This was a very interesting book and I can't wait to try some of these recipes. I like that the author gave this book a personal touch by including own personal story. If you know me, you know I love books where each recipe has a photo so I know what the dish looks like when it's done, an explanation of the more exotic ingredients, and information on certain cooking methods. This book met this criterion. It also offered tips regarding ingredient substitutions and storage. Another thing that I liked is that the book doesn't only include recipes from a particular region but other regions as well. The only reason I gave it only 4 stars is that it is missing resources on where to get some of the exotic ingredients. Not everyone lives in places like New York where you can find all kinds of stores offering those. A small chapter about other sources, e.g., online, would have been nice.

Thank you, Netgalley and the author/publisher, for the opportunity to read (listen to) and review an advanced reader's copy of this book. This in no way affects my review, all opinions are my own.

Plant-Based India is a new cookbook by Internist and nutritional medicine practitioner Dr. Sheil Shukla. He takes the concept of a vegan Indian cookbook and puts a new spin on it by focusing on his Gujarāti culinary heritage and marrying that with his passion for nutritional medicine. Vegan Indian cooking is not new to me, so I liked this take on the theme. Shukla’s parents immigrated to the US in the 1970s, and he was raised in Wisconsin. His mother and grandmother were key influences in his experience of food, cooking mostly Gujarāti food. As often happens, he drifted away from this as a young adult living on his own (kind of like I drifted towards more diverse foods as a young adult!), but eventually came back around to his cooking roots. Cooking and nutrition became twin passions, and, interestingly, a form of artistic expression. Choosing to go vegan in 2015, this has become key to his culinary life.

“I strongly believe that food, nutrition, and medicine are deeply connected and that even deeper are aspects of culture, socioeconomics, weight stigma, and even politics. How can we find a cuisine that balances all of these? I don't know if we ever will, since each component has its own complexities and challenges. But I do know that, if we recognize food as being so much more than what goes on our plates, we will be a step closer to achieving this balance…I believe it’s important to put thought and intention into the food that nourishes us.”

Honestly: an Internist, a chef, a self-taught nutritional doctor, and a cookbook author. I’m not sure how he does it. Maybe it’s all the nutritional food he eats that gives him superpowers!

Shukla lays out some basic principles of his food philosophy: Eat seasonally; don’t be ultra restrictive (he uses some oils and sugar when it enhances the dish, for example); try for more plant-based eating; and use your food as medicine.

I learned that a Gujarāti meal usually consists of a shāk (vegetable dish), a dāl (legume dish), rotli (flatbread) and bhāt (rice). I decided to make this the basis of my meal. However, in the end, I altered it a bit. I was slightly over-ambitious and ran out of time to make my own rotli. Also, I really wanted to try out some condiments, so I made two chutneys and a rāitā. I spent one day shopping, and one day cooking. Then, my spouse and I sat down to taste test everything.

The cookbook spans cooking traditions from different regions of India, but I focused on sampling the primarily Gujarāti recipes.

Shopping:

I had almost everything I needed to make the dishes. I love that there’s a handy section on the Indian pantry in the book. Even though I’m pretty familiar with Indian ingredients and spices, I used it for a couple of new items. There were two ingredients that I had never heard of before, and I love that! They were 1) kokum, a tart dried fruit that adds acidity (used here in the Gujarati dal), and 2) āmchur, a dried green mango powder with a fruity, tart profile. It smelled wonderful! I headed to my local Indian grocery and they had both.

Also, I love that sulfurous black salt is used in two of the recipes I made. I bought it for a vegan tofu scramble a while back, and had to buy about half a cup. It will last me for the rest of my life. I was able to use up a whole teaspoon of it between the two recipes in Plant-Based India. Huzzah!

Cooking:

Shāk (Vegetable Dishes): Flāvār Vatānā Nu Shāk (roasted cauliflower and peas)

Shāk is the Gujarāti term for an everyday stir-fried veggie dish. The author notes he grew up eating this dish frequently. The roasted cauliflower came out beautifully charred. Stir-fried in just a bit of oil, with water to keep it from sticking, I added the peas and spices. I couldn’t find fresh curry leaves, so I used dried. This was an easy dish to make, and not overly spiced. I love veggies, so this was just perfect for me.

