Indian As Apple Pie

Messy is good. In fact, it’s great. That was the good news from my meeting this morning with my publisher. Based out of Evanston, Illinois, he took a chance on my first book and now we’re onto number three together. Today’s coffee was just the push I needed to not only get re-motivated with my recipe testing, but to get kicking with this blog. “Anupy, you’re a perfectionist.” In some books that would be an asset. In my case, it’s a deterrent. My desire to produce the perfect blog post is preventing me from showing all of you the actual...

   The one thing I always say about Indian cuisine is that it’s one of the only that takes vegetables – like this cauliflower – and places them center stage without ever skipping a beat. Growing up, I rarely ate meat. At home, it was typically Vegetarian Indian at every meal. When we protested, my mother would either make spaghetti spiked with cumin seeds or my father would take us to the Burger King a little north on Route 202 in our town of King of Prussia, PA. It took me years to realize that I would eat the whopper...

  When my first cookbook, The Indian Slow Cooker, was released in September, 2010, I did what every new author does. I religiously checked Amazon.com every hour on the hour with my breathe held. I was looking for rankings and reviews. As they started to trickle in, most were stellar, five-star ones. But there were some negative ones too. The first really nasty review came from a ‘man’ in Thailand, saying that he was disgusted that the chicken curry recipe never turned red. And, that it was not up to his expectations of standard Indian food. I wrote back saying that...

I’m not going to lie: I love, love, love New Year’s. Especially making resolutions. I’m a writer who covets my pens and pencils. Who keeps my best ones in a little, tan leather pen holder from Coach. Who actually has a collection of notebooks. I’ve never met one that I didn’t love. And on New Year’s I have the ability to purchase a new notebook, the blank pages a symbol of the opportunities ahead and the many amazing and beautiful lists to come. This New Year’s is no different. My resolutions include new and old ones: eat better (i.e. no...

Lentils are the heart of Indian cuisine. Regardless of where in India you live, or what kind of household income you have, there’s one thing you have in common: lentils – tiny little dried seeds that grow in a pod and pack a nutritious punch. In North India, they are prepped with earthy cumin seeds and cilantro, while in the South their flavors are heightened with slightly bitter mustard seeds and curry leaves. Regardless, when you get a bowl of lentils in your day you know you are also getting a plant-based protein that’s not only delicious but clean and...

Before Americans discovered tandoori turkey, there was just turkey.  Golden, buttery brown on the outside, slightly crisp skin. Bright, white meat on the inside. Sitting on a large platter, having cooked for many labor-intensive hours. Sliced thin for every eager plate. Stuffing perfectly soft, crunchy, salty on the side. Gravy spread graciously over the entire plate. It was a traditional Thanksgiving that my meat-loving Punjabi father always sought. My mother - the vegetarian - not so much. Growing up outside of Philadelphia in the 1970's, Thanksgiving was the first major celebrated holiday I can remember outside of my and my brother's...

Most Hindu Indian families - if they eat meat in the first place - allocate one day in the week a 'no meat' day. Typically a Monday or Tuesday, this day is also dedicated to a Hindu deity, maybe Lord Shiva, Vishnu, or the great monkey God Hanuman. Regardless, the meat is swapped out for another protein, usually paneer, or homemade cheese. Keep in mind, although about 30 percent of Indians are vegetarian, the concept of giving up dairy and going Vegan is a new one. My mother tended to blur the lines of this 'give up' day and expand...

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. Teaching classes. Traveling. Promoting my new Spice Tiffin in Williams-Sonoma stores around the country. Launching a new spice line. Driving the kids to and from school, piano, tae kwon do, and swimming. Doing laundry. Cooking. Making dinner. Reading, changing, and rereading the edits on my new book, Vegan Indian. I often feel the futility, like drinking from a fire hydrant. As I type, I'm (Sun. 02.26.12 9 p.m. pacific) I'm sitting at the airport in Seattle waiting for the red-eye back to Chicago. I land at 5:10 a.m .. head home..and start...

There. I said it. I'm a fraud. I always talk about eating healthy - making your own food at home - enjoying the process and not just the get - teaching your kids how to eat healthier and all I feel like is a fake. The last week as I geared up to land in Mumbai (Wed. evening) for a full-fledged food tour of Kerala, I was so packed with teaching classes and getting deadlines met that all I did was stress. And that stress made me want to eat. Not fresh salads and green smoothies like I normally espouse...

The word tofu has a lot of power. It has the power to induce disdain. Nose-wrinkling. Repeated diatribes - especially from hard-core carnivores. Oprah is a famous one that comes to mind. I've never seen someone recoil physically as much as she does even at the mere mention of eating the stuff. Then the audience laughs knowingly. Everyone nods in agreement, and a sacred pact between carnivores is again silently affirmed: nothing - especially not tofu - will threaten the ability of anyone to eat and enjoy their meat. In my mind I liken the reaction to NRA members discussing...