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Everyday Indian: 100 Fast, Fresh and Healthy Recipes
This exciting new cookbook introduces a modern concept in Indian cuisine - it can be simple, quick and delicious. With most of the healthy recipes in Everyday 100 Fast, Fresh, and Healthy Recipes ready in less than 25 minutes, Bal Arneson proves that Indian cooking doesn't have to be complicated. Her recipes use everyday spices and common techniques to create simply mouthwatering dishes that the novice cook and experienced home chef alike can whip up at home. Everyday 100 Fast, Fresh, and Healthy Recipes also offers low-fat options for the health conscious without ever compromising taste. "It's one of the most exciting cookbooks I've seen, recently, full of recipes that look simple to make, but delectable. My copy is already bristling with bookmarks in the pages that contain recipes I'm going to try."
-- Judie Steeves, Kelowna Capital News
-- Judie Steeves, Kelowna Capital News
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2009
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52 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 29, 2016
The great thing about this book is that her recipes are quick, easy and healthy. I have tried a few so far and enjoyed most of them. Our favourite to date is her Tandoori Quesadillas, yummy yum yum!!! I am really intrigued by her recipe for homemade paneer and I am looking forward to trying it.
July 25, 2019
My first exposure to Indian food was probably in the early 90s, while living in Chicago. I have a couple of food allergies (lentils being the most notable wrt Indian food), and at that time I was a little scared of heat, so while I liked most of the dishes I tried, typically at buffets, they tended to be the common "Indian-American" things you see everywhere - sag paneer, samosas, pakoras, garlic naan, tandoori chicken, etc. It wasn't until moving to an area with little in the way of Indian restaurants, and finding a copy of Jeff Smith's book on foods from our immigrant ancestors at a thrift shop that I decided to try making some attempts at cooking what has now become my favorite of all ethnic cuisines. It helps that I've become accustomed to heat in the last 25-30 years as well.
After making a couple of recipes from that book that turned out ok, I took the plunge and got my first Indian cookbook in 2014, and this was it. And it's a good starter book I think - not necessarily for those starting to cook, period - Ms. Arneson doesn't go into any great detail about cooking techniques - but a solid first Indian cookbook. Most of the recipes aren't enormously complicated to make though unsurprisingly many have quite large spice lists, and few of the stovetop dishes (the ones I've made for the most part) take more than an hour. Her writing is clear, focused, and friendly without being chatty or going into excessive detail about where she had the dish for the first time, who made it, etc, and while the foods are mostly pretty close to traditional recipes that you might find in today's Indian restaurants in the US or Canada (where she lives I believe) there are some attempts made to cater to what's available in North American markets.
My only real problem with the book is that there are a few too many recipes that are awfully similar to each other - virtually the same spice mix and cooking techniques, just one or two different vegetables. I guess that's an issue in any focused ethnic cookbook, it just seems a little more obvious here.
Favorite recipes so far of a dozen or so cooked -
cauliflower with yams - a variation on the common aloo ghobi, which is usually made with regular potatoes - I add a little cinnamon to this, and a little plain yogurt at the end to thicken the sauce
eggplant with mango sauce
papaya chicken
halibut masala
And I most want to try the recipe for veggie burgers, and at some point I'll have to try making my own breads and samosas - the recipe for the latter here is baked and, interestingly, includes cranberries in the filling - a nod to western ingredients I guess.
After making a couple of recipes from that book that turned out ok, I took the plunge and got my first Indian cookbook in 2014, and this was it. And it's a good starter book I think - not necessarily for those starting to cook, period - Ms. Arneson doesn't go into any great detail about cooking techniques - but a solid first Indian cookbook. Most of the recipes aren't enormously complicated to make though unsurprisingly many have quite large spice lists, and few of the stovetop dishes (the ones I've made for the most part) take more than an hour. Her writing is clear, focused, and friendly without being chatty or going into excessive detail about where she had the dish for the first time, who made it, etc, and while the foods are mostly pretty close to traditional recipes that you might find in today's Indian restaurants in the US or Canada (where she lives I believe) there are some attempts made to cater to what's available in North American markets.
My only real problem with the book is that there are a few too many recipes that are awfully similar to each other - virtually the same spice mix and cooking techniques, just one or two different vegetables. I guess that's an issue in any focused ethnic cookbook, it just seems a little more obvious here.