Dāl (legume stews): Gujarāti Dāl

I’ve made a lot of dāl, and I do love it. This one is neat: on the surface, it seems like any other dāl, but it had some differences and this came through subtly in the flavour profile. It’s made with toor dāl (pigeon peas) cooked in my trusty Instant Pot then mixed into the spices and tomato, and simmered down to a desired consistency. I was interested to see the addition of cinnamon sticks, star anise, and a bit of cane sugar. This was also where I used the kokum. These additions added an impressive complexity. Was there a hint of cinnamon sweetness layered with the acidity from the kokum? I think so! Yum!

Bhāt (rice): Mint Pea Rice

I don’t think I’ve made “green rice” before, and it was so easy. I Instant Potted (new verb!) the basmati rice, then added it to blended mint and spinach, then added spices and peas. It looked so pretty. My daughter tasted it and said that it tasted like tea-flavoured rice. She really loves mint tea, so that’s how she experienced it! It was very mild, and I added a bit more lime juice and salt than called for. That said, it was a visual stunner, and worked well as a more neutral flavour to complement the other dishes. It's a great substitute for regular rice, because its mild flavours didn’t compete with the other dishes, but it added healthfulness because of all the veg and spice.

Chutney and other Condiments:

I made a point of choosing a few of these. More and more I’m convinced that the condiments and sauces from a cookbook are often the stunners of the meal and are keeper recipes. It totally helps to have a high speed blender for the chutneys: they blend up easily and are a cinch to make.

Mint Cilantro Chutney: Packed with green goodness from mint and cilantro, with raw cashews (the workhorse of the vegan Indian kitchen), this was so easy to make! I also got to use āmchur powder for the first time and use up some of my black salt.

Date Chutney: Okay, I was pretty dubious about this recipe, as it seems dessert-ish. But it was so simple (black salt again!) and so delicious. The recipe doubled beautifully.

And finally…a Rāitā. A must for me with an Indian meal. I made Beet-Carrot Rāitā. Adding the tempered mustard seeds and curry leaves to the cool plant-based yogurt seemed wrong at the time, but all worked out. I really needed to trust the recipe on this one, and I’m glad I did. And it looks stunning when presented at the table!

The Cooking and Dining Experience:

Cooking these recipes was reasonably straightforward and fun. It helped that I already had most of the ingredients. If you are new to Indian cuisine, spending some time upfront to make a good list of ingredients and visiting an Indian grocery would be best, though in an urban centre probably most big grocery stores would stock most ingredients. I’m not going to lie, I had my doubts about some of the recipes as I cooked and tasted. The mains were subtly spiced (except for the dāl!), and the chutneys on their own seemed underwhelming.

But I was so wrong! We sat down to eat, and when we started playing with the mains, chutneys and rāitā together on the plate, the meal became an elevated experience. My spouse loved the play of flavours together, and ate two full plates of food. We both raved about the condiments: The main dishes were tasty and substantial, but the chutneys and rāitā made the meal more than the sum of its parts. My growing conviction that the side dishes, condiments and sauces often make the meals superb was so evident here! In the end, my spouse leaned back from his cleaned plate and announced, “Well, I’d pay for that meal in a restaurant any day!”

As to the health benefits of this Gujarāti cuisine? I love food that is tasty and satisfying, but makes you feel healthier for having eaten it. That’s how I felt after this meal. In the end, I appreciated Plant-Based India for marrying healthy eating and the wonderful flavours of Indian cuisine. There are several other recipes I plan to try out from the book. Shulka ends by noting:

“There’s no one-size-fits-all plan when it comes to nutrition and wellness, but I hope this book will get you started or allow you to continue along your own path to being the best, healthiest version of yourself.”

