Easy Indian Cooking

by Suneeta Vaswani

Do we need another Indian cookbook when Madhur Jaffrey, Neelam Batra and Neela Paniz have already done such a fine job? Between them, every recipe must be in print. Wait until you meet the unquestionably talented Suneeta Vaswani, a prolific teacher of Indian cuisine. For 25 years Vaswani (at her Houston cooking school) has been de-mystifying a cuisine as complex as its origin. The astounding range of Indian food means that you might be mesmerized by a dazzlingly fragrant Chicken Biryani with multiple layers of flavor, texture, and spice—or simply sipping on a refreshing blend of pureed mango, yogurt and milk whirled with ice, otherwise known as Mango Lassi.

Finally, Suneeta Vaswani decided it was time to put her years of experience into words, and this is why we welcome her first cookbook—Easy Indian Cooking. You won't forget the title and you'll love what's inside.

Easy Indian Cooking is not an exhaustive volume of recipes (we love those very much, too) but a friendly companion that makes great Indian food immediately accessible to the home cook. There's no getting around the ingredients, you'll still have to track down pungent asafetida, mango powder, nigella, and carom, but Vaswani's introduction provides the rationale for each spice—their attributes, uses, and enough context to banish the intimidation factor. And, later on, her sources will ensure that you can get your hands on anything you may need.

Vaswani's introduction is carefully planned and competent. It is a brief discussion of cookware and tools, plenty about ingredients to keep on hand, what kind of meat to buy, a comprehensive section on spices, herbs, and blends, and wise words on leftovers. She leaves nothing to chance, so Basic Techniques include, among other things, how to toast and grind spices, how to make coconut milk and how to fry nuts and dried fruit.

After that, Easy Indian Cooking is, well, easier than you might expect. There are 130-plus recipes starting with Snacks and Appetizers, like popular tikkis—Yellow Mung Bean Patties, and Meat and Potato Patties redolent of allspice. There are kababs and golden, crunchy Kande ka Bhajia (Onion Fritters), and Aloo Chaat—Spicy Boiled Potatoes that make a great side or a lunch unto themselves.

In the Rice, Cereal and Breads section, we love the pulaos, especially Gobi Pulao, Basmati Rice with Spiced Cauliflower that incorporates sambal olek (Asian red chili paste) and chopped tomatoes. This is also where we encounter Vaswani's Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani—an elaborate chicken and rice concoction that is a delightful cooking experience and exciting Moghul meal rolled into one—ever so fragrant, and garnished with hard-cooked eggs, cashews, raisins and tomatoes.

Easy Indian Cooking is also fun—there's nothing mundane because Vaswani does a masterful job of including a balanced assortment of dishes from key regions in the north, south and elsewhere. Wheat, grains and ground mixtures of toasted spices characterize the foods of the north, but southern Indian eating is all about rice, and the spices used are typically fried first in oil. Vaswani's choices means that you'll find Sambar (South Indian Lentil and Vegetable Stew) from Tamilnadu on one page, and Tomato Dal, which hails from Maharashtra in Western India, on the next.

Recipes in the Beans and Lentils chapter are interesting (Punjabi Rajma is a regional favorite to which Vaswani suggests adding chicken to make a one-dish meal). But everything shines in the sections entitled Poultry and Mean, and Fish and Seafood. From the basic Tandoori Chicken, and Preeti's Brown Onion Chicken (an addictive combination of caramelized onions, chicken, yogurt, cilantro, and the always appropriate spice blend), to Goan Pork Vindaloo, Red Fish Curry, and fiery Prawn Patia, the results were delicious.

Easy Indian Cooking features almost a dozen exclusively vegetarian entrees, like Creamy Spinach with Mung Dal, Saag Panir (you won't believe how easy Panir cheese is to make), and Aamlete (Indian Omelet), which Vaswani tells us become sandwiches on the streets of Mumbai, and a popular pick-up lunch. If you add up vegetarian recipes from other chapters, the book offers 75 in total.

Of course, Vaswani includes a must-have assortment of Raitas and Chutneys and good advice on how best to use them. She suggests that Date and Peanut Chutney can be transformed into a smashing barbecue sauce. Corn, Mango and Cucumber Raita is perfect in summer, with lots of peanuts in the dressing for yet another layer of crunch.

After feasting on such bold food, Sweets and Beverages kept our interest, but we could only consider tiny portions of Kheer (a very slowly reduced North Indian Rice Pudding), and of a cream of wheat-based Orange Saffron Pudding. Or maybe skip dessert this time, and save room for more Sweet-and-Spicy Butternut Squash, and Creamy Broccoli Curry.

Be sure to use this book, but read it too. Vaswani's writing is homey, familiar and engaging. Her chapter introductions and head notes are interesting and colorful but not overdone. Tips are considerate and useful. More importantly, the recipes work…very well. They are well written and easy to follow. It is so well suited for frequent use that it will soon become marked up, smudged and dog-eared. And that's not a bad thing.

Reviewed by Kevin Schoeler

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