Free The Café Spice Cookbook: 84 Quick and Easy Indian Recipes for Everyday Meals by Hari Nayak

Ginger-Garlic Paste and fry for 1–2 minutes until soft. Add the green chili peppers, tomatoes, ground coriander, Asian red chili powder or cayenne pepper, salt, and 1 cup (250 ml) of the reserved bean-soaking liquid or water. Cover and cook over low heat until the masala is cooked, about 5 minutes.
    Add the cooked or canned red kidney beans to the tomato gravy and simmer, adding more of the bean-soaking liquid or water as needed, about 5–10 minutes. Stir in the Café Spice Garam Masala, fresh coriander leaves, and butter (if using). Serve hot.

Lentil and Spinach Soup Dal Palak
    You can have this soup any time of the year, but it is especially great when the weather is cold! Serve it with Naan Bread (page 121 ), bread sticks, crusty bread, or have it just by itself. This soup has a refreshing, rustic simplicity that makes it feel like a safe haven amidst culinary fussiness. It is revitalizing and nourishing—a wonderful one-bowl meal to savor. Soaking the lentils for 4–8 hours will help them cook faster, but it’s not essential. If you do soak them, use a smaller quantity of water during cooking, as they will have already absorbed liquid while soaking. This soup keeps well in the fridge for up to a week; add fresh spinach if you want it to stay green.
    Serves 4
    Prep time: 15 minutes
    Cook time: 30 minutes
    1 tablespoon oil
    1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    1 red onion (about 5 oz/150 g), chopped
    2 large cloves garlic, crushed
    1 teaspoon ginger powder
    ½ teaspoon Café Spice Garam Masala (page 22 )
    ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
    1 small tomato (about 3 oz/85 g), chopped
    1 cup (175 g) yellow lentils, rinsed and drained
    2 cups (500 ml) water
    3 cups (150 g) packed fresh spinach leaves, washed and chopped, or 1 cup (200 g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
    ½ cup (125 ml) coconut milk
    Salt, to taste
    2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
    Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds—they should sizzle on contact with the hot oil. Add the onion, garlic, ginger powder, Café Spice Garam Masala, and turmeric and cook, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato and cook for another 30 seconds.
    Add the lentils and water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover partially, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 15–20 minutes. Add more water if you want the dal to be thinner. If you want the soup to be a smooth purée, use a hand blender to purée the mixture now.
    Stir in the spinach, coconut milk, and salt. Cover and simmer until the spinach is cooked, about 3 more minutes. Serve hot, garnished with the fresh coriander leaves.

Cauliflower and Curry Soup Gobhi Shorba
    Cauliflower is easy to find and quite inexpensive. If you find yourself waiting for true spring produce (peas, favas, and asparagus), this is a good recipe to tide you over. One nice thing is that it takes very little time to pull together. You simply cook down the onions and garlic with the cauliflower, broth, and warm spices and prepare your favorite toppings (I like roasted potatoes, toasty cashews, and spicy red chili flakes—all with a dash of olive oil). Try it with coconut milk instead of heavy cream. Use skim milk for a lighter soup or skip dairy products completely for a vegan option.
    Serves 4
    Prep time: 15 minutes
    Cook time: 30 minutes
    1 teaspoon black peppercorns
    4 whole cloves
    5 green cardamom pods, crushed
    1 stick cinnamon, ½-in (1.25-cm)
    1 tablespoon fennel seeds
    2 tablespoons butter
    1 small onion (about 4 oz/125 g), chopped
    4 large cloves garlic, minced
    1 piece fresh ginger, 1-in (2.5-cm), peeled and chopped
    6 cups (600 g) cauliflower florets (from 2½ lbs/1 kg cauliflower)
    1 teaspoon Café Spice Garam Masala (page 22 )
    Salt, to taste
    7 cups (1.75 liters) vegetable stock or water
    1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
    Place the peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and fennel seeds in a small piece of cheesecloth and