This is a great book for anyone who loves Indian food, vegan or not. The cuisine lends itself naturally to plant based dishes, so these recipes felt authentic and not forced. Lots of variety covering so many familiar favorites but also some new ones I can’t wait to try. Plus there is a photo for every recipe, which makes it a winner for me. I particularly liked the introduction focusing on nutrition, ingredients and spices and their uses. Definitely recommend this.

I love this book! It is a gorgeous book filled with close up , colorful photos of the finished dishes. The recipes are awesome Nothing is complicated, yet the end results are beautiful and flavorful. Included are pretty much all of my Indian restaurant favorites, plus many other dishes that I was not familiar with, but am eager to try What especially stands out for me are the deserts. ...Cardamom Coffee Cake, Chocolate Chai Mousse with Berries, and spectacular Nankhatai pecan cookies . This is a really great book that I wholeheartedly recommend.!

There are lots of good recipes in this cookbook. The pantry section at the beginning was helpful. I liked that there were pictures of the recipes.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Just goes to prove plant based doesn’t mean boring. Tons of flavorful plant based recipes. So many unique recipes you won’t find in every cookbook.

Great explanation of spices and steps! Very excited to try a few recipes, it’s nice that he has strategies for using a regular oven to get similar results to traditional methods of cooking.

This is my new go to cookbook. The cookbook itself is beautiful and the author writes in a way that really invites you into his life. For those new to Indian cooking, he provides tips and an explanation on the various types of ingredients used in the recipes. If anyone is looking to incorporate more plant based recipes or to transform the Indian dishes that you love into plant based versions, then this book is for you. The author is a doctor of internal medicine and has a passion for using food as medicine. You can really feel that passion come alive throughout the book. I highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for providing a free electronic copy of this book for my honest review. Am incredibly grateful.

I already pre-ordered this book and can't wait to get my hands on the print copy. Indian cuisine is my favorite, and as a vegetarian, I greatly appreciate these plant-based recipes. I learned a lot about food from different regions of India and how dishes are commonly consumed. The recipes all appear to be nutritious and approachable and the accompanying photographs left my mouth watering. I highly recommend this title for anyone interested in Indian and/or vegetarian cooking.

This cookbook has beautiful photos and detailed explanations of hard-to-find Gujarati home-style plant-based recipes. These dishes cannot be found in most Indian restaurants, and are made up of healthier ingredients. My favorite recipes in the book are the multiple variations of khichdi, India's comfort food. The author's background information makes the book even more meaningful to readers. I have pre-ordered the printed version, because I had difficulty using the digital version.

This Cookbook is Beautiful. The photography and presentation of the foods is done superbly. I was hungry just looking at the pictures. This is a definite addition that elevates the book for me.

I loved reading a bit about the author, Sheil Shukla’s back story. I found it quite interesting. He lived in the mid-west, but his parents and his ba (paternal grandmother) lived together. They had immigrated from Ahmedabad, India so his cooking background uses Gujarati Recipes. He had traveled many times to visit his grandmother in India and came to appreciate the culture and foods from the region. The cookbook incorporates Vegan Indian Recipes, many Gujarati, but also other areas of Southern and also Northern India. When he was studying to be a doctor, he decided nutrition was important. I do not like fad diets or quick fixes, yet the author is not suggesting this at all. Says it is best to prevent disease, and often the best way is through a more nutritious diet, increased physical exercise, reducing stress, and getting enough sleep. I would say these recommendations have long been known and suggested to live a longer and better life. I am not a Vegan, but think this recipe book works fine. I enjoy Vegan Recipes and the Recipes sound delicious.

I put in for this book because I am fortunate and have a health food store with almost all of these spices. I have most on hand and can easily get a new one if needed. I also had just gone shopping and bought butternut squash, beets, kale, mushrooms, ginger, and spinach. I decided it would be great to try some new recipes.

