• Ganga108 on April 29, 2024

  What a very special book! It is one of my favourite cookbooks that I have at home. I've cooked over 1/3 of the recipes, and they are both easy to cook and delicious. The recipes are gently spiced, so suitable for a wide range of people. But for me, I increase the spice levels, and dial down the garlic. He uses a lot of garlic!

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Roasted aloo chat

  • Ganga108 on June 12, 2023

    My first foray into this book, and of course this chaat is delightful! Make more potatoes than you need, they are wonderful with other dishes too.

  • Ganga108 on April 14, 2024

    Made this again. Truly it is extraordinary. Indian street food at home. Take your time as you need to also make 2 chutneys (5 mins for one, 20 mins for the other) and chaat masala and garam masala (5-10 mins each). Or you can just buy the masalas and chutneys. The potatoes are simmered for 8-10 mins then roasted for 40. I added all the toppings listed, plus radish sliced thinly. We devoured it. One of the chutneys is slightly sweet (the date chutney) which adds a wonderful contrast.

• Tofu tikka

  • Ganga108 on May 16, 2024

    The recipe uses a non-dairy yoghurt which takes 12 hours fermentation time (or use store-bought). Tofu requires pressing for 1 hour and then 12-24 hours marination time, and bamboo skewers need to be soaked for 1 hour before use.

  • Ganga108 on May 17, 2024

    This recipe caught me out a couple of times with its non-dairy yoghurt, tofu pressing and marination, and bamboo skewer soaking times. One of those times when you wish they'd print these things in capital letters at the top of the recipe. I was totally over the dish before I got is skewered and into the oven. Luckily it was Ok with coconut rice, coriander chutney and a crisp salad. But I won't make it again, it is all too fiddle-faddle. (If I was to make it again, I'd marinate the ingredients separately so that it is easier to interlace them on the skewers.)

  • bfurrow on April 23, 2025

    My rating seemed to get messed up but it’s a 4/5! I liked this recipe a lot. I used metal skewers to save time. The marinade is delicious and it turned out exactly as described in the time promised. I also made my own garam masala and chat masala. Delish!

  • kirstin_fz9aio on April 07, 2026

    If you are feeling lazy. You don't have to marinate for 12 hours and you don't have to put things on skewers. Just spread everything out on a sheet, tray and air fry it or bake it at a high temp. It comes out the same and you don't have to worry about fussy skewers

  • robin_gemtnj on May 11, 2026

    This was a delicious recipe to add to a mixed plate.

• Chili cauliflower and tofu

  • Ganga108 on June 18, 2023

    We've been discussing the IndoChinese sub-cuisine of India lately, and its delicious dishes. Our local TV station had a feature on it, but called it Chindian. A quick check of local restaurants confirmed that IndoChinese is the favoured term in Australia. So friends and I are cooking IC dishes this weekend. This dish is gloriously convenient as it bakes the key ingredients rather than battering and deep-frying them. A slight decrease on flavour but a big plus on health and convenience. A fabulous dish.

  • Acarroll on March 30, 2025

    This was delicious. Alliums took much longer to brown than the book stated, and tofu and cauliflower were done much quicker than the book suggested. Great flavor, served with rice. Next time I'd try half dark and half light soy sauce, and only one ice-cube size worth of garlic.

• Kale and broccoli pudla

  • Ganga108 on June 12, 2023

    I love pudla/cheela and it is so easy to make. I'll often make it for a snack or a quick lunch with a salad or vegetable topping. Making it with greens and broccoli amps up the nutrition, and mixing the batter in the blender was quick and easy. Why hadn't I thought of that before? I always mix it by hand.

• Makai no chevado

  • Ganga108 on April 17, 2024

    Very nice, and easily made. A hug in a bowl, says the author.

• Handvo

  • Ganga108 on May 12, 2024

    I have tried twice to make the batter but it has not fermented either time. Checking other recipes, they include yoghurt in the batter, and no doubt this helps with fermentation. Dosa batter, which is similar, uses urad dal, and sometimes fenugreek seeds to aid fermentation. I plan to try again, perhaps by adding some yoghurt. Also, https://www.amrita.edu/news/chemistry-of-dosa/ indicates some salt helps fermentation, altho this goes against common knowledge. Another thing because the bacteria that produces fermentation, washing the rice and lentils beforehand can remove them (I washed them well, so won't do that next time). More info: Using chlorinated water kills the wild yeast. Use bottled water instead of chlorinated tap water.

