• nomadchowwoman on January 07, 2010

  I not only learned to cook Indian food from Jaffrey's cookbooks, this one is still my favorite, the one I used over and over: for the rogan josh, Lake Palace eggplant, whole green lentils with onion, and garlic, the easy raitas.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Kashmiri meatballs (Kashmiri koftas)

  • digifish_books on July 12, 2015

    I used minced (ground) beef instead of lamb and served with plain basmati rice and red split lentils with cumin seeds (p. 165).

  • ellwell on January 21, 2025

    These were your average Indian-spiced lamb meatballs. We enjoyed them with a little yogurt. Served with a potato dish from one of her other books, and green beans. Very good dinner.

• Lamb with spinach (Dilli ka saag gosht)

  • mirage on June 26, 2010

    was Quite Good with beef. Served w/yogurt, p. 210

• Red lamb or beef stew (Rogan josh)

  • digifish_books on July 12, 2015

    A lovely version of Rogan josh with nice complexity of flavours and a medium heat/spice level. I cook the curry in a pressure cooker (30-35 minutes) and add yoghurt at the end.

• Delhi-style lamb cooked with potatoes (Aloo gosht)

  • shoffmann on November 01, 2020

    Relatively short ingredient list. More than an hour of simmer time, but otherwise relatively quick to throw together. We enjoyed.

• "Royal" lamb or beef with a creamy almond sauce (Shahi korma)

  • digifish_books on July 12, 2015

    I used beef but I suspect lamb would be even better, given how subtle and creamy the almond sauce turned out.

  • wcassity on December 21, 2021

    Delicious. Giving it 4 stars vs 5 because it is creamy and rich but lacks acid, so it becomes a bit one-note as you are eating it.

• Goan-style hot and sour pork (Vindaloo)

  • HarlanH on January 12, 2026

    Quite good. Add water periodically during the final cook to keep it from burning.

• Tandoori-style chicken (Tandoori murghi)

  • clcorbi on February 06, 2017

    I made this to use in the Butter Chicken recipe, but did sneak a bite of the finished chicken before adding it to the butter sauce, and can confirm that this chicken is delicious on its own too! I think I still prefer the oven-baked chicken tikka skewers from Made in India, though, simply because the marinade is less fussy to throw together.

  • heatherlee on June 06, 2021

    I cooked the chicken on the grill rather than oven-baking. The marinade called for garam masala, so I followed the separate recipe for that and was very happy with the flavor of the chicken.

• Chicken in a butter sauce (Makkhani murghi)

  • clcorbi on February 06, 2017

    This was luscious, exactly like you'd hope a dish with a full stick of butter and ten ounces of cream would be. The only changes I made were to substitute ground ginger for fresh, and omit the chopped cilantro. This dish is a little involved since you have to marinate and pre-cook the Tandori chicken, but once that's done, the sauce is really just a matter of melting butter and warming up a few ingredients together. Naan is a must here to sop up all the gorgeous, fattening sauce.

• Spicy baked chicken (Masaledar murghi)

  • Zosia on September 21, 2014

    Delicious! I used boneless chicken breasts that marinated in the paste for 6 hours. Cooked on the grill, the meat was juicy and flavourful. Will definitely make this again, but roasted next time so that I can try the sauce.

  • clcorbi on December 28, 2018

    Really nice, flavorful marinade. I threw on a head of chopped cauliflower to the roasting sheet and skipped the sauce steps. Delicious and fast.

• Chicken with tomatoes and garam masala (Timatar murghi)

  • SACarlson on October 15, 2013

    Very mild spicing. Could have used more heat for my taste, but the recipe is described as being good for children.

• Goan-style chicken with roasted coconut (Shakoothi)

  • hilarie on June 11, 2020

    This was a hit with the whole family. I dialed the heat way back for the kids. Great flavor. The coconut cooks down a lot, and also I very rarely have fresh coconut, so I might try a coconut milk version sometime.