Here are some I will try first, since I have all the ingredients and can get cooking 🧑🏻‍🍳
1. Butternut Squash and Mushroom Biryani
2. Roasted Bhinda, since I have Okra on hand
3. Citrus, Fennel, and White Bean Salad
4. Rosario’s Baby Potatoes with Greens

I love Mango Lassis, but often buy the pre-made Mango Juice which has little Mango and a lot of Corn Syrup. I have a Vitamix and already made this tonight. Delicious. Uses a Mango, Non-Daisy Yogurt (I used Lite Cocunut Milk) and Maple Syrup. Then loved it had additional Lassi recipes, including Beet Lassi which I will make.

Last, I appreciate the author gave different Masala Spice Blends, so you can make your own and have them on hand. Very easy to do and nice to have pre-made so ready when cooking.

This is an exceptional cookbook. I love the look of the book, the recipes, and the emphasis on healthy foods that are delicious. Definitely, 5 Star Rating from me. I have other Indian Cookbooks and think this is the nicest and most varied I have ever had.

Thank you NetGalley, Sheil Shukla and The Experiment Publishing for granting an ARC of this cookbook. I am happy to review it.

I’ve been having a more plant based diet and this was the perfect book to inspire me to continue. The flavors are amazing and it’s not a watered down Indian cookbook which is amazing.

What a beautiful book! The photographs and layout are food for the eyes and the recipes and ingredients are created with the aim of accessibility, even for those new to vegan cooking. Every recipe gives insight into the author’s family history, or the significance of the ingredients. I learned so much reading this book, which bolstered my confidence to cook more vegan recipes. I had followed the @plantbasedartist Instagram account and was thrilled to know there would be a cookbook. The author is an internal medicine physician and how he shares his knowledge of health through our food is wonderful.

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this eARC.

My family loves Indian food but I have been wanting to experiment more with vegetarian Indian dishes as the flavors and spices are ideal for vegetarian dishes. So I was excited to receive a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, it wasn’t as accessible as I had hoped. There are many ingredients that I don’t keep on hand and I have a LOT of Indian spices on hand. A lot are more labor intensive than I have time for as a busy mom of three as well. I probably wouldn’t reach for this book very often when there are easier resources out there. I did, however, bookmark several recipes that sound amazing and I’m excited to introduce them to my family. Also, the photography is beautiful.

The first thing I want to say is, this book is beautiful. The imagery is amazing. Every recipe has an accompanying photo as well, which is helpful when making a new dish. This book is written by a medical doctor which impressed me and lends an extra layer of expertise to the health portions. My favorite recipe so far is the Tofu Tikka. There are so many recipes I plan to try out. I plan to purchase this cookbook so I have it for my library. I love Indian food, and it will be nice to have recipes for Vegan versions.

I love Indian food but never make it because it seems far too complex. This beautifully illustrated book takes all of the guesswork and discomfort out of mastering a new cuisine with its well-crafted recipes. I love how it has an entire section devoted to just the spice blends that are so distinctive with this cuisine. An easy to follow recipe later and you have a homemade batch of spices perfect for giving your food that perfect flavor. Great cookbook!

I received an arc, but my opinions are all mine.

This is a beautiful book -- the layout, the photographs (which make you want to try everything!). I have so far made four recipes from different sections -- Creamy Masala Tomato Soup, Chole/Chana Masala, Tomato Onion Masala (which is part of the Chole recipe), and Gajjar No Halvo Baked Oatmeal. I cook a lot of vegetarian Indian food -- I'm not Indian, but I am a vegetarian -- and these recipes will definitely become part of my repertoire. They are not terribly complicated, and the results were delicious. I doubled the Tomato Onion Masala recipe, and ended up with an extra portion of it. I froze the extras and look forward to using them in another receipe. I know that this book will be a success because my husband, who is the judge of all my cooking attempts, was quick to express his enjoyment of the tomato soup and chana in particular -- not a common occurrence. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a new vegetarian Indian cookbook, or to add one to their collection.

Sheil Shukla is an almost visible presence in this cookbook. Many of the recipes come with a back story. For example, the steamed Idada cake square is his mother's specialty, whereas the lentil based Handvo was inspired by his aunt. The various Vegan recipes are "introduced" by the author with either this type of family reminiscence or the cultural significance of the particular dish.

