I don't know how I found out about Fresh India but I'm pretty sure I found out about it from the vegetarian cookbook queen Charlotte. She loves a cookbook like me and always cooks such delicious looking meals. It's not a secret that I own a LOT of pictures but this one is in my top three. I absolutely adore it! Fresh India is probably the best Indian cookbook I've ever used and I love reading Meera's anecdotes with each recipe. It's so lovely to hear the inspiration behind everything and learn all about her family. I've adored every single recipe I've tried and know it's going to be a staple in my kitchen for many years to come. I haven't had any trouble finding any of her ingredients in the supermarket which is a plus. Here's what I have cooked so far!
P.S I can't wait to be able to start taking pictures in natural light again - these hurt my poor eyes!
Chana Saag (pictured below with the samosas)
Hands down my absolute favourite dish. I very rarely cook the same thing twice but we have this at least twice a month. It's so simple to make and tastes banging, even better the next day. It's one of those dishes that can be made entire from store cupboard essentials if you keep frozen spinach in the freezer. We like to serve it with naan breads.
Leek, pea and mint samosas
I hosted a curry night last year and decided to take on far too much as usual. One of my dishes was these samosas. I didn't cook them for long enough but the curries were ready and I didn't want them to get cold. Next time I'll be more organised. These were a bit fiddly but well worth the effort. The filling was great and tasted really fresh thanks to the mint. I'd definitely bake these again if I was doing a special dinner. They're a bit too much of a faff to do midweek for me!
Savoy cabbage, black kale and potato subji
I cooked this up one Sunday to have as lunches throughout the week. It's a great dish to have as lunches as it's really tasty to be eaten cold if you don't have a microwave. I struggled to find black kale in Aldi so just made do with normal kale. Another one that I will most definitely make again.
Aubergine and pea curry
Nearly everyone I've talked to regarding this book has recommended that I needed to cook this recipe asap. So I cooked it up for my lunches and realised just why everyone has recommended it! I love aubergine in a curry anyway so this was always going to be a winner for me. It tasted a bit like it should be used as a samosa filling - which isn't a bad thing! There's a ongoing theme going on in this book as this is yet another one I'll definitely make again.
Bengali coconut dal
This was the first ever Dal I made and I never knew it was so easy! I really enjoyed it and it made great leftovers. Something I always look for in recipes! Next time I would mash up the lentils so it isn't as chunky. Personally I prefer my days to be a bit more smooth.
Pistachio and almond cake with saffron icing
I made a mistake and poured water into the icing so it went extremely runny but it was nothing a few hours in the fridge couldn't sort out. I really loved the subtle flavours in this and it made a nice change for the standard drizzles I keep baking. It was really simple to make which makes it perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon of baking.
Bengali-in-the-cupboard egg curry
The texture was a little weird for me at first but I soon got over that and now have been converted to egg curry. I love recipes that are made up of store cupboard essentials and this one fitted the bill perfectly. I cooked the sauce one Sunday night and kept it in the fridge. It was so easy to heat up in a pan while I boiled a few eggs during the week. I love a midweek dinner that takes less than 10 minutes to throw together!
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