Healthy Indian: Everyday Family Meals. Effortlessly Good for You

Makan (The Cardamom Trail), a former consultant on the Great British Baking Show, covers quickly prepared, healthful Indian dishes in this inviting volume. As the author points out, Indian food cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients is naturally healthy, not “a diet or a fad-eating plan.” An eggplant curry as well as a dish of cauliflower and potatoes with garam masala and other spices are typical of the fare. Makan also provides recipes with multiple variations: a yogurt-based curry can be made with chard, broccoli, carrots, or new potatoes. The chapter on lentils and grains is particularly intriguing and includes barley with bell peppers and peanuts. There are also instructions for roasting a tandoori-style chicken in a standard oven and recipes for flatbreads and rice dishes, such as chickpea-flour pancakes with ginger and garlic. In a chapter on pickles and chutneys, Makan offers a bracing mango and mint chutney. Desserts include saffron yogurt and chocolate bark with nuts and spices. The writing is definitely British, but a concise glossary at the end will help orient U.S. readers (measurements are by both weight and volume). This is a lovely, inviting cookbook of everyday dishes; the fact that they are also healthy is almost an afterthought. Though not revolutionary, this is a welcome addition to the category. (Mar.)