Notes about Recipes in this book

• Minced meat with peas (Kheema matar)

  • wester on March 24, 2015

    As I was serving this to children, I left out the chiles, cayenne and coriander leaves, and served hot sauce and coriander on the side, to add to taste. The children loved it ("Can we please have this tomorrow as well?"), and I really liked it too, but I thought the coriander and hot sauce were quite indispensible - without them it tasted too "solid". It was simple to make and inexpensive as well.

• Kashmiri meatballs (Kashmiri koftas)

  • wester on September 03, 2013

    Very nice meatballs with "sweet" spices (cinnamon, cloves) as the most prominent flavor. Not too sharp. I made them with beef instead of lamb, and they were lovely. You do need a well-stocked spice cupboard for this. And you would need a very large pan to fry the full recipe in a single layer, but then she does suggest you could use two frying pans. Will definitely repeat.

• Lamb with spinach (Dilli ka saag gosht)

  • anya_sf on October 22, 2023

    Just delicious! Since the spinach is cooked for a long time, I wouldn't use baby spinach (I used bagged "regular" spinach) and the color ends up muddy green. 1/2 recipe just served 3 with rice and a side of chickpeas.

• Spicy baked chicken (Masaledar murghi)

  • JLDuck on June 28, 2018

    This very easy and a reasonable substitute for tandoor chicken. Tastes great.

• Lemony chicken with fresh coriander (Hare masale wali murghi)

  • kmattingly on June 12, 2012

    Delightful tangy combination of lemon, coriander and chilli

  • JLDuck on April 24, 2021

    This was one of the first recipes I tried from this book many years ago. I was a novice cook at the time so this recipe was a learning experience. I have not made it in decades so decided to revisit it. I found it rather dull inspite of the lemon and coriander. I have since cooked many chicken curries with excellent results. This one can return to history.

• Whole chicken, baked in aluminium foil (Murgh musallam)

  • JLDuck on July 15, 2018

    If using oven bag instead of foil do not skin as it makes the chicken a little dry.

• Haddock baked in a yoghurt sauce (Dahi wali macchi)

  • JLDuck on November 04, 2016

    It helps if you lightly Fry the onion first. I used Almond oil.

• Cod steaks in a spicy tomato sauce (Timatar wali macchi)

  • kitchen_chick on April 25, 2023

    If a recipe lists TWO onions, it should be listed as an ingredient. Okay, that aside, this is delicious and it's surprisingly simple in spite of all the ingredients (the list is longer in the cookbook). I didn't bake the fish -- I used a fillet instead of steak cut, and I opted to make it even simpler and have one less pan to clean by poaching large pieces directly in the sauce after it had simmered.

• Beetroot with onions (Shorvedar chukander)

  • Clog on May 23, 2022

    This recipe is not in my copy.

• Cabbage with peas (Bund gobi aur matar)

  • Thredbende on December 09, 2011

    This is really good, quick and surprising. The little bit of turmeric makes the cabbage color especially pretty. It is a warm and lovely frugal mid winter veg dish.

  • Clog on February 25, 2023

    The timings made for very crunchy cabbage. We prefer softer cabbage so I needed to add five minutes or so. Still, it's a lovely side dish.

• Cauliflower with fennel and mustard seeds (Baghari phool gobi)

  • wester on January 29, 2016

    Good everyday fare. Easy and tasty.

  • JLDuck on March 19, 2019

    I basically used strictly fried technique and added a little water. The result was a dry dish with the cauliflower just cooked.

• Potatoes with sesame seeds (Til ke aloo)

  • Avocet on April 18, 2014

    This is excellent and very easy. I don't cool the potatoes for more than a few minutes, and I don't bother with peeling them, so it is a quick side dish.

• Red split lentils with cumin seed (Masoor dal)

  • JLDuck on February 27, 2021

    A good basic dal.

• Whole green lentils with garlic and onion

  • JLDuck on January 27, 2018

    I used canned lentils and it worked a treat. An excellent but basic dish when you forgot to make a Dahl.

• Whole green lentils with spinach and ginger

  • wester on December 03, 2017

    Tweaked beyond recognition but still a sound basic idea. Maybe a bit more ginger. Halved the recipe, used Savoy cabbage instead of spinach, used Puy lentils and shortened the cooking time, added four cups of chicken stock and one cup of yogurt to make it more soupy. Would also be good to feed a crowd.

  • mcvl on May 02, 2023

    A classic. I used a mixture of spinach and fava leaves, yum.

• Vegetable pullau (Sabzi pullao)

  • kmattingly on June 12, 2012

    A great addition to any Indian meal or as a meal on it's own

• Aromatic yellow rice (Peelay chaaval)

  • happyeater on May 20, 2011

    The addition of the turmeric makes this rice so silky. The pot of rice is always gobbled up when I make this and it's not much more work than a pot of regular white rice.

