially liked that it wasn't oily, yet still had good texture, and a large volume could be cooked all at once.

• Veg & egg noodles (Sabji & anda noodles)

  • Clog on October 13, 2022

    Very straightforward to put together, and a nice combination of flavours.

• Potato raita (Alu raita)

  • Bloominanglophile on April 09, 2025

    This was fine, but I prefer a more "yoghurty" raita. This one was more potato than yoghurt.

• Cucumber raita (Kheera raita)

  • anya_sf on February 25, 2023

    Not a fan of raw onion, I substituted green onion. I used Greek yogurt and removed the cucumber seeds so the raita wouldn't be watery. Very tasty, good with the spinach onion pilau and fish and lentil curry.

• Fish & lentil curry (Machali aur daal)

  • anya_sf on February 25, 2023

    I substituted brown mustard seeds for black. Hake isn't common around here, but TJ's had it frozen, which worked fine, although I had to remove the skin. The fish was super mild tasting, but fortunately the sauce had a lot of flavor. A more flavorful fish would probably be even better. This was delicious with the suggested spinach onion pulao.

  • infoforerk on August 21, 2024

    Very creamy and filling. Flavor is very good but the fish gets lost in the curry. Next time try sausage and add fresh or dried peppers with the onions.

• Yogurt chicken curry (Dahi murg curry)

  • anya_sf on April 18, 2022

    This had way more flavor than I expected from such a simple recipe. I can see why it's her kids' favorite.

  • bpmoucha on July 20, 2022

    Used whole, bone-in chicken thighs like she noted in the recipe description and simmered for ~45 minutes because I had extra time. The flavor was phenomenal! And for such a simple recipe.

  • angrygreycat on August 30, 2022

    No one was a fan. Was very bland. Won't be making this again.

  • ldebuys on April 26, 2026

    This curry wasn't necessarily very "special" tasting, but it was good, contained ingredients we always have around, and enjoyed by the grade school set. Very quick!