“Indian for Everyone” with Anupy Singla

Since her first book appeared four years ago, Anupy Singla’s The Indian Slow Cooker and Vegan Indian Cooking have perennially topped Amazon’s list of bestselling Indian cookbooks. Her new book, Indian for Everyone, offers more than 100 classic and popular Indian recipes—all of the traditional favorites and more—and it is expected to be a breakthrough title in bringing Indian cooking to an even larger American readership.

Indian for Everyone opens up the pleasures of Indian cuisine for any home cook, regardless of dietary restrictions, level of expertise, or prior familiarity with Indian food. For novices, Singla includes descriptions of all-important Indian spices and step-by-step guidance on using them. None of Singla’s recipes contain curry powder—in fact, as she explains, most traditional Indian recipes do not use curry. There are many recipes from Punjab, the region where Singla’s family is from, but also recipes from many other regions of India. And Singla has included instructions for different preparation styles, so readers can prepare the recipes in vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free versions. The result is a flexible, comprehensive, beautifully photographed resource that makes Indian cuisine more accessible than ever before.

Anupy Singla is a former journalist turned cookbook author and entrepreneur. Born in India but raised outside Philadelphia, Singla is the co-founder of Indian As Apple Pie, a company with a variety of recipes, custom spice blends and unique home goods designed to make Indian cuisine accessible to every type of home cook. Singla’s commitment to healthful recipes and family-oriented cooking is inspired by her dedication to bring good, authentic food to her two daughters.

As a gift to our readers, Singla has provided us with one of the recipes from her new book. See below:

Kali Maa

Ingredients
3 cups (603 g) whole, dried black lentils with skin, cleaned and washed thoroughly
1 medium yellow or red onion, peeled and quartered
1 (2-inch [5 cm]) piece ginger, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 –6 Thai, serrano, or cayenne chilies, stems removed, finely chopped
2 bunches fresh cilantro, washed and chopped (about 2 cups [473 mL]), divided
1 tablespoon (15 mL) ground cumin seed
1 tablespoon (15 mL) ground coriander seed
1 tablespoon (15 mL) garam masala
1 heaping tablespoon (15 mL) salt
1 teaspoon (5 mL) turmeric powder
1 teaspoon–1 tablespoon (5–15 mL) red chili powder
12 cups (2.84 L) water
1 teaspoon (5 mL) mustard oil (optional)
1/2 cup (118 mL) heavy whipping cream or plain yogurt (optional)
1 pat butter for garnish (optional)
Chopped onions, for garnish
Chopped tomatoes, for garnish

Directions

1. Put the black lentils in the slow cooker.
2. In a food processor, grind the onion, ginger, garlic, green chilies, and 1 cup (201g) of the cilantro. Add this mixture to the lentils along with the cumin, coriander, garam masala, salt, turmeric, red chili powder, and water

3. Cook on high for four hours. Add the mustard oil, if desired. 4. Cook for another 4 hours. Mix in the remaining cilantro and add the cream or yogurt, if you wish. Garnish with a pat of butter and chopped onions and tomatoes. Serve with basmati or brown rice or with naan or roti, an onion salad, and yogurt.