• Chicken with roasted coriander in a coconut curry sauce (Dakshini murgh)

  • shoffmann on May 17, 2018

    Good, but not exactly wow worthy. The recipe made a good amount of sauce so I was glad I had made plenty of rice to go with it.

  • ellwell on January 21, 2025

    This was a good entry to Indian cuisine for my husband, who isn’t keen on trying new flavors. As the previous note said, it won’t wow you— but since there was so much sauce, I added anther poached breast the next day and I noticed that the flavors were enhanced overnight. If I made it again, I would make it a day ahead and re-heat.

• Turkey kebabs (Turkey ke kabab)

  • mirage on October 09, 2010

    Serve w/homemade pita and coriander chutney.

  • shoffmann on August 21, 2017

    These were excellent. I don't think that I could walk away while cooking the kebabs as directed because they got quite dark and I needed to manage the heat to avoid burning. I served with homemade naan, the tomato and onion relish from this book, and some cucumber yogurt sauce.

• Hard-boiled eggs in a spicy cream sauce (Malaidar unday)

  • shoffmann on September 11, 2017

    Once the eggs are boiled, this makes for a quick, delicious meal. I would have liked a bit more heat, but the green chiles I have right now are pretty bland. I served with the spiced basmati rice as suggested.

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

  • Zosia on February 21, 2014

    Lovely fragrant and tangy sauce that complemented the fish nicely without overwhelming it. I cooked the onions first, and used only 1 tbsp of oil and omitted the butter at the end to keep it on the lighter side.

• Gujerati-style green beans (Gujerati sem)

  • elena_qgj0iz on June 11, 2026

    Absolutely delicious as a veg side dish to our curry night!

• Green beans with ginger and green coriander (Hare masale ki sem)

  • Nichill on November 08, 2019

    Very tasty and quite quick. Kids liked it too.

• The Lake Palace Hotel's eggplant cooked in the pickling style (Baigan achari)

  • mirage on June 26, 2010

    Very Good! Good potluck contribution, too.

  • shoffmann on August 28, 2017

    Excellent, though a bit oily even after draining the eggplant.

  • wcassity on March 01, 2018

    Tasty right after cooking and cold the next day.

• Gujerati-style cabbage with carrots (Sambhara)

  • HarlanH on January 12, 2026

    Great, easy, makes a lot. Try using coriander chutney instead of fresh cilantro.

• Cauliflower with onions and tomato (Phool gobi ki bhaji)

  • smtucker on September 17, 2019

    This is the third time I have made this recipe and the best to date. Used farmer's market cauliflower, garlic, onions and serranos. Tomato from our garden. Great flavors. Still needed to use a bit more water to get a paste in the blender, and a bit more water to get the cauliflower fork-tender [barely.] This was totally delicious. Omitted cayenne pepper which I don't care for. Take your time to get the browning.

• Cauliflower with cumin and asafetida (Heeng zeere ki gobi)

  • wcassity on December 21, 2021

    Solid, basic.

• Carrots, peas, and potatoes flavored with cumin (Gajar,matar, aur ki bhaji)

  • Zosia on September 21, 2014

    Tasty side dish that's very quick to make particularly if you have some cooked potatoes on hand. I used only 1 onion and canola oil.

• "Dry" okra (Sookhi bhindi)

  • IndyGirl on November 15, 2018

    Just use spray oil. Also use chaat masala instead of amchoor.

• Potatoes with sesame seeds (Til ke aloo)

  • shoffmann on June 21, 2017

    We really enjoyed this. I used less salt than the recipe called for (and definitely didn't miss it). My husband enjoyed this side dish far better than the rest of our dinner.

• Mixed vegetables in a mustard and cumin sauce (Shorvedar subzi)

  • sosayi on October 19, 2023

    Delicious mixed veg curry with loads of flavor! Made the following changes for ease/kid friendliness: subbed paprika for cayenne, roasted the cauliflower and potatoes instead of frying them. Would probably cut the amount of water added for simmering to 1.75-2 cups instead of 2.5 cups next time, but would definitely make again. Served with a simple toor dal, raita and garlic naan.

