Indian food made easy ...really (Indian Food Made Easy - Anjum Anand)

Member Name: cerys82

Product:	Indian Food Made Easy - Anjum Anand
Date:	07/10/09 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great recipes that can be done again and again

Disadvantages: none really, but perhaps not for the purists or the more experienced cook of Indian food

"Indian Food Made Easy" is the accompaniment to the first of Anand's series of the same name that was shown on BBC 2 in half-hour slots on BBC 2 in 2007. There was also a second series which was accompanied by the book "Anjum's New Indian". The success of these two series led the BBC to expand on the "Made Easy" franchise with series that followed as introductions in Caribbean and Chinese food.

The book itself is well presented and photographed with a glossy cover. The pages themselves are quite glossy and although I have splashed them with various ingredients over the course of cooking from them, but compared to a lot of my books they have come out of it fairly unscathed apart from a little warping, but if you catch a spillage early enough it is easy to wipe clean with very little damage. It is also well spined so that the pages stay open and remain open really easily even when it is laid flat.

There is a brief introduction written by the author, then a section called "The Indian Kitchen Made Easy" which lists and provides some details on useful equipment and ingredients that are useful for progressing with Indian cookery. To Anand's credit, she has obviously considered this section carefully and does not overwhelm the reader with a shopping list of things to buy, instead coming up with ways to actively encourage engagement with this style of cookery.

The first section is "light meals and snacks", my favourite section in the whole book because the recipes here are just so accessible on a day-to-day basis. It includes wraps and ideas such as "masala scrambled eggs" and "chilli cheese toast" that I recommend for a really satisfying breakfast, particularly in winter, as long as you do not mind a bit of spice in the morning! This section also includes a recipe for "paneer" (unsalted white cheese) which I still have to get around to doing and I am really intrigued by. The recipe does not look as complicated as it could be and is well illustrated through photography on the opposite page which goes through some of the stages. There is also an excellent recipe for samosas which is both economic and relatively easy to follow (once you have got the hang of folding filo pastry correctly).

The next section is for chicken - it incorporates some spicy marinades with curries and burgers and also just alternative ways of spicing and cooking poultry.
Following this is the meat section - which is purely recipes prepared with lamb - mainly curries. (I do not feel qualified to comment any further on this section as I do not like lamb).

Following this is the "fish and seafood" chapter, which includes using monkfish, mackerel, crab, halibut, prawns and mussels - mainly in curries but also baked and marinated.

Then onto the "vegetable" section, which I also highly recommend, especially as it presents largely simple and exciting ways of presenting vegetables (I try to minimise the amount of meat dishes I cook in a week for financial and environmental purposes). A lot of these dishes require relatively short preparation and cooking times and not being too heavy are really good for mid-week evening meals. The high vegetable content must mean that they are nutritious as well. There are a lot of potatoes and spinach in this section and the vegetables not only form whole meals but side dishes which are versatile with main dishes, and not just those that are in this book.

The next part is the "lentil and bean" section which happens to contain my favourite recipe in the whole book and one which is now part of my mid-week evening meal repertoire - the "simple spinach and lentil curry". It is absolutely delicious and filling (even my husband loves it and he is a complete curry fiend and carnivore.) In fact all the recipes that I have tried in this section are far from bland and seemingly quite nutritious.
After this comes "bread and rice" which is a particularly useful section as it starts off with different and versatile preparations for rice which I have used so many times. It then moves into familiar Indian bread recipes such as roti and naan.

This is followed by the "raitas and chutneys" which is short but I think covers all the basics you would want at a simple level. However, I think that these are better saved for a special occasion or a meal when you want all of the trimmings, as I feel that they are probably the least essential part that you would need for an Indian meal/banquet.

The "drinks and desserts" section was a bit of a revelation for me as I have never experimented with Indian-style desserts. There are a lot of smoothie/yoghurt type dishes. There are a lot of smoothie/yoghurt type dishes. As a fan of chai, I have to say that I highly recommend "the ultimate Masala" tea which is lovely and warming anytime but also can be a bit of a comfort drink. It is not difficult to put together when you have the right ingredients, but takes a bit longer to prepare than your normal cuppa - but if you have the time it is worth it - trust me!
At the back of the book there is a glossary which goes into more detail about a lot of the ingredients, particularly spices.

All-in-all, this is a recipe book that I would highly recommend. It has a lot of very good, tasty, easy and nutritious recipes that can be done over and over again. I think that although it is a good introduction to Indian cookery it is quite moderated so if you wanted something more traditionally Indian, you should probably go for something like "50 great curries of India" or something by Madhur Jaffrey.

Summary: a great addition to any recipe book collection.