• Yoghurt with cucumber and mint (Kheere ka raita)

  • ebalk02 on October 24, 2023

    This slaps. Would also be good with a little onion but totally perfect as written.

• Yoghurt with walnuts and fresh coriander (Akhrote ka raita)

  • wester on June 14, 2017

    A good but not that special raita.

• Gujerati carrot salad (Gajar ka salad)

  • wester on October 31, 2016

    OK but nothing special. The mustard seeds do look good though.

  • LizCo on May 07, 2023

    I've been making this for years. It's incredibly quick to prepare and absolutely delicious.

• Chicken mulligatawny soup

  • Thredbende on December 09, 2011

    This is a superb soup made with a red lentil dal as base, then a ginger garlic paste fried, and raw chicken breast sauteed into the hot spice paste. The cooked chicken is then combined with the dal, water is added and the mixture cooked a few minutes. The soup is fragrant, inexpensive, nutritious and freezes and thaws well as a lunch.

  • kmattingly on June 12, 2012

    It is also lovely served over plain basmati rice. I agree this is a superb soup.

  • anya_sf on February 10, 2020

    I wanted a heartier soup and used a large potato and 2 chicken breasts. Extra liquid was needed to puree the soup, probably due to the larger potato. Next time I won't bother pureeing, since I prefer a chunkier texture anyway. I stirred in some chopped cilantro at the end. We enjoyed the soup very much.

• Delicious cocktail koftas (Chhote kofte)

  • wester on December 25, 2013

    I'm not rating this as I didn't make the sauce, but the meatballs were good.

• Deep-fried, stuffed, savoury pastry (Samosa)

  • JLDuck on June 02, 2021

    I took the plunge and made samosas from scratch. I was amazed as to how easy it was. One of the keys is to not fill the pastry cones too much. Will definitely make them again. Recommend that you try.

• Minced meat with peas (Qeema matar)

  • wester on March 24, 2015

    As I was serving this to children, I left out the chiles, cayenne and coriander leaves, and served hot sauce and coriander on the side, to add to taste. The children loved it ("Can we please have this tomorrow as well?"), and I really liked it too, but I thought the coriander and hot sauce were quite indispensible - without them it tasted too "solid". It was simple to make and inexpensive as well.

• Kashmiri koftas

  • wester on September 03, 2013

    Very nice meatballs with "sweet" spices (cinnamon, cloves) as the most prominent flavor. Not too sharp. I made them with beef instead of lamb, and they were lovely. You do need a well-stocked spice cupboard for this. And you would need a very large pan to fry the full recipe in a single layer, but then she does suggest you could use two frying pans. Will definitely repeat.

• Lamb with spinach (Dilli ka saag gosht)

  • anya_sf on October 22, 2023

    Just delicious! Since the spinach is cooked for a long time, I wouldn't use baby spinach (I used bagged "regular" spinach) and the color ends up muddy green. 1/2 recipe just served 3 with rice and a side of chickpeas.

• Royal lamb or beef korma (Shahi korma)

  • Bessp on July 25, 2025

    This was a lovely, sumptuous dinner. I served with rice and a cucumber-tomato-onion salad. I cooked it in the oven for an hour and twenty and the lamb was still a bit tough. Next time I'll allow for more cook time, or cut the lamb smaller. I used plain almond butter instead of the slivered almonds, because I already had it in the pantry. It worked quite well. Next time I might up the spice just a bit.

• Chicken in a butter sauce (Makkhani murgha)

  • ra_2y5rra on March 28, 2026

    Wonderful recipe. Delicious and very much worth the effort. 5 stars

• Spicy baked chicken (Masaledar murgha)

  • JLDuck on June 28, 2018

    This very easy and a reasonable substitute for tandoor chicken. Tastes great.

• Lemony chicken with fresh green coriander (Hare masale wali murgha)

  • kmattingly on June 12, 2012

    Delightful tangy combination of lemon, coriander and chilli

  • JLDuck on April 24, 2021

    This was one of the first recipes I tried from this book many years ago. I was a novice cook at the time so this recipe was a learning experience. I have not made it in decades so decided to revisit it. I found it rather dull inspite of the lemon and coriander. I have since cooked many chicken curries with excellent results. This one can return to history.

• Whole chicken baked in foil (Murgh musallam)

  • JLDuck on July 15, 2018

    If using oven bag instead of foil do not skin as it makes the chicken a little dry.

• Haddock baked in a yogurt sauce (Dahi wali macchi)

  • JLDuck on November 04, 2016

    It helps if you lightly Fry the onion first. I used Almond oil.

• Cod steaks in a spicy tomato sauce (Timatar wali macchi)

  • kitchen_chick on April 25, 2023

    If a recipe lists TWO onions, it should be listed as an ingredient. Okay, that aside, this is delicious and it's surprisingly simple in spite of all the ingredients (the list is longer in the cookbook). I didn't bake the fish -- I used a fillet instead of steak cut, and I opted to make it even simpler and have one less pan to clean by poaching large pieces directly in the sauce after it had simmered.

