Heavenly Vegan Dals & Curries

May 24, 2019

Yadav (blogger, boxofspice.com) endeavors to demonstrate how diverse and appetizing vegan food is by sharing 75 recipes for dried legumes and flavorful sauces. Already renowned for its highly varied, plant-based dishes, Indian food gets even more interesting when Yadav cooks because she occasionally fuses recipes from her Indian childhood with ingredients she's encountered while living in the United States and the Netherlands. For example, a few recipes incorporate items such as applesauce, plantains, navy beans, risotto, and collard greens. Practical for busy people, the book begins with quick, stand-alone dishes, then transitions to power bowls pairing two dishes. The author then moves on to recipes requiring more time and spices. Unconventional, wholesome snacks round out her offerings. While most of the recipes are straightforward, beginning with a few chatty sentences and ending with a note about a tip or ingredient, there is no overview of Indian cooking, glossary of ingredients, or helpful grocery list as in Richa Hingle's Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen. The stylish, full-page food portraits are lovely, though some depict flower garnishes without accompanying text about the edible flowers. VERDICT A surprising collection of easy, healthy dishes showcasing the variability of vegan meals. Recommended for both vegans and nonvegans alike.--Bonnie Poquette, Milwaukee

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 18, 2019
Yadav, creator of the Box of Spice blog, presents a solid collection of vegan dals and curries for all tastes and skill levels. Surprises abound, such as urad dal risotto with caramelized fennel; and masoor peanut sauce dal, which artfully blends Indonesian and Indian fare. Illustrating the versatility of dals and curries, Yadav offers up a spicy coconut plantain soy bean curry; potatoes with a carrot curry with brown lentils, bok choy, and asafetida (a pungent spice also known as “devil’s dung”); and a green apple and potato curry with crunchy green beans. Ingredients are easily sourced, and dishes are simple to prepare. Beans, however, often require soaking overnight, such as the chickpeas and lentils in a dal minestrone, though Yadav’s ginger tumeric chickpeas with roasted cherry tomatoes calls for canned beans and is ready in 15 minutes. Ghee, or clarified butter, is a prominent Indian ingredient that Yadav sidesteps by substituting coconut oil. The result is a wonderfully inventive collection of dishes that is sure to strike a chord with vegan lovers of Indian cuisine.