The Indian Slow Cooker: 50 Healthy, Easy, Authentic Recipes Paperback – September 7, 2010

I love Indian food, eat it when I can (ate it twice today: once homemade from this book, once takeout), and aspire to be able to make it authentic-tasting at home. My hope for this book was to be able to get my fix on weeknights and have it taste authentic "enough" to justify the concession to convenience made by using a slowcooker. A couple of observations:1. I've made full recipes so far, cooked 1/2 at a time in my 3.5 QT slowcooker, and frozen the other half to cook later. A half recipe (plus rice or bread) feeds my husband and me dinner one night and lunch the next day. I haven't had to adjust the cooking times any for my cooker or the half recipes. I have the Rival 3.5 QT "Crock-Pot," a no-frills unit with no programmable capability that was a gift. I haven't gotten around to prepping in the morning & cooking all day, which would be the ideal. I always prep on a weekend and cook overnight, partly because my area seems subject to a lot of power outages that only seem to occur during the day, and my slowcooker isn't one that can cope with that.1. Like some reviewers, I have found the amount of heat too hot. I skip the chilis and cut the amount of red pepper in half. I get my spices mostly from the Mexican spice section of a Stater Bros Grocery in southern California, and they are pretty fresh & potent (and cheap!). I think heat levels are relative to factors including type/quality/freshness of the spices used, not to mention individual taste, and therefore can't not be subject to some tweaking. All chiles/red chili powders are not created equal, nor are they necessarily interchangeable.2. The spiced cauliflower & potatoes does need to be cooked on HIGH 3 hours as some reviewers have mentioned, not low, as the book states. Also, there was something a bit off about the flavor profile when I made it, but I can attribute that to the particular buyout garam masala blend I used. I'm going to make my own garam masala blend and I fully expect this dish to go from good to great as a result.3. I've never had a too-salty experience with these recipes. I'd cut the salt in half per the author's suggestion if I used table salt. I use kosher salt, which others have mentioned is mellower.4. The recipe breakdown seems to be roughly 60% beans/pulses/lentils, 20% veggies, 20% meat. This is no problem for me since I don't like meat, but the meat recipes make me want to try them to serve to my husband and son. I consider this proportion a plus, allowing me to make healthy entrees based on ingredients available in bulk (beans!) that are cheap, low-fat, and don't take fridge space.5. Regarding the seeming "authenticity" and relative healthfulness: For what it's worth, search "Indian Cuisine" in Wikipedia & it says the Indian food a lot of Westerners are used to from restaurants has a lot more butter, cream, etc. than that traditionally cooked at home, and these recipes seem to reflect that. If I want richer, or to cut the heat, I add butter, ghee, oil, heavy cream, or Greek yogurt (also good to cut the heat, if your husband likes it hot and you not so much!). It's a matter of taste. Also, apparently , lots of restaurants serve North Indian food, and the author has branched out (coconut as an ingredient is South Indian), and declares she never ate X-dish growing up, but hey... I appreciate having a variety in one book.6. Regarding some preparation steps some reviewers have complained about: I don't boil & peel my tomatoes. This could be the "right" way, but for me is altogether extra. I DO think grinding whole spices is *SO* worth the extra effort for all the flavor you get. That and the substantially better shelf life. If you're worried about the cost of getting stocked with ingredients, buy them in bulk without the dang little jars, or online. Bulk by the once is pretty affordable, and doesn't have to be tons. For grinding spices I use a coffee grinder dedicated to the purpose. That's a small cheap appliance that tucks away when not in use and saves a ton of time. I keep the whole spices (sometimes you use those, too/instead), and grind a little at a time maybe once a month- not even each time I cook. Keeps it fresh and convenient. If you are used to chopping/knife work, you won't find prepping these recipes taking that long. I am thinking of investing in a bigger food processor some day but it's no requirement and I don't currently use one except to make the masala pastes. The only annoying preparation step for me is peeling and grating ginger. This to me is tedious, but that's hardly the author's fault.7. I did expect the book to be thicker, but it's got what the description said it would. It's beautifully photographed, concise (I don't need a lot of how-to, and it really doesn't require much), accessible, friendly. It does have the sense of being someone's first effort at writing a cookbook but I am pleased.Overall, I am very pleased with my purchase. My husband likes the food (and he's not the die-hard I am), it's not any more difficult than any other slowcooker recipes I've tried, and I don't find the ingredients at all intimidating. The few I didn't already have (hing, fenugreek leaves) I could probably find at any number of Indian markets in my area, but will probably end up ordering them online (& paying more, but not running around in the car). All in all, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to eat more Indian with minimum hassle.

