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Easy Indian Cookbook - The Step-by-Step Guide to Deliciously Easy Indian Food at Home
by Manju Malhi
Duncan Baird Publishers
ISBN 1-84483-619-3
Published May 2008 - Spiral/Softcover - 216 pages - $24.95

Now, if you're a regular to my cookbook reviews, I need not remind you just how much I adore Indian cuisine.  But, I can't stop singing my praises for Indian food, so once again, I LOVE INDIAN FOOD.  So, natch, this book jumped out at me and I dived right in.  Nine times out of ten the "easy" part in cooking is actually the eating.  Indian cooking is certainly easy if you can get your hands on the spices and other ingredients such as cassia, ajowan seeds, pomegranate seeds, and bengal gram.  Chutneys are wonderful accompaniments to curries or as relishes.  Here we are given recipes for Mango Chutney (to die for), Mint and Yogurt Chutney, Coconut and Tomato Chutney, and Tomato Chutney.  We have Snacks and Appetizers; Vegetarian; Poultry and Meat; Fish and Shellfish; Side Dishes, and Sweet Things to choose from.  There is also a wonderful menu selection.  Some of the recipes that sound enticing include: Cumin and Coriander Potato Patties; Chili Chicken; Chickpea Curry (great for vegetarians); Kidney Beans in Spicy Tomato and Garlic Sauce; Chicken Tikka Masala (my favorite!); Rogan Josh (another favorite); Malabar Shrimp Curry, and Balti Potatoes.  I loved the idea of making your own curry pastes - so convenient and much fresher than from a jar.  This book is aimed at the beginner and therefore the recipes are easy to make.  Indian cuisine is NOT hot and burny.  It really isn't; it's flavorful and very tasty.  And this is a wonderful book to use in the kitchen as it's spiralbound inside a cover, so you can't lose your place!  As a bonus, a CD of Indian music is complimentary with this book.
Exquisitely illustrated.  No nutritional guides.
Conclusion - Extremely efficient and certainly full of great ideas for very different dinner parties.