Chetna's Healthy Indian: Vegetarian: Everyday Veg and Vegan Feasts Effortlessly Good for You

by Chetna Makan

'Her food is a joy, and a true celebration of eating' - Nigella LawsonHealthy Indian Vegetarian is a celebration of Indian food at its best; fresh, vibrant and supremely moreish. Chetna Makan's bestselling cookbooks combine her creative flavour twists with a love of simple Indian home cooking. Taking inspiration from the eclectic mix of vegetarian and vegan dishes found in Indian cuisine, these tempting recipes celebrate plant-based food at its best - delicious, vibrant, varied and nutritious. Nothing complicated; just beautiful food for everyone - and so healthy that you can enjoy it every day.With over 80 delicious recipes that vegetarians and even the most dedicated of meat-eaters can enjoy. Chetna shows just how creative you can be with even the most humble of vegetables. This book is packed with flavour and innovative ideas whilst being easy and accessible for home cooks.Recipes Garlic and tamarind soupGram flour stuffed chilliesCheese and potato chapatti sandwichCourgette kofta curryBeetroot and sweet potato kormaMasala paneer

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking, Food, Reference, India, Indian Literature

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 11, 2020

About the author

I love to cook, whether its a simple chutney or a complicated recipe. I have been greatly inspired by my mum’s cooking who has taught me everything I know about flavours.

I trained as a fashion designer in Mumbai and moved to Broadstairs in Kent in 2003. I have always loved cooking but after having my 2 children I found my interest in baking grow. I am a creative yet meticulous baker, and find baking a perfect outlet for my creativity.

Trying out new techniques and challenging myself is what keeps me going. Being on Great British Bake Off 2014 has been an amazing journey and has given me the confidence to try new combinations of flavours. I will always cherish this experience and the time I spent in the tent with my fellow bakers.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I took this out of the library, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary in here, basic Indian cooking. Was expecting something a bit more exciting. Probably not even one I would buy if I came across it second hand.

[Anila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly the way I want to eat on a day to day basis. I’ve only had this book for less than a month but have already cooked so many of the recipes. They are comforting and familiar but also creative and exciting. Can’t wait to try more recipes!

[Karen Witzler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it - more great Chetna cooking. Vegetarian - I believe the majority are vegan.

[suzzane cawthra · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent, simple vegetarian food. will cook from this book a million times.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Source

A good accessible source of recipes and techniques that I will use again and again. The eBook has good hyperlinks and photos.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has gorgeous photography, so one of my stars is pretty much just for that! But honestly there aren't many recipes here that really inspire me to try them. A lot of them just take too much time, or seem too complicated for my very limited cooking skills, or involve ingredients I'm not sure I could find, and if I could, where would I keep them all and what else would I use them in? It would be a commitment.

It's a cookbook full of food I would absolutely love to eat, if only someone else would do all the cooking for me.

Can I just come over to your place for dinner, Chetna?

[W. eFred · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been looking for simple recipes amid health issues that make it hard for me to cook for long periods of time. This book delivered. I’m very excited to try several of the sandwiches and salads, and found myself copying down a number of recipes that are low-effort but complex and delicious. In addition, I copied down some more intense recipes for when I have more energy. This is a great book for those who are looking for practical, accessible cooking.

[Shelley Chastagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eight sections of delightful Indian cuisine. There is so much flavor packed in you won't even notice that it's vegetarian. Beautiful pictures and easy to follow instructions make this an easy choice to explore Indian food. The author provides a UK/US glossary and ingredients are listed in both units of measurement.

[Zee Monodee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huge fan of her YouTube channel, so I was expecting 'more' from this one... Most of the recipes felt a tad underwhelming, to be honest, like you'd need to make 2-3-4 of them to make a full meal, and they're not really easy-breezy as multiples.
Still, I'm sure someone will find something or more to entice them here. While I did find a couple of recipes I want to try, I was expecting to want to make most of the dishes in this book, and this felt a bit like a letdown

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The recipes are okay, but most dishes taste significantly underspiced in comparison to the dishes I have cooked in other Indian cookbooks. Also, Chetna's approach to cooking with spices seemed different to those that I have encountered in other Indian cookbooks. Instead of blooming the spices in oil toward the beginning of the dish and adding more throughout the cooking, in the dishes that I made from this book all the spices were added at the end and they weren't always bloomed in oil first. I'm not sure if that's just a difference in the way that she cooks compared to the other cookbook authors I have read, or if perhaps that's part of making the recipes healthier. But it did produce a noticeable difference in terms of the spice level of the various dishes that I tried.

[Piyush Sharma · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an average read. There were few interesting recipes too, but it was little disappointing overall as many of them required fried ingredients plus there was no mention of macronutrients in recipes. To be frank, I found most of the recipes carbs loaded. But as stated earlier, there were few interesting and unique recipes as well.
Might prove to be a good read for those who are unfamiliar to Indian foods.

[Preety · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice selection of easy Indian recipes. Instructions are clear and the photos are lovely. The recipes all seem to be reasonably simple. All the recipes I have tried so far have turned out well (roast cauliflower and red onions, cumin dal, rajma paneer, masala paneer) and they all turned out very well. I've already added some of them to my usual rotation.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice variety of tasty, healthy vegetarian recipes. Easy to follow. Most do not require a lot of time. Might be difficult to find some of the ingredients depending on where you live. I think this will be a cookbook we refer to often.

[Priya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cookbook has a healthy mix of rotis, curries. I would have liked a better selection of desserts and appetizers. I like the things I have tried so far. The rotis and curries. The pictures are gorgeous.

[Alena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely things in here.
Only annoying thing is that a bookmark only carries the name of the chapter it is in and not the name of the specific recipe you bookmarked. If they offer an ebook version of a book, I wish they would do it properly.

[Christopher Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good veg recipes, and I've begun cooking a few, veganizing as needed with appropriate substitutes. So far, I've enjoyed courgette bharta, black-eyed beans (peas) with spicy onions, and spinach masala chickpeas. Yum.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yummy Indian recipes with a healthy slant.

[Tksnpm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many recipes seem easy enough even for me, but many of the ingredients sound difficult to find...

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!!!! Want to buy it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice book but wasn't as interesting as I wanted it to be.

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really lovely recipes.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many ingredients I didn't know.

[Sarah Baines · Rating 5 out of 5]

😋😋😋😋😋😋😋

This book is brilliant. I've yet to cook from it admittedly, but I've bookmarked so many recipes to try especially as I'm both trying to eat more healthily and have more meat free meals. The ONLY problem I have with this book is which recipe so I try first!?!?🤔

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw this chef with matty from the GBO, i was so excited to check out the recipes.
Anh.

none begged to be cooked, and it made me sad.

[Bridget Fairbank]

Yum!

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great photos, but the recipes didn't grab me.

[Beth E · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am always looking for ways to make healthy, delicious food, and I love Indian food.
This cookbook is an exciting adventure for me, and I am really looking forward to making many of the recipes.
I have made the beetroot, carrot and peanut salad, and I loved it. It is unique and tasty.