• Sweet corn soup

  • Ganga108 on April 22, 2024

    Delicious! Surprisingly so. It's made rustically as I was running out of time, but it is just as flavoursome. It has India (chilli paste, cumin, black pepper, ginger, garlic, peas) and sort-of China (soy, rice vinegar, corn, spring onions). Just more-ish. (Easy to make.)

• Creamy masala tomato soup

  • Ganga108 on May 06, 2024

    Yum yum yum! I cooked it in the instant pot (steps 5 and 6). Delicious!

• Quinoa kachumber

  • Ganga108 on May 02, 2024

    India doesn't do a lot of raw veg salads, but kachumber is an exception. Usually made with a base of dal, this recipe uses quinoa for a nice twist. Mine is "greener" than the pic in the book as I didn't have red capsicum and used green. Lovely. Fresh.

• Garam masala and papad salad

  • Ganga108 on May 08, 2024

    Lovely! Crisp and delicious. You need to make Garam Masala, Chaat Masala (optional) and a cashew - garam masala dressing (delicious) so allow 35 or so minutes for that. Then the salad comes together quite quickly as you slice the ingredients. I added some thinly sliced fennel and some pomegranate kernels (instead of pistachios) as they needed to be used up; they were delicious additions. (The book's pic looks different to the final dish, but is still recognisable.)

• Citrus, fennel, and white bean salad

  • Ganga108 on May 05, 2024

    Fabulous salad. I didn't have any citrus (the oranges and grapefruit in the garden are not quite ripe yet), so I layered citrus flavours with what I did have. I used cumquats and the grated zest of makrut limes (both of these are ripe), powdered dehydrated oranges, nasturtium leaf powder, and an orange-and-herb powder (powders all home grown and home made). Plus the lime juice in the dressing (the limes are just ripe). I added some garden herbs and flowers. After all, despite having 2 Indian spices in the salad, it is not really an Indian dish, right? More mid-western America, as he says.

• Butternut squash chana nu shak

  • Ganga108 on April 11, 2024

    I converted this recipe to the instant pot. I cooked the chana dal for 11 mins HP, NR. Then sauteed the ingredients as specified in a cleaned IP bowl on saute, added the dal, other spices and pumpkin at the same time and cooked for 3 mins HP, QR. Perfect. In fact it could have been 2 mins to retain some bite in the butternut. Wonderfully delicious. Next time I might saute the pumpkin a little to add a roasted flavour.

• Methi bataka nu shak

  • Ganga108 on May 09, 2024

    A potato dish with a "coating" gravy, quite lovely.

  • robin_gemtnj on May 15, 2026

    I love this recipe! It was why we chose to make Indian last night. I could even double the methi next time.

• Roasted bhinda

  • Ganga108 on April 07, 2024

    Spicy and good. I had to cook it longer than specified before mixing with the spices. TBH, I usually prefer okra snacks when they are battered and deep-fried (who doesn't love deep-fried snacks), but these are also quite good and add a great textural contrast to a Vegetarian Indian meal.

  • hbakke on May 17, 2026

    Great flavors! I used not-the-freshest okra and was disappointed in the fibrous texture. I will make this again with fresh okra.

• Ringan na palita

  • Ganga108 on April 27, 2024

    Nice tasting, but the spice paste tended to fall off after cooking, as I was removing them from the pan and turning them over. Next time I'd cook the bottom in a pan then put under the grill to cook them through. I needed to add more oil as the eggplant soaked it up, so they were a little too oily. My preference is to cook eggplant on a higher/high heat than the author states, to stop them soaking up oil. I'll do that next time. (perhaps my stove has a lower temp for med-low than theirs.) Also, of course they are a bit soft, as eggplant can be when cooked, so they are difficult plating. The taste of the spice paste is nice, but it's a rare recipe from this book that I haven't rated a 5. There are better eggplant recipes.

• Green bean poriyal

  • Ganga108 on April 12, 2024

    Most excellent!