I'll start my review by stating I've read all of the 1- and 2-star reviews here on Amazon.com before I prepared most of the recipes and I'll try and address many of the concerns noted there.I am graduate student who loves to cook but who is often busy (or, at least, should be busy) studying and a slow cooker was a Christmas gift for me to allow me more time to study yet still prepare delicious, home cooked meals.In my search for "healthy" slow cooker cookbooks, I ran across this book and ordered it instantly as I love Asian cuisine. I'll admit, I lean more towards sushi, Thai, and Chinese than I do Indian (so, I'm no expert) but I've liked every Indian dish I've had previously in restaurants.Before writing a review, I decided to try a swath of recipes from the book. Here they are (for what it's worth, in order that I made them):Traditional Chicken Curry, page 108Rice Pudding, page 127Punjabi Curried Kidney Beans, page 74Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes, page 91Black Lentils, page 51Many of the negative reviews stated the dishes were:- "too spicy" -- I didn't find this to be the case, at all. I went with the low end on the chilies (i.e. many recipes state 4-6 serrano peppers, I'd go with 4), often seeding/stemming at least one of them to cut down on the heat. If you don't like foods too spicy, but still want the flavor, I'd recommend using fewer peppers, or seeding/stemming them before adding them to the dish.- "too salty" -- the author *clearly* states upfront that she uses kosher/sea salt in all recipes. If you use table salt, she recommends cutting the amount by half. As someone who never uses much salt in the preparation of his food, I've yet to find any dish "too salty"- "undercooked meat/veggies" -- I own a 6-quart crock pot, which is larger than the 5-quart crock pot the author uses in all recipes. As such, my cooking times had to be longer (though, not by much. maybe 30 minutes), as it takes longer for the heating unit and stoneware to get up to temperature. Nevertheless, I have *never* had an undercooked dish by simply following directions and adding a smidge more time. Again, the author clearly states in her introduction (as do *all* slow cooker cookbooks I've run across) that different units heat differently, and cooking times need to be adjusted accordingly.- "not authentic" -- this is one issue I cannot address, as I am not Indian nor did I grow up eating "authentic" Indian cuisine. However, each dish I have tried is tasty (as I'll elaborate on below).- "too many beans/lentils/non-meat recipes" -- while I bought this book on a whim, if you are purchasing books through Amazon.com, many of them allow you to view the Table of Contents before purchasing the book. I recommend doing that, should you be worried too many recipes won't suit your fancy.- "all the spices are the same in each recipe" -- I'll admit, this had me highly skeptical, as well. With almost every recipe using the same spices (turmeric, red chilie powder, garam masala, cinnamon, ginger, serranos, cumin, coriander), I really thought the dishes would taste waaay too similar and I'd get sick of each recipe. Boy was I ever wrong! Each dish, while similar, has it's own unique, distinct flavor that is just wonderful! On top of that, as as graduate student, it's budget friendly, as I only need a few spices in the pantry to make a wide variety of dishes!Now, on to my food reviews:Traditional Chicken Curry: as this was the first dish I tried, I had high hopes (especially considering my apartment smelled fantastic for hours!). It came out very delicious and was easy to make. And much to my surprise, it tasted even better the next day!Rice Pudding: my least favorite of the five dishes I've tried so far. I made it twice, as I messed it up the first time, and I did like it better the second time. Honestly, I think I'm just not a huge cardamom fan and it was "too much" the first time. The second time, I used ground cardamom, instead of seeds, hoping to tone down that particular flavor. It worked, and I enjoy it much more now.Punjabi Curried Kidney Beans: let me state upfront I am not a vegetarian and almost every meal I typically make contains meat. Boy was I surprised how much I loved this...even more than the chicken curry! While I'm not a vegetarian, this cookbook may yet turn me into one! I was amazed how the spices and flavors created a wonderful dish that didn't even make me miss meat!Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes: again, upfront, I hate cauliflower. Seriously! But, I was so pleased with the curried kidney beans, I decided to give this a whirl. Again, wonderful!Black Lentils: I am eating this as I write, and having never had lentils before, it is again delicious and I don't even miss meat. Truly a compliment!I've already gone to the grocery store to stock up ingredients for the next few dishes I want to try...I've been eating nothing but Indian food since this book arrived and I can't say I'm sick of it! I also love that she gives the history of each dish, along with personal anecdotes about each. For me, it really helped bring the book/food alive.While everyone has a different palate, and different tastes, I can honestly say I have enjoyed every dish I have made. If you love flavorful, simple foods to make, I suggest you try this book.

I bought this book a few years ago and it's become one of my firm favourites. The recipes are clear and easy to follow. I don't have a slow cooker but have found them easy to adapt for stove-top cooking. It's true that most of the recipes are for beans and lentils, but these are excellent and I've found they go down equally well with vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters. The black lentils, south Indian lentils and Dad's rajmah are superb. A satisfied silence descends at the table when meat-eating friends are tucking into the traditional chicken curry or Pakistani 'old clothes' beef curry. Don't baulk at the scarily large quantities of garlic, ginger and chili recommended for some recipes: the lady knows what she's talking about and you won't regret following the detail of the recipe. Portions are extremely generous, but nobody has complained about that!

Too much heat, far too much salt (2 tablespoons salt, tablespoon chilli powder + 6 fresh chillies). Book looks lovely but recipes are time consuming & to be honest not that tasty. Even when lowering the chilli content the spice overides the flavours of the food. Chickpea curry was a disater. had the help of an indian friend who suggested the chickpeas needed some pre cooking before the 14 hrs in the pot - they were still a bit hard. My family loves Indian food & I have many Indian cook books whose recipes can easily be adapted for the slow cooker. On the plus side - nice pictures & a good description of spices etc.

I'm hugely disappointed with this book. I wanted a cook book with recipes that I have in my store cupboard.This book only has 8 meat recipes, very few vegetable recipes, not even classics likewhich I'm sure some of them could be done in a slow cooker. The pulses aren't the common ones either, black lentils and black chick peas?? I've found it quite a bizarre book tbh! Most of the book is taken by saying what Indian food is. Thirty one pages to be exact.I'm truly disappointed and I'm going to send it back, even though it was cheap enough.

Prompt delivery. As a tentative cook of Indian food, this book has some good tips and explains the cultural use of recipes. However, unfortunately, the fact that the book is written by an American and therefore for Americans has given it a layer of difficulty. There are different names for ingredients thus it is a bit challenging sourcing some of them. Referral to various kitchen gadgets and methods have also left me without a clue.

Oh my gosh I've only cooked two curry's from the book so far and both have been wonderful! This has really enhanced my understanding of my slow cooker. The butter chicken was divine and I'll definitely be cooking it again! I like the layout and the little introductions are really nice too. Easy to follow recipes.