• Beetroot with onions (Shorvedar chukander)

  • Clog on May 23, 2022

    This recipe is not in my copy.

• Cabbage with peas (Bund gobi aur matar)

  • Thredbende on December 09, 2011

    This is really good, quick and surprising. The little bit of turmeric makes the cabbage color especially pretty. It is a warm and lovely frugal mid winter veg dish.

  • Clog on February 25, 2023

    The timings made for very crunchy cabbage. We prefer softer cabbage so I needed to add five minutes or so. Still, it's a lovely side dish.

• Cauliflower with fennel & mustard seeds (Baghari phool gobi)

  • wester on January 29, 2016

    Good everyday fare. Easy and tasty.

  • JLDuck on March 19, 2019

    I basically used strictly fried technique and added a little water. The result was a dry dish with the cauliflower just cooked.

• Potatoes with sesame seeds (Til ke aloo)

  • Avocet on April 18, 2014

    This is excellent and very easy. I don't cool the potatoes for more than a few minutes, and I don't bother with peeling them, so it is a quick side dish.

• Red split lentils with cumin seed (Masoor dal)

  • JLDuck on February 27, 2021

    A good basic dal.

• Whole green lentils with garlic & onion

  • JLDuck on January 27, 2018

    I used canned lentils and it worked a treat. An excellent but basic dish when you forgot to make a Dahl.

• Whole green lentils with spinach & ginger

  • wester on December 03, 2017

    Tweaked beyond recognition but still a sound basic idea. Maybe a bit more ginger. Halved the recipe, used Savoy cabbage instead of spinach, used Puy lentils and shortened the cooking time, added four cups of chicken stock and one cup of yogurt to make it more soupy. Would also be good to feed a crowd.

  • mcvl on May 02, 2023

    A classic. I used a mixture of spinach and fava leaves, yum.

• Vegetable pullao (Sabzi pullao)

  • kmattingly on June 12, 2012

    A great addition to any Indian meal or as a meal on it's own

• Aromatic yellow rice (Peelay chaaval)

  • happyeater on May 20, 2011

    The addition of the turmeric makes this rice so silky. The pot of rice is always gobbled up when I make this and it's not much more work than a pot of regular white rice.

• Yogurt with cucumber & mint (Kheere ka raita)

  • ebalk02 on October 24, 2023

    This slaps. Would also be good with a little onion but totally perfect as written.

• Yogurt with walnuts & fresh green coriander (Akhrote ka raita)

  • wester on June 14, 2017

    A good but not that special raita.

• Gujarati carrot salad (Gajar ka salad)

  • wester on October 31, 2016

    OK but nothing special. The mustard seeds do look good though.

  • LizCo on May 07, 2023

    I've been making this for years. It's incredibly quick to prepare and absolutely delicious.

• Green soup (Hara shorva)

  • charlotte_8ixa54 on February 06, 2026

    A very tasty, subtly spiced soup. I've made this multiple times

• Chicken mulligatawny soup

  • Thredbende on December 09, 2011

    This is a superb soup made with a red lentil dal as base, then a ginger garlic paste fried, and raw chicken breast sauteed into the hot spice paste. The cooked chicken is then combined with the dal, water is added and the mixture cooked a few minutes. The soup is fragrant, inexpensive, nutritious and freezes and thaws well as a lunch.

  • kmattingly on June 12, 2012

    It is also lovely served over plain basmati rice. I agree this is a superb soup.

  • anya_sf on February 10, 2020

    I wanted a heartier soup and used a large potato and 2 chicken breasts. Extra liquid was needed to puree the soup, probably due to the larger potato. Next time I won't bother pureeing, since I prefer a chunkier texture anyway. I stirred in some chopped cilantro at the end. We enjoyed the soup very much.

  • mzgourmand on February 27, 2025

    This is one of the most flavorful, delicious dishes that I've made recently! And not at all difficult. Madhur Jaffrey's recipes are always so reliable, but this was just an exceptional combination of flavors. I made it with very nice homemade chicken broth, which didn't hurt, and served it with texmati riceas that's what we had. We both loved it! So good!

  • msl521 on January 28, 2026

    This was really good. I made it with soy curls instead of chicken, plus a little bit of kale. The kids ate the soup and soy curls, but left the kale. I accidentally used a whole bag of soy curls since I didn't read the recipe, so I'd use probably about half a bag next time.

• Delicious cocktail koftas (Chhote kofte)

  • wester on December 25, 2013

    I'm not rating this as I didn't make the sauce, but the meatballs were good.

• Samosas

  • JLDuck on June 02, 2021

    I took the plunge and made samosas from scratch. I was amazed as to how easy it was. One of the keys is to not fill the pastry cones too much. Will definitely make them again. Recommend that you try.