• Sambharo

  • Ganga108 on May 02, 2024

    A gorgeous salad that can be made with green or red cabbage or Brussels sprouts. I used Brussels sprouts. It is quickly sauteed with spices so that it doesn't have that raw taste, but retains some crunch. I have a similar recipe that I make that uses julienned beetroot and carrot, which is also divine.

• Marcha nu shak

  • Ganga108 on May 13, 2024

    Stunning. I love this dish.

• Rasavala baby potatoes with greens

  • Ganga108 on April 01, 2024

    A Gujarati shaak, rasavala style (prepared in gravy). Delicious. Easy to cook the potatoes (8 - 10 mins HP for new potatoes, depending on size and if cold from being in the fridge) and spices in the instant pot and add the greens after on the saute function, following the recipe. I used a lot of greens from the garden, and cooked sauteed okra to go with.

  • katiesue28 on March 03, 2026

    I enjoyed this, and was a great way to use up some languishing greens in my fridge. Not my favorite from this exceptional book, but still worth a cook every now and then.

• Tindora

  • Ganga108 on April 26, 2025

    it is rare to get tindora here, so when I saw some I grabbed a bag. This is the last of them, a great, easy dry curry. The lime juice is essential. Loved it a lot. I've been told that this curry goes really well with Dal Fry and rice ??

• Mattar tofu

  • Ganga108 on April 20, 2024

    Extremely delish. Warm but not spicy hot. Amp up chillies if you want it hotter. The tofu is good enough to eat on its own. I froze it first, then pressed it for 15 mins. It is sauteed with fennel seeds and cumin seeds till light brown and crispy. Sensational.

  • katiesue28 on December 02, 2024

    This was delicious! I'm not vegan, so I debated using heavy cream instead of making the cashew cream, but I decided to follow the recipe and I'm so happy I did! A really beautifully spiced curry. The sauteed tofu had more flavor than paneer! I added a couple minced serranos with the garlic and ginger in the masala for an extra kick.

  • robin_gemtnj on May 15, 2026

    This recipe does require making the Tomato Onion Masala ahead of making the recipe so that is either something the prep ahead of time or add another 20 minutes to the cook time. Though we cut down on the cook time my airfrying the tofu cubes while we made the sauce so we didn’t need to brown them in the skillet making it all work in a single pan.

• Shahi gobi

  • Ganga108 on May 05, 2024

    Leave plenty of time to make the Tomato Onion Masala and cashew cream, and roast the cauliflower (or do them ahead of time). This is one of those recipes where the pic doesn't match the recipe - if you look closely there are dried rose petals on top of the dish. Also the cauli is not stirred through as the recipe instructs. I can't see the nut cream poured over top. Tastewise? quite delicious of course, and loved the nut cream with saffron, cardamom pods and rose water.

• Chhole/chana masala

  • Ganga108 on May 12, 2024

    Nice. Not as good as my Lahore Chole, which I adore and must convert to Instant Pot. But good and extremely easy if you've made the tomato-onion paste in advance.

  • katiesue28 on October 16, 2025

    A huge hit, once again! Super easy and makes a delicious, healthy meal. I added some lime juice at the end to make it pop. Love this cookbook.

• Rajma

  • Ganga108 on April 07, 2024

    Without doubt, this is the most delicious kidney bean curry I have tasted. I couldn't get Kashmiri kidney beans, so just used ordinary ones, cooked in the Instant Pot.

• Palak tofu

  • Ganga108 on January 21, 2024

    Spinach and tofu is a great pairing, and it is no wonder that people are beginning to connect the pair in Indian recipes. Here it replaces paneer the classic dish Palak Paneeer. I love this book a lot, and this is another winning recipe. I think you could easily replace the tofu with paneer, if you prefer. It does have a wonderful texture and flavour, suited for this dish.

  • katiesue28 on August 21, 2025

    This was absolutely delicious. I made the optional cashew cream to up the richness, also used ghee instead of the olive oil because I love its flavor. So, so good. Probably the best palak tofu/paneer I’ve ever made.