You get a brief snapshot of the author's life as we meander through steamed appetizers, soups and salads (the creamy Masala tomato soup sounded (and looked) divine! The Quinoa Kachumber (salad) looked and sounded so much like the quinoa/lentil salad that I often buy from Costco that I wondered whether this Northern Indian recipe was the basis for that very successful addition to the Costco ready-made dishes on offer.

Sheil Shukla's recipes and instructions are often meticulously detailed. Even I, who rarely follow a recipe to the letter, would not dare to deviate from the scripted culinary path! At one point, the author suggests, in the description of his grandmother's recipe for Zucchini Muthiya, that although this steamed roll can be made with other vegetables, the reader should master making the Muthiya with the suggested zucchini first. Noted! I actually enjoy deviating from a scripted recipe in an effort to "make it my own" (and also, more likely, because I forgot to include the ingredient on my grocery list that week!) But after this explicit warning, I wouldn't dare! Scout's honour... except that I was never a Brownie, much less a Scout.

The vegetable section held my interest the most: okra, roasted cauliflower, eggplant, cooked cabbage slaw (there is a gorgeous picture of the red cabbage slaw which I can't replicate because of copyright, alas!) and Tindora gourd: all of them sounded delicious and would make a welcome change to the usual plainly steamed veggies that I always serve myself!

Chapters for lentils, peas, tofu and rice are then presented - all richly seasoned and promising to make lunch or dinner a sensory feast. I love biryani in almost every form, and the butternut squash biryani made me wish I had included some squash to my shopping cart on my weekly shopping expedition. The Rotli (aka roti), paratha and Nan recipes were properly detailed and doable in most cases. There is one gluten free flatbread recipe made from chickpea flour for those who can't or won't do gluten.

In the dessert section, I was again tickled by the author's warning not to substitute frozen or canned mangoes. His reasoning is sound, but I had to smile when he stated that he never used frozen mangoes unless he had frozen them himself. He is such a stickler for quality control: I suspect that this cookbook came along at just the right time for me. (I really should take this author's advice and try to complete a recipe as scripted before I mindlessly substitute this and that ingredient!

But back to this culinary adventure and away from my own many gastronomical faux pas:: the desserts and drinks sections are absolutely mouthwatering, and the Acknowledgement at the end pays tribute to his wonderful family and how they all informed his own cooking methods. I'm rating this beautifully illustrated cookbook a 4.5 out of 5, rounded up to a 5. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this cookbook in exchange for an honest review.

Plant- Based India

I was lucky enough to get to view and borrow an Advanced Readers Copy of Plant-Based India from Netgalley for a couple months in return for an honest review.

First off, this is a stunning book of brightly colored pictures of spices and foods that help peak your interest and curiosity into Indian cuisine. Moving past the gorgeous pictures, you start to learn about why he has written this book plant-based as well as details on the foods you will be exploring with these recipes and what those foods can offer your body. This is an informative part of the book but is quick and helps you appreciate where the author is coming from.

Next up and one of my fave parts of this book is the “Indian Pantry” which takes you through all the spices, herbs, flowers, grains, and beans that you may or may not be familiar with but even if you are familiar with them this section can teach you a lot. Listing their names, forms, flavor profiles (my fave section and indispensable in my opinion. It also gives info on how certain grains and legumes differ from your more ‘common’ forms. Such a MUST when cooking with flavors or combinations you're not familiar with.), and detailed descriptions of origin, what it does for the recipes, swap outs, etc. There is only benefit and learning from a section like this! You can take that info with you into your cooking elsewhere.

For those avoiding onions, garlic, etc there is a brief section in the INTRODUCTION discussing some simple swaps as well as where and what types of recipes to look for to avoid dishes that are allium heavy.

