Notes about Recipes in this book

• Sautéed arugula and spinach with paneer and roasted cashews

  • Allegra on June 26, 2013

    Scanning the relatively short ingredient list, I probably wouldn't have selected this recipe if I didn't have both spinach and arugula that needed using up....so I had rather low expectations for this one. It ended up being quite delicious! The bitter greens contrasted well with the creamy luxuriousness of the coconut milk and the tangy tomatoes. Adding to the textural pleasure was the paneer and the crunchy toasted cashews. I did cut the paneer into cubes and simmered a bit in the sauce instead of pouring over the thick slices. As with most recipes I've made from Vij's, I reduced both the water and the salt. Next time I'd double the cumin seed; found myself wanting more in the dish. Sprinkled a bit of garam masala on at the end to compensate. A surprisingly lovely and quick meal.

• Sautéed Brussels sprouts, red bell peppers, paneer and cashews

  • lorloff on February 07, 2021

    This Vij recipe was fresh and delicious. Made a vegan version by substituting firm tofu for the paneer. Other than that followed the recipe and it came out wonderfully. Great combination of flavors.

• Prawns in coconut masala

  • fprincess on December 14, 2012

    Easy recipe. Good flavor from the blend of onions (yellow and green) and tomatoes. Photo here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144022-what-indian-food-have-you-been-cooking/page__p__1901296#entry1901296

  • erin g on May 28, 2013

    Substituted lime juice for the red wine vinegar and cilantro for the green onions; was spectacular.

• Grilled lamb kebobs

  • fprincess on August 02, 2011

    The flavors are excellent. I made these from scratch, grinding some lamb shoulder. They came out too wet because of the pureed onions. Therefore it's essential to fry the onions until all the water is gone. Because they were wet, they fell off the skewers during grilling. But I would make them again because the flavor is wonderful. I served them with pita bread (obviously naan would work great) and cucumber raita. eGullet post with pictures here http://egullet.org/p1825416 and here http://egullet.org/p1825663

• Ground beef curry with warm fennel and zucchini salad

  • Frogcake on July 16, 2025

    I served this with brown basmati and a tossed green salad. I followed the recipe but was sceptical about adding half a cup of raw sugar. I was happy with the taste after adding one quarter cup or half of what the recipe called for. Otherwise this was a unique and delicious curry! I balanced the taste further with cayenne, sriracha, and salt. You definitely want a little “bite” from the pepper and salt to complement the sweet. A squeeze of lemon also brightened the curry flavours. And I added double the amount of dried mint! Next time I will prepare in advance and serve it with the warm fennel and zucchini salad.

• Demerara sugar and tamarind-marinated beef tenderloin with black cumin curry

  • rob1234 on July 04, 2017

    Tenderloin was great, black cumin curry was ok.

• Beef short ribs in cinnamon and red-wine curry

  • ktripson on July 15, 2012

    The sauce is out of balance, too much liquid and not as bold as it should be. Adjust.

  • okcook on January 18, 2013

    In general, I find that most of the recipes tell you to add too much water. A friend took a cooking with Vikram and asked about the water issue. The response was, yes, just add as much water as you like. Especially true for the dahl which is very soupy if you add all the water the recipes calls for.

• Stewed cinnamon-scented goat curry

  • vinochic on December 09, 2012

    Recipe in the book says you can use goat or lamb. We have made it twice now with lamb and it is absolutely delicious. Freezes well too.

  • okcook on October 22, 2015

    As vinochic said in the previous review, absolutely delicious. One of the best lamb curries I have made. Six stars if I could.

  • Frogcake on December 04, 2016

    Excellent curry! I've made this with both goat and lamb and prefer the lamb. Will make this again. This is one of our favourite curries.

• Stewed cinnamon-scented lamb curry

  • fprincess on March 17, 2011

    Good flavors. Was a little thin in the end so I would use less water than what is indicated.

• Coriander and black cardamom lamb in buttermilk curry

  • Totallywired on February 07, 2019

    Recipe has the familiar Vij issue of calling for surplus liquid but, with patience, this reduces into a delicious rich sauce, cardamom a stellar pairing for rich lamb. Delicious.

• Marinated lamb popsicles with fenugreek cream curry

  • fprincess on March 17, 2011

    This simple recipes has a lot of flavor and requires few ingredients. Also it's pretty fast to make. This is a favorite of ours. I could drink the sauce by the bowl full. Photo here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144022-what-indian-food-have-you-been-cooking/page__p__1901296#entry1901296

  • Frogcake on November 02, 2017

    Love this recipe! Very simple to make and very tasty. I’ve made it with cubed leg of lamb and added about one and a half cups of chickpeas and about two cups of other cooked vegetables such as red peppers, chopped zucchini and carrots. Like some of vij’s other recipes, I cut back on the fluid amount adding only two cups of heavy cream. The curry is so good you’ll want to lick the bowl.