• Small yellow split peas (Chana dal)

  • PennyG on February 02, 2019

    This was a nice Indian dal - nothing extraordinary. I had all the ingredients on hand and wanted to make something to serve with my lamb keema I had made ahead for my weekday lunches.

• Whole green lentils with spinach and ginger

  • Zosia on November 18, 2013

    Nice flavour from the ginger and chilies but was otherwise quite bland....needed onions or garlic (or both?). I added most of the fresh spinach at the end of cooking and used only 1 tbsp oil.

• Sour chick peas (Khatte chhole)

  • clcorbi on December 04, 2016

    Made for our dinner party for two vegan friends. These ended up being absolutely delicious, but I did make some alterations. I added a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste to the sautéed onions and let it darken before stirring in the tomato (I used one can diced tomatoes, rather than fresh). I used about half as much cumin as called for, and a bit less coriander. I also did not add the whole "sour" lemon juice/chile/raw onion mixture; I probably added half of it, to taste. I know the point of this dish is to have that characteristic puckery flavor (which Jaffrey describes beautifully), but I think we would have enjoyed it less if I had added the full amount of lemon juice. All in all, this was a fantastic dish, and worked perfectly for the dinner party because I cooked it ahead of time, and then simply reheated and added in the raw "sour" ingredients to taste at the last moment. I also want to note that freshly cooked chickpeas really made a difference here.

• Layered bread (Paratha)

  • Zosia on November 18, 2013

    Good directions led to success with my first attempt at making these. They were a little oily tasting - ghee might have been the better choice - but texture was very good. I used whole wheat atta flour.

• Rice and peas (Tahiri)

  • digifish_books on July 12, 2015

    Rice is mildly flavoured by the addition of toasted cumin seeds. A great accompaniment to Rogan josh or other curry.

• Vegetable pullao (Sabzi pullao)

  • Laura on May 02, 2010

    3/21/10: Even with all the spices, this was just ok -- the flavors just did not pop. Very disappointing.

• Aromatic yellow rice (Peelay chaaval)

  • digifish_books on July 12, 2015

    The rice is cooked using the 'absorption method' and seasoned with turmeric, cinnamon, whole cloves, bay leaves and salt. A small amount of unsalted butter is mixed through the rice once it is cooked. A subtle and delicious accompaniment to the Rogan Josh recipe (page 70).

• Tomato, onion, and green coriander relish (Cachumber)

  • shoffmann on August 21, 2017

    This was good. I left out the cayenne pepper because I was serving with spicy foods.

• Gujerati carrot salad (Gajar ka salad)

  • Zosia on November 18, 2013

    Simple and bright tasting....a great side for spicy food.

  • clcorbi on December 04, 2016

    Made for our dinner party for two vegan friends. We really enjoyed this--simple and tasty, and it was a nice side to the spicier main dish. Plus, we used black mustard seeds which made this really visually striking. Almost no leftovers of this one.

• Spicy cucumber wedges (Kheere ke tukray)

  • IndyGirl on March 11, 2019

    Just ok. Tamarind soaked cucumbers are tastier

• Fresh coriander chutney (Hare dhaniye ki chtney)

  • IndyGirl on March 11, 2019

    Tasty with her turkey kebobs. Used 1 bunch of cilantro with soft stems. Next time, use 2-3 bunches of cilantro for enough chutney.

• Onion relish (Pyaz ka laccha)

  • clcorbi on December 04, 2016

    Made for our dinner party for two vegan friends. This was pretty tasty but we have a lot leftover--I don't think people quite knew what to do with it. I have to say that I thought I would prefer this onion relish to the onion pickle from Made in India--since this one has the addition of paprika and cayenne--but I much prefer the other. The Made in India pickle is just red onions dressed with lime juice and salt, then marinated, and it is much tastier and prettier.