Everyday Indian: 100 Fast, Fresh and Healthy Recipes

Ever since I married a Pakistani man, I have been wanting to manage the Eastern cuisine. The wondrous spices, some of them almost enigmatic, seemed to me a remarkable feat to master. As I grew to trying the foods of India and the Far East at friends' houses and ethnic restaurants, I had a very difficult time handling the extreme heat these foods are sometimes prepared with. Yet, I needed - and wanted - to master the art of Indian cooking.Spice Goddess show host Bal Arneson's approach is unique in the way that she suggests an Indian cuisine that is healthy, colorful and extremely flavorful. The recipes in this book will make anyone fall in love with Indian cuisine. I love the cherry tomato and panneer salad (page 60), refreshing just by itself with its hint of mint and slight touch of sweetness given by its lemon and warm honey dressing. It goes perfect with an accompaniment of cauliflower-masala parathas (pages 24 - 25), made at home from scratch in the simplest of ways, with a basic naan bread made out of whole wheat dough. For your protein intake, Bal's no-butter chicken (page 130) rounds up the perfect supper, hopefully with some leftovers for the next day - although this would be unlikely, as the curry sauce for this chicken is heavenly and everyone will clean their plates to the last drop. Prior to trying this recipe, I thought curries were so hard to make. Not anymore.All these recipes are meant to be simple and full of flavor, and they accomplish these two tasks beautifully. In fact, Bal Arneson's forte are her most simple suggestions, such as the basic lemon dressing (page 73) used to accompany the tuna with greens (page 68). A basic preparation of sugar, coriander, cumin, salt and flaxseed oil, once the lemon juice is added, it turns bright golden yellow, making for a fantastic feast to the eyes and a delicacy for the palate.There are so many more recipes I want - and will - try from this book, such as the ones that use buffalo meat, including mouthwatering pasta and burgers, as well as her lamb, a meat I personally love.Besides eating all of these marvelous meals, what I enjoyed most since reading this book are my little exploratory trips into the local ethnic stores, as well as my searches on the net in order to find some of the spices and pastes needed to prepare them, although this poses in no way a difficulty to start cooking the meals in this book. I dare everyone to try their hand at Indian cooking in a healthy way on the hand of Bal Arneson, and thus become their own true Spice Goddess.

Overall, I really like this book. It has a lot of low-fat, vegetarian recipes, and it uses a lot of great spices. I have tried several recipes, and while they are good, I have learned to adjust the amount of cumin seed in the recipes. Several of the recipes are very long on cumin seeds (I've seen as many as two tablespoons), and I find this makes the recipes somewhat bitter. (I am planning to try another brand of cumin seed, though, to see if maybe I bought a bad batch.) But the other ingredients are great, and I really appreciate the use of lots of vegetables, beans, etc. You will find that a lot of recipes are a North American (and healthy) twist on traditional Indian food.The biggest problem I have had with this book is the spices. The book says that several spices (like fenugreek seeds, for example) are "available in any supermarket." She also provides recipes for making your own chana masala and other spice mixes, but says that these spice mixes are also readily available in any supermarkets. I have not found this to be the case; I had to go to an Indian grocer to get the fenugreek seeds, chana masala, pomegranate powder, mango powder, etc. I happen to live somewhat close to an Indian grocer, but if you don't, you may find it difficult to get some of these spices (especially if you don't especially want to make the spice mixes yourself). However, if you do go to an Indian grocer, the spices are pretty cheap. (The chana masala, pomegranate powder, etc, were found in boxes at the store I went to. The proprietor of the store had to help me locate the mango powder because it goes by another name.)Overall, though, I do highly recommend this book. The spice issue is really not a big deal at all if you are close to an Indian grocer.

The kindle version has a LOT of formatting issues. Example, the 15 ingredients will be listed across 15+ pages. The instructions might be 1 step per page, etc

Everyday Indian is a great book for those who are trying to eat a diet with less meat. She puts lots of flavor into veggie dishes that make them tasty for those who are less inclined to eat more vegetables. The only problem is the the spices she uses. If you don't live in a major city with access to an Middle Eastern market, then you have to order the spices online. This, of course, takes time and you are never sure of the freshness of the spices. I have the feeling that some of the spices have been on the shelf far too long. I enjoy her TV show which got me turned on to trying Indian style cooking. She makes everything sound and look so delicious. If you are the adventurous sort when it comes to food, and you want to eat a more healthful diet, then try her book. I think you will be pleased.

Another book of simple, easy to follow recipes. THANK YOU!

I am an Italian who married an Indian and my mother-in-law spent most of her life in the kitchen cooking Indian food as she learned growing up. I have learned a lot about Indian spices from her and love making her recipes. I decided to introduce my husband's family to healthier and faster Indian food so I prepared Bal's No-Butter Chicken with brown rice and my brothers-in-law and girlfriends, husband, and father-in-law went on so much about how great it was that I felt embarrassed in front of my mother-in-law. All she said was, "well it definitely doesn't have butter in it." I take this as a success and now this is the number one requested recipe whenever they come to visit! This cookbook has many other favorites and I recommend it to all of my friends and family. Thanks so much Bal for bringing a healthier and faster option for Indian food!

Bal is wonderful. I used to watch her on TV. Great lady and makes everything so easy...my favorite is NO Butter Chicken but all of the recipes are delicious and easy!

great book, bought after watching tv show, lovely recipes, can't wait to get started, recommended

I ran into this book at a local bookstore and was delighted by the recipes. I'm not usually one to buy cookbooks. I have enjoyed Indian food since I was young and have found the Ayurvedic approach to blend all 6 flavours to create a satisfying meal a good rule of thumb. But my cooking skills are not great and getting beyond a rice and dahl menu I found somewhat fraught. Burnt spices and unpalatable food have resulted all too often.This book however keeps it simple, lists locally available ingredients, has been well tested on a N. American family, and shows how to make spice churnas and healthy versions of some of my favorites. Plus others I'm looking forward to try.As an added bonus, her stories of her background and the recipes themselves are delightful.I've bought more for gifts now.

I was attracted to this cook book as my husband and I find that we're enjoying Indian food more than we used to. I thought I'd give the recipes a try. They were good for the most part. However, as time went on, I found that I didn't want to be cooking Indian as often as I initially thought I would. I had accumulated a lot of cook books, and in one clean-out effort, I sent this along with others to a local secondhand store. I kept a wonderful rice recipe that I do use alot. If you're a fan of Indian food and want to spend the time making it, rather than buying it, then this would be a good cook book for you to have.

One our friends suggested this book to us and he was right. The book is well written and printed on high material, on the other hand the professional pictures of food encourages you to cook.

The recipes in this book are easy to follow nd the ingredients are readily available in any bulk store. The illustrations are very nice nd i have made several recipes in this book that were very tasty and healthy.