Then we start hitting recipe sections… Starters, Snacks, Soups & Salads, Veg Dishes, Gravy Dishes, Legume Dishes, Rice Dishes, Indian Flatbreads, Spice Blends, Desserts, Drinks, and Chutneys & Condiments. Each section has an intro and some also have some cooking tips. Don't skip those tips, some are really helpful. So if you are looking for an authentic Indian cuisine cookbook that hits on alot of the main staples, and gives you a good variety of recipes, give this one a try.

I tried to make at least one recipe from every section before making this review. I find there's no better way to review a cookbook than test its recipes the way they are written. Just reading over a cookbook gives you an idea but using a cookbook gives you the knowledge within.

When you make it to the recipes and start looking over them, if you have not noticed before, you're going to start learning some translations of what the recipes mean, some of their ingredients, and also some of their origins. Such as “aloo”, meaning “potato” and which parts of India certain dishes are from. I really appreciate that in cookbooks. There are so many different areas of cuisine in India that I think this is very informative in helping you find regions that you may find flavor combinations that you like most.

Next up cooking a new type of cuisine can be overwhelming and I think at times looking at this book and all the recipes I needed to make for other recipes did overwhelm me. Such as the first recipe, Roasted Aloo Chat, which listed 4 other recipes as “ingredients”. The dish looked amazing, but I have yet to make it because it’s time consuming. So, recipes like that almost fall off my radar unless I am making one of the “ingredient recipes” for a different dish. Then I may come back and revisit such recipes.

I think this is where some “quick make ahead fresh” options to serve with your meal would help. Or even just more tips on what can be made ahead like Rotli dough. I think that makes it more accessible for the everyday busy cook. This is mentioned on some of the condiments such as the Tomato Onion Masala which can be premade and stored. Sidenote, speaking of Rotli, even with the thorough instructions for a recipe that I feel is pretty easy, I’m not sure what step13 “move the skillet aside and replace with a kitchen grate” means. What is a “Kitchen Grate”?

When exploring a new cuisine or just recipes that you aren't familiar with, it's nice to have pairing options. This book does give you those for a lot of the recipes but not all. Some things are as simple as pairing with rolls, flatbread, rice, and/or dal. Others give you recipes from throughout the book to pair. Which is a nice touch. I like this feature but I feel like I needed some more info when it came to pairing, especially on the recipes that didn't say much about what to pair them with or add in another teaching moment of why they are served together or what flavors or textures go well together for people new to this cuisine.
Some recipes also give you options of pairing outside of this book's recipes. Like the Garam Masala Dressing that says it can also be served in place of mayo on wraps and sandwiches.

I wish this cookbook, after speaking of all the nutritional benefits of eating plant-based recipes, would have nutritional info showing the reader what benefits are gained from the plant-based recipes. It is mentioned in the introduction table and on some of the recipe descriptions for curtain ingredients but it doesn't show facts for the entirety of any recipe.

With ease of use, the ARC didn't have an index but a place for an index was listed. I hope it gives a list of recipes for the recipes used as ingredients. This way you know if you want to make extra or you know what you can use the remainder in. So like the Tomato Onion Masala would have Chhole, Shahi Gobi, Rajma, & Matter Tofu, etc listed with it.
Side Note, the one recipe I made from the Gravy Dish section was a recipe that didn't have extra recipes involved except for some spice blends, Pav Bhaji. It was tasty but not one of my favorites and it also didn't turn out as pictured. Not sure why.

We did try many recipes and are continuing to try more recipes from this book. Right now I have mixed thoughts about them. I have really liked a few and we have not liked a few. It has been hit and miss with us. There will be photo reviews on my Food instagram account: Chasity.Elaine55, my Book instagram account: sbwonderlandandoz_reads, and when amazon will allow me to leave a review it will contain pictures of the recipes as well. Also check out my review at Goodreads also @sbwonderlandoz_reads, linked on here on instagram.

Some of my fave recipes so far: Oat Kheer, Mango Lassi, Gobi Paratha, Tofu Tikka.

This is a great cookbook for people interested in learning how to make vegetarian Indian dishes. The recipes are flavorful and healthy.