Fresh India: 130 Quick, Easy, and Delicious Vegetarian Recipes for Every Day

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About Fresh India: 130 Quick, Easy, And Delicious

About the Author When not traveling around India, collecting recipes, Meera Sodha chefs, writes, and lives in London. Made In India is her first cookbook. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Fresh India 130 Quick, Easy, And Delicious Vegetarian Recipes for Every Day By Meera Sodha Flatiron Books Copyright © 2016 Meera Sodha All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-250-12383-1 Contents TITLE PAGE, COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEDICATION, INTRODUCTION, HELPFUL WEIGHTS MEASURES, HOW TO USE THIS BOOK, TEN WAYS TO RAISE YOUR GAME IN THE KITCHEN, STARTERS SNACKS, ROOTS, SQUASHES, TUBERS, OTHER THINGS, GLORIOUSLY GREEN, EGGPLANTS, SALADS, PRESENTATION SKILLS, EGGS CHEESE, LEGUMES, RICE, MENU IDEAS, BREADS, PICKLES, CHUTNEYS, RAITAS, DESSERTS, DRINKS, HOW TO MAKE ..., INDIAN HEALTH REMEDIES, RECOMMENDED SUPPLIERS, THANKS, INDEX, ABOUT THE AUTHOR, ALTERNATIVE CONTENTS, SEASONAL CONTENTS, COPYRIGHT, CHAPTER 1 HELPFUL WEIGHTS MEASURES Ingredients vary in size and potency, but this is a good rough guide if you're substituting whole spices for ground, scaling up recipes, or don't have a pair of scales on hand. GENERAL 1 teaspoon = 1/3 of a tablespoon = 5ml 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 15ml RICE LEGUMES Appetites will vary (so plan accordingly), but as a general rule allocate 4 tablespoons of dry rice per person. As for legumes, allow ¼ pound of the dried variety per person, or a generous ¾ cup of cooked. SPICES You might find the following measures helpful if grinding whole spices: BLACK PEPPER 1 teaspoon of peppercorns = 1½ teaspoons of ground pepper CARDAMOM Approximately 12 pods = 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom CORIANDER 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds = 1¼ teaspoons of ground coriander CUMIN 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds = 1¼ teaspoons of ground cumin FENNEL 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds = 1¼ teaspoons of ground fennel MUSTARD SEEDS 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds = 1½ teaspoons of ground mustard NUTMEG ½ a nutmeg = 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg CITRUS FRUIT 1 lime = roughly 2 tablespoons of juice I lemon = roughly 3 tablespoons of juice GARLIC 1 fat clove of garlic = 1 teaspoon of finely chopped garlic ONIONS 1 large brown onion = approximately 7 to 8 ounces HOW TO USE THIS BOOK GF GLUTEN-FREE DF DAIRY-FREE VE VEGAN Traditionally, Indians eat a couple of different dishes for lunch or dinner. Dotted around the table you might find one or two curries, a dal, some rice, and maybe a pile of chapatis. If you're lucky, you'll also get a tray of chutneys and a side of raita too. We tend to focus the meal not on one central "hero" dish, but around a few smaller ones, so you get a lot more flavor and texture. This wonderfully varied way of eating has evolved over many centuries, and has in part been made possible by the amount of time Indian women have spent in the kitchen. But given our busy lifestyles, we all like a bit of simplicity when it comes to cooking during the week, which might mean a one-pot dish cooked in half an hour or making something in the same time it would take to order takeout. So I've written this book in a way that will satisfy different levels of time and enthusiasm. You can either combine a few different dishes or just cook one thing for dinner. There are no rules, but I've made some suggestions in the introductions to each chapter, or under the recipes themselves, for what will go with what. Where you see "Serves 4 as a main course" you shouldn't need anything else alongside except some rice or bread, but where you see "Serves 4 as part of a main course" you might want another dish to go with it. When I'm cooking during the week, I'll often cook a standalone dish, like a rice packed with vegetables, or a curry, soaking the rice before I start cooking. In the fridge I'll always have a few different pickles and some yogurt to make raita with. But when the weekend hits, I love to take my time and make a couple of things, or cook a big batch of dal to last a few days. With any cuisine, the big question