Spice for Life: Healthy and Wholesome Indian Cooking

Love this fascinating book by Anjula Devi.Everything I have cooked from it has been truly wonderful with such pleasing depth of flavours.Light, bright and incredibly well received by everyone.The spices and ingredients used are carefully subdivided to ensure the very best flavours and authenticity together with a very well written narrative, which delves into how this very talented chef learnt to cook & incorporates family recipes too.Very highly recommended.

Wow! What an amazing book full of wonderful original recipes. Spice for Life manages to capture the heart of Indian cooking and take it onto another level using a variety of ingredients often overlooked in India cooking (e.g. use of gooseberries, mangoes and pomegranates). Anjula is able to combine these ingredients in the most mouth-watering and awe inspiring ways.The book is clearly written from the heart and this passion comes through the hand written context alongside each recipe. My daughter is a vegan and I was particularly pleased to see so many of the recipes were wholesome, healthy vegan friendly dishes.I also loved the way Anjula uses simple recipes alongside more complex dishes making this book suitable for the novice (like me) as well as more accomplished cooks. I can’t wait to try some more of the recipes in here having already had success with the “Black-Eyed Peas with Roasted Peppers” (page 130) and “Roasted Aubergines with Fresh Coconut” (page 116).I would highly recommend this book if you want to learn how to cook delicious, healthy, inspiring Indian food.

A beautifully illustrated cookery book of authentic Indian recipes with a few surprise twists on ingredients. I particularly like the way Anjula builds on texture & seasoning by grouping the different spices e.g key spices, warming spices, wet ingredients etc. She is an authentic storyteller that engages with the emotion of food, which certainly captured my interest to want to recreate some of the recipes. Some of my favourites include Spicy Haddock Scotch Eggs, Tamarind, Carrot & Cumin Muffins and Panner with Mango Pickle & Peppers. A tribute to her late father and a lovely coffee table book too!

What an inspiring recipe book! "Spice for Life" is a truly beautiful book, peppered with stunning mouthwatering photography. However it is the recipes that shout "make me" now! They are so fresh & vibrant but yet clearly rooted in Anjula's deep knowledge of her craft. Almost every recipe has a story behind it - that sense of place somehow seems to add to the recipes and brings them alive. The almost autobiographical nature of the book never detracts - the food always takes centre stage. So fantastic to have so many interesting recipes using seasonal produce that can easily be grown or obtained in the UK. I was able to walk straight into my back garden pick some Rhubarb and make "Bombay Potatoes with Rhubarb" - it was delicious! If you want to learn how to make wholesome healthy Indian food I would not hesitate to recommend that you buy this book today!

This has to be the definitive book on cooking real Indian food. Finally a cookery book that explains the symphony of key spices and warming spices and the importance of preparation and marinading in advance. A cookbook peppered with anecdotes and very clear guidelines as to various spices required for each dish. This stunning book does Anjula's cooking skills credit and wants me, the purchaser, wanting to try every recipe. And I will. Already I have chicken marinading in preparation for her chicken curry recipe tomorrow. I'm awaiting the marriage of spices tomorrow and I already know I won't be disappointed. The very clear layout of instructions distinguishing between key and warming spices and wet ingredients leads to an easily structured end result. A book to be cherished and used often. A book that came from love to be loved.

This is not your standard Indian Takeaway menu cook book, but rather a compendium of surprising yet delicious flavour combinations that never disappoint. It is healthy home cooking, the kind you are unlikely to experience unless you are invited to someone's home. Anjula's encyclopedic knowledge of spices shines through in every easy to follow recipe. I have followed Anjula's career for some time now and its great to see her undoubted talent rewarded with mainstream exposure. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Lovely book. Recipes are, however, not suitable for beginners, you need to have at least intermediate skills and know the spices before you begin. There are far too many spices used in many recipes and there is long list of ingredients which can be daunting for novices.The explanation is elaborate which is good. Pictures are nice. The Chicken Curry recipe doesn't mention if salt is required as it is missing in the ingredients list! Also, there is not a single dessert recipe in the book.

Anjula's beautiful book of recipes opens with a very touching letter to her father, who taught her from early childhood to cook with love. There's something for everyone in this, whether vegan or omnivore, and the recipes are laid out in a way that is easy to take in. A great deal of hard work has gone into the making of this book and Anjula deserves every success.