Favorite recipes so far of a dozen or so cooked -
cauliflower with yams - a variation on the common aloo ghobi, which is usually made with regular potatoes - I add a little cinnamon to this, and a little plain yogurt at the end to thicken the sauce
eggplant with mango sauce
papaya chicken
halibut masala
And I most want to try the recipe for veggie burgers, and at some point I'll have to try making my own breads and samosas - the recipe for the latter here is baked and, interestingly, includes cranberries in the filling - a nod to western ingredients I guess.
July 18, 2022
This cookbook is a keeper.
The recipes are easy, healthy and fast to make. The focus is on vegetarian food, but there is a chapter on chicken, meat and fish.
Some of the recipes have been simplified to be easier to make.
The recipe for baked samosas alone is worth it.
This is exactly what I look for in an Indian food cookbook: healthy food.
The recipes are easy, healthy and fast to make. The focus is on vegetarian food, but there is a chapter on chicken, meat and fish.
Some of the recipes have been simplified to be easier to make.
The recipe for baked samosas alone is worth it.
This is exactly what I look for in an Indian food cookbook: healthy food.
May 26, 2017
If you like Indian food, like cooking quick and easy, and are also health conscious, this is the book for you.
Most of the ingredients are fairly easy to find, and most of the recipes use more spices than anything else.
The contents are:
Introduction
Essential Spices
Bread, Sauces & Chutney
Finger Foods & Snacks
Salads & Dressings
Soups
Vegetable Dishes
Chicken, Seafood & Meat Dishes
Drinks & Desserts
Menus
Index
Conversion Tables
Thanks
There are author thoughts for each recipe which give you a look into the private life of the author, and the photos are great.
I think this would be a great cookbook to add to your collection.
Most of the ingredients are fairly easy to find, and most of the recipes use more spices than anything else.
The contents are:
Introduction
Essential Spices
Bread, Sauces & Chutney
Finger Foods & Snacks
Salads & Dressings
Soups
Vegetable Dishes
Chicken, Seafood & Meat Dishes
Drinks & Desserts
Menus
Index
Conversion Tables
Thanks
There are author thoughts for each recipe which give you a look into the private life of the author, and the photos are great.
I think this would be a great cookbook to add to your collection.
March 7, 2011
I've only made 4 items out of this 2 recipes & 2 spice blends--all yumminess. I think I'm really going to love this cookbook. I'm very good with Italian & French food & creating my own recipes but this is the 1st time I've ever attempted Indian. I'm wondering why I took so long to try it, since I loved it as take out. I do have a tiny rock star of an Indian grocery store, Nelli's Grocery, where I can find the more exotic ingredients. If not for them I couldn't be cooking out of this. Can't wait for her new cookbook and more healthy Indian dishes.
October 2, 2014
I love Bal Arneson and her vivid cookbooks, recipes shared with a mixture of personal and cultural history. It's a beautiful introduction to the Indian spice profile, while still being accessible (I think) to the beginner ... though trust me, no one knows what they're getting into with asafoetida until they've tried it. Mine is in my freezer. Triple wrapped. I'm not really into healthy cooking, but this book presents some tantalizing dishes.
Read
January 17, 2011I've been watching her show on the cooking channel, and I've already tried a few recipes. Indian food is one of our go-to foods that the whole family enjoys, and I've liked her recipes so far. Hopefully I'll find more to try in the cookbook.
March 24, 2011
Borrowed this one from a friend and found a bunch of great recipes. Definitely worth checking out if you want to spice up your menu. But be warned - there are a lot of spices you may not have handy in your cupboard. Who doesn't like a trip down the spice isle though, really?
June 27, 2009
Healthy fare! Really beautifully done. Although you will need to know just a little about Indian cooking to do these perfectly (no distinction of when to add various spices).
August 27, 2010
Interesting dishes, but most require some hard-to-find or unsual ingredients.
July 18, 2015
Super easy and mostly healthy dishes that don't require a huge trip to the grocery store and are very easy to follow. Definitely adding this to my cookbook shelf at home.
September 30, 2014
I love Indian Food and Bal is the best at making it easy and delicious!
March 24, 2014
Not as good as I hoped, but interesting to read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews