Book Review: Indian for Everyone: 100 Easy, Healthy Dishes the Whole Family Will Love by Hari Ghotra

Indian for Everyone: 100 Easy, Healthy Dishes the Whole Family Will Love by Hari Ghotra was released for sale on October 4 2022. Fresh, flavorful, and full of spices, veggies, and healthy proteins, Indian for Everyone presents over 100 curries, daals, and other classic Indian dishes to make and enjoy with your kids (or without). A former chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant Tamarind, as well as a creator of a popular line of curry kits and sauces, Hari Ghotra’s mission is to demystify Indian cooking so everyone can enjoy its benefits. She explores the many perks of traditional Indian spices—including reducing inflammation, lowering blood pressure, and easing pain—and shows how to stock your pantry with the most versatile ingredients. She covers basics like biryani and rogan josh, as well as street food, snacks, drinks, and holiday specialties. Many of the recipes are naturally vegan or vegetarian, but can easily be made with meat as well, as detailed in the substitutions section. And she even includes some flavorful Indian twists on beloved American foods like mac and cheese and chicken wings.

Indian for Everyone: 100 Easy, Healthy Dishes the Whole Family Will Love is a very well written cook book, with instructions and encouragement for readers. I have always enjoyed Indian food and the flavor profile, but I have been so unsure as to how to get started, especially with my less than adventurous and fairly picky household. I will admit to being a little worried when the importance of onions was discussed in the introduction- since I am not necessarily a fan- but Ghotra offered solutions, ideas, and substitutions for a variety of dietary restrictions and preferences- including onions. I liked that each recipe included imperial and metric measurements, making them easily accessible to readers, and offers suggestions and tip on how to personalize the recipe and how to make aspects of cooking easier (like prepping and freezing masala in advance). I thought it was well organized and the recipes were easy to understand and follow. While I might not have all of the ingredients for all of the recipes in my house already, most of the items I was missing are easily obtained in large grocery stores, although some require a little extra leg work. I am looking forward to trying my hand at some of these recipes (starting with the naan, turmeric and honey bread, and a few desserts). More importantly, I have a better understanding of spices I love and how I can use them to better  effect and with different combinations than I have tried before. I think this is the perfect cookbook for those looking to learn more about Indian Cuisine and how they might better understand and incorporate the spices and intent of it more effectively. 

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