• Tadka dal

  • Ganga108 on March 28, 2024

    This recipe also has a pressure cooker/Instant Pot variation, so that is what I am making. My goodness, so delicious! Chopping, sauteing, up to pressure, cooking, natural release - ready in about 35 mins. I used both alternatives - added greens and used mustard seeds and curry leaves. Served as suggested with roasted okra and rice.

  • hbakke on May 17, 2026

    Very good. I added kale, black mustard seeds, and asafoetida as suggested in the variations. We both enjoyed this quick dinner.

• Gujarati dal

  • Ganga108 on April 07, 2024

    Warming, satisfying, tasty, comforting, beautiful dal. Soaked the dal 10m in boiling water, drained, cooked in the Instant Pot 10m HP, 10m NR. Perfect for Indian dishes. Did I say delicious? Yum.

• Sambar

  • Ganga108 on April 10, 2024

    This sambar recipe uses drumsticks (moringa pods), but I haven't seen any around lately, so I used my 2nd favourite veg for sambar - Eggplant. I learnt to cook sambar from Meenakshi Ammal's ancient books, Cook and See (4 volumes). Boy, does she have rules about sambar. But she also walks you through different ways to make a "proper" sambar. Shukla is not South Indian, so takes some liberties of course (according to Ammal), but of course it is still extremely delicious. Tadka of mustard seeds, asafoetida, garlic, curry leaves. I cooked the lentils (toor dal) in the Instant Pot the other day when making dal, and froze them till making this recipe. Served with rice for a quickish, simple meal.

• Whole moong dal

  • Ganga108 on December 11, 2023

    Making a double batch of this wonderful dal today. The aroma while it is cooking is amazing. The dal is wonderfully, heavily spiced with layers of flavour. Yum.

  • Ganga108 on December 11, 2023

    Note there is a tangy variation for this recipe that is not listed in the EYB Notes.

• Dal makhani

  • Ganga108 on April 29, 2024

    Delicious! I cooked it and then left it on the slow cooking mode on the Instant Pot till dinner, as dal makhani benefits from long, slow cooking. However I snuck a chef's pleasure - an early bowl to myself. Being from #PlantBasedIndia , it forgoes butter + cream, replacing them with vegan butter and cashew cream. While it is nice, I miss the luxuriousness of lots of real butter and the wonder of real cream. I stuck to the book tho, and my nutritionist will thank me (she doesn't think anyone should eat dairy, even cheese ?? ) This recipe is quite tomato-y but I don't mind that. The author of this book generally tends to under-spice things, and uses a lot of garlic. I cut down on the garlic and up the chilli and pepper levels.

• Rasam

  • Ganga108 on April 27, 2024

    I converted this recipe to the Instant Pot, using uncooked toor dal. I soaked the dal in boiling water for 10-15 mins, then cooked the rasam for 15min HP and 10min NR. Although a lovely and easy way to make rasam, I found this rasam very lacking in flavour and none of the thickness that the optional toor dal usually gives. So back to my usual and loved rasam recipes, and will also convert those to IP when I can. My favourites are by Meenakshi Ammal. After all, rasams are supposed to be very tangy and spicy. BTW, if you are making this recipe, puree the tomatoes. They wont break down in the extremely short time the recipe suggests. I think it needs either more toor dal, or more spices a la Rasam Powder.

• Mint pea rice

  • Ganga108 on April 16, 2024

    Another winning recipe from this book. Extremely easy to make if you use left-over rice.

• Butternut squash and mushroom biryani

  • Ganga108 on June 09, 2024

    Oh my, a lot of work. Leave yourself a morning or afternoon to get this done. I haven't used so many bowls and utensils for a long time. I am glad I made it. I may never make it again. There is beautiful layering of sweet warming spices though. It is quite delicious. I made it in a terracotta pot sealed with foil, so need a lot longer in the oven to get piping hot.

• Coconut brown rice

  • Ganga108 on May 22, 2024

    Excellent! I used a medium grain brown rice, as brown basmati is hard to get atm (India's restrictions on export of rice), and cooked it in the Instant Pot before mixing with the spices, cashews and coconut. Perfect. Next time, I will roast the cashews separately for more cashew flavour.

• Lemon rice

  • Ganga108 on April 20, 2024

    Totally delicious, lemon flavoured, spiced, and with texture from peanuts and sauteed crispy dals.

• Khichadi

  • Ganga108 on October 21, 2023

    Another absolutely gorgeous recipe from this book. It is a North Indian "soft pilaf" style of khichdi rather than the South Indian "porridge" style. The traditional ghee is replaced with a combo of olive oil and nutritional yeast which still maintains a lovely rich taste similar to ghee. I think it is also what gives the dish such a beautiful flavour. One of my favourite khichdi recipes now. Served with Indian lemon pickle and papad for a wonderful lunch.

• Vegetable khichadi

  • Ganga108 on May 03, 2024

    Extraordinarily good!

  • katiesue28 on February 05, 2026

    Comfort in a bowl. I love how endlessly adaptable the recipe is.

• Hearty masala khichadi

  • Ganga108 on June 27, 2023

    A beautiful dal, very flavoursome and very aromatic. The instructions are for pressure cooker, but I converted to stove top. Mainly it will need much more water - watch the khichdi as it cooks and top up as necessary. Also soak the dals and quinoa for several hours before cooking. I cooked for about an hour, adding the quinoa with around 20 mins to go. Add the garam masala at the end, as it keeps its flavour better rather than long cooking.

• Vagharela quinoa

  • Ganga108 on April 28, 2024

    Oh goodness, this is SO good. If you have quinoa pre-cooked it comes together in about 5 mins.

  • Ganga108 on April 28, 2024

    This pic doesn't look like the right one for the recipe - it's the pic for Hearty Masala Khichadi on the previous page.

• Keri no ras

  • Ganga108 on April 16, 2024

    Nice. I added a pinch of sea salt to bring out the flavours eve more. This would be fabulous ice-cold in February (our hottest month). I'd blend frozen mango in that month.

• Baked oatmeal (Gajjar no halvo)

  • darcie_b on February 23, 2023

    This made a delightful breakfast although it's labeled a dessert. There are no sweeteners other than dates and a banana. It's easy to whip together and the balance of spices and flavors was spot on. I think you could easily substitute a ripe pear for the banana and I plan to try that next time.

  • KateS27 on January 26, 2026

    Loved the spices and the texture from the nuts! I served it with some plant-based vanilla Greek yogurt, maple syrup, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

• Mint cilantro chutney

  • Ganga108 on April 14, 2024

    Lovely, fresh, green.

• Date chutney

  • Ganga108 on April 14, 2024

    Lovely, slightly sweet.

• Nondairy yogurt

  • Ganga108 on April 15, 2024

    Takes at least 24 hours to make.

• Garam masala dressing

  • Ganga108 on May 08, 2024

    SO good!

• Garam masala

  • Ganga108 on April 12, 2024

    I wish you could smell the kitchen. The aromas are amazing.

  • Ganga108 on August 04, 2024

    This is my favourite base garam masala recipe. Sometimes I add some additional (traditional) ingredients but use this as my base. It is the best mix in all the ones I have made. NOTE: try to include the optional ingredients, they make all the difference. Indian bay leaves, mace, black cardamom pods.

• Sambar podi

  • Ganga108 on April 12, 2024

    I've been toasting and grinding spices today, and I think the aromas are attracting all the neighbours ??

• Chat masala

  • Ganga108 on May 08, 2024

    Far far better than purchased chaat masala.

• Tomato onion masala

  • Ganga108 on April 18, 2024

    A lovely base for recipes in the book. Easy to make although takes about 25 attentive mins. Triple the recipe and freeze for easy future cooking. Our garlic cloves are large here, so I use about 1/3 of what recipe states, but amp it up if you are a garlic lover. This batch will be used in Mattar Tofu.

  • robin_gemtnj on May 15, 2026

    We used this for the Mattar Tofu. It does need to happen ahead of time. I may meal prep 4x batches and freeze in Supercubes for future weeknight meals.

• Smoky tomato onion masala

  • Ganga108 on April 06, 2024

    Excellent, warmly spicy, lovely base for the rajma curry on P97.

• Flavar vatana nu shak

  • Ganga108 on April 15, 2024

    Roast the cauliflower beforehand, maybe the night before, for an extremely quick dish. With dal and rice it is a lovely meal, or just with paratha for a snack. I adore roasted cauliflower, so this is high on my "like" rating.