A new approach to Indian cooking by cookbook author and TV chef, Manju Malhi

Everyday Healthy Indian Cookery brings the freshness and flavour of authentic Indian food into the heart of your home. These 150 recipes have been created by cookbook author and TV chef, Manju Malhi, for a healthy and balanced diet, and can be eaten every day.

Bursting with superfoods, loaded with anti-oxidants and packed with pulses high in dietary fibre, Manju brings out the flavour in her dishes with clever use of spices rather than lashings of cream, salt or oil.

Divided into 12 chapters and starting with an introduction extolling the benefits of spices: “Indian food without spices is like summer without sunshine”, the book lays down the flavour foundation of healthy Indian eating in a handful of recipes for easy-to-make and store spice blends for use in the recipes that follow.

Taking 5 minutes to prepare, Chaat Masala Spice Blend is a hot and tangy spice mix perfect for sprinkling over salads or vegetables. Panch Phoran Blend, a speciality of Bengali cuisine, is made hot and aromatic with mustard seeds and fenugreek and makes a good marriage with pulse dishes. Ready in just a few minutes, the super hot and spicy Kolhapuri Blend from Maharashtra uses chilli, poppy seeds and plenty of pepper and is a go-to for red meat curry dishes later in the book.

Later, a chapter devoted to ‘Snacks and Salads’ eschews the usual deep-fried pastry-based suspects for light and appealing alternatives such as Chunkandar ki Wafers (beetroot crisps with cooling Ayurvedic black salt) or Vegetable Masala Sandwich made with wholewheat bread and minty fresh raita.

Curry recipes – both fish and meat, are light and flavourful such as the Hot and Sour Fish Curry flavoured with iron-rich tamarind and all round wonder spice, turmeric. Lamb curry calls for sunflower oil, rather than ghee, and is loaded with warming and healthful ginger, cardamom, coriander and lots more turmeric.

Meanwhile, dessert recipes lean towards fruit bases and a recipe for Khubani ka Meetha, an ‘apricot whip’ of sorts, uses light yogurt instead of cream and comes naturally packed with dietary fibre from apricots, almonds and walnuts.

Rooted in the streets, homes and markets of Manju’s India, Everyday Healthy Indian Cooking reflects the delicious flavours and aromas of the curries and health-giving spices from the author’s travels across India and the Indian culture she grew up surrounded by in West London.

About the author

Manju Malhi, a TV chef and a cookbook author, was born in England to Indian parents. She grew up in West London surrounded by Indian culture, traditions and lifestyles. However, she spent several years of her childhood in India where she explored and experienced the vast and varied cuisines of the country. In her cooking, she draws upon her past and combines it with the realities of urban Western life and has come up with her own unique Brit-Indi style of food. Her first book was the acclaimed ‘Brit Spice’. She filmed a 40 part television series aired to over 100 million viewers in a series called ‘Cooking Isn’t Rocket Science’.

Malhi likes to keep things simple and straightforward and is known as a crossover cook.

Malhi’s other books include Brit Spice, India with Passion, Classic Indian Recipes and the Easy Indian Cookbook. Through her books and work in the media (BBC, ITV and Sky), she works to contribute positively to society. In addition to writing and developing recipes for retailers, she loves teaching, hosting cookery theatres and culinary demonstrations promoting the easy ethos of home cooking in a current climate where health issues, global waste and the respect of food is very much on everyone’s mind.

Everyday Healthy Indian Cooking By Manju Malhi
RRP: £8.99
Published in paperback by littlebrown.co.uk
ISBN: 9 78142 139 627
Available from Waterstones, all good book sellers across the UK and Amazon