• Pork tenderloin with spinach and fig stew

  • erin g on May 28, 2013

    Easy to overlook, but very nice. Would work well for a dinner party, as the stew can be made ahead and the tenderloin can be finished when you need it. The stew is spicy but not hot at all.

• Vij family's chicken curry

  • Foodelf on March 29, 2015

    A delicious, unfussy dish that never fails to please. One can easily control the levels of heat by adjusting the amount of cayenne. I never bother taking the cooked chicken off the bone to serve, but that would be easy enough to do.

  • Frogcake on December 04, 2016

    This is very good. We have made this several times and my son has adopted this as his favourite, quick go-to curry at university. I've also made this with veal.

  • rionafaith on August 16, 2017

    p. 92 -- Good weeknight curry with a nice spice level. The sauce was a bit thinner than I like so I ended up removing the chicken and boiling it down more, but next time I would only add half the amount of water. I de-seeded the tomatoes and chopped them pretty finely so the texture wasn't too bad, but I might try pureéing them next time. 1 tablespoon of salt seemed like way too much so I only added 3/4T and that was enough. The fresh cilantro at the end really helps brighten this up too.

  • Totallywired on September 26, 2018

    Recipe calls for far too much water. I suggest omitting entirely and adding by the quarter cup, as necessary.

• Yogurt- and tamarind-marinated grilled chicken

  • erin g on March 26, 2011

    Great for a summer barbecue. You can also use the marinade for chicken wings and serve them as finger food.

  • fprincess on September 07, 2011

    I liked the flavor of the marinade. Even if I did not have the time to marinate overnight, just for a few hours, the flavor was there. I had a little difficulty blending the tamarind which was a very thick paste. Next time I will blend everything in a food processor to make sure that it's uniform before I mix it with the chicken.

• Prawns in coconut and saffron curry

  • fprincess on December 14, 2012

    Good work night meal, flavorful but ready in a reasonable time (as a lot of other recipes in this book). The tomato-based curry has a mild flavor but the saffron comes through. Photo here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144022-what-indian-food-have-you-been-cooking/page__p__1901296#entry1901296

• Pacific halibut in coconut curry

  • katiesue28 on March 19, 2022

    This was delicious, but the curry was a bit too thin. I would skip the three cups of water altogether, and start with just a couple cups of coconut milk. Add more coconut milk or water to taste.

• Grilled sablefish in tomato-yogurt broth

  • fprincess on December 14, 2012

    The fish (I used grouper) is marinated in oil and spices (paprika, cayenne) for a while and is cooked on the grill. The broth has a great flavor with a nice spike of ginger. Photo here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144022-what-indian-food-have-you-been-cooking/page__p__1901296#entry1901296

• Grilled corn with lemon rub

  • amy_9scy2c on May 24, 2026

    Interesting and tasty. I used Kala namak, lemon, and Kashmiri mirch in place of cayenne.

• Long green beans and new potatoes in mustard seed curry

  • erin g on March 26, 2011

    Makes a nice vegetarian lunch - transports and reheats well for lunch.

  • rob1234 on November 07, 2012

    If you use canned tomatoes I would reduce the amount of water added. It took 3-4 times longer than stated to reduce and I only added 4 cups. I also used cut up russet potatoes which took an extra 15-20 min to cook through.

  • LifeofPie on November 03, 2022

    This turned out way better than I thought it would. I made it to use up some fresh green beans and I am pleasantly surprised. I pureed fresh tomatoes in the food processor but came up a little short, so added a can of petite diced also pureed in the processor. I didn't have any crushed cayenne so I used Korean chili flakes I had in the cabinet so it might have turned out slightly less spicy than it would have otherwise. Also, I don't stock canola oil so I substituted grapeseed oil as a neutral oil. It seems like a long cooking time, and it is but so worth it to get that depth of flavor. I cooked the tomatoes about 20 minutes before adding the other ingredients and my consistency came out good. I served this with jasmine rice and didn't think that it needed the lentil pilaf accompaniment that was suggested.

• Moong and masur lentil curry

  • erin g on March 26, 2011

    Beautiful colour and flavour, especially if you add the spinach garnish in the book.

  • okcook on September 07, 2012

    Agree with the appearance and flavour. My mung beans took three times longer to cook than the recipe said. Had to add extra chilies for our taste. Would make again.

• Cucumber raita

  • fprincess on July 19, 2011

    Added to my favorite recipes! A simple and tasty cucumber raita recipe. I love the fact that it's as easy as it gets, you can grate the cucumber directly in the yogurt, add the seasonings, and you are done! I use homemade fromage blanc instead of yogurt. http://egullet.org/p1825556

• Grilled coconut kale

  • fprincess on December 14, 2012

    My new favorite way to eat kale. It is marinated in coconut and spices and then grilled. Photo here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144022-what-indian-food-have-you-been-cooking/page__p__1901296#entry1901296