Season 2
Indian Food Made Easy is a British cookery series hosted by chef and food writer Anjum Anand in which she helps friends and members of the public overcome their fear of planning, preparing and making Indian food.
The series premiered in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July, 2007. There are 12 half-hour episodes in two seasons to date.
Indian Food Made Easy premiered in South Africa on DStv's BBC Lifestyle channel on Tuesday 2 September 2008, at 18h30. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 2 premiered on BBC Lifestyle on Friday 14 August 2009, at 18h30. New episodes air weekly. There are six episodes in the second season.
Season 2
Chef and food writer Anjum Anand returns with a brand new season of Indian Food Made Easy.
Anjum travels to different Indian communities to discover their culinary roots and traditions – from the Gujaratis in Leicester and the Kashmiris in Birmingham to the Punjabis in Scotland and the Bengalis in East London.
In each episode, Anjum introduces a guest to a different type of Indian cooking and, using skills and knowledge gained from her visits, demonstrates how preparing wholesome, authentic Indian food can be healthy, quick and most importantly of all, easy.
In Yorkshire she creates a sumptuous Kashmiri treat as a contrast to traditional English afternoon tea; she shows the Leicester Tigers Rugby Club how to incorporate Gujarati food into their training regime; and in London’s trendy Brick Lane, Anjum introduces city workers to Bengali Fish curry.
Demystifying spices and cooking techniques, this is a tour illustrating the diversity of Indian cooking in the UK combined with authentic recipes for delicious and easy to make dishes.
Season 2 Episodes
Episode 1: Keralan
Anjum Anand meets Lynn, a charity worker from Liverpool. Lynn is no stranger to the kitchen (she cooks for her local hospital), but she has set her sights on having a stall in Liverpool's biggest farmers market in a bid to raise money for the charity and would love to cook Indian food.
Anjum is on hand to help her with this culinary challenge.
Liverpool is home to a large community of Keralans and, to highlight the delights of this region's cuisine, Anjum introduces Lynn to two local Keralan women who are fantastic home cooks.
Lynn is impressed with the food they prepare for her, so Anjum puts together a menu of classic South Indian dishes to teach Lynn. There's delicious coconut chicken fry, sumptuous salmon fish wraps and vegetable and rice noodles cooked in a mild broth.
With 5,000 people passing through the gates of the farmers market, Lynn is hoping her Indian delights will be a hit with the locals. And with Anjum's simple and speedy recipes, surely Lynn can't help but be a sure-fire success?
Episode 2: Gujarati
Anjum Anand meets Michael (known as Scottie to his friends) Scott, the captain of Stoneygate, one of Leicester's oldest rugby clubs. Every month, the team has a takeaway curry.
Anjum convinces Scottie to join her in the kitchen so she can show him how simple it is to cook an Indian meal for the players, as an alternative to their traditional takeaway.
To discover more about the Gujarati food he is going to cook, Anjum takes Scottie on a gastronomic tour of Leicester. Scottie learns how to select spices and is introduced to a few of Leicester's 20,000-strong Gujarati community.
Having tasted some local delicacies, Anjum teaches Scottie how to make a fabulous Gujarati classic Undihyo a one-pot vegetarian dish.
Then it's off to meet Daxa, a Gujarati housewife, who demonstrates how to make delicious onion bhajis and reveals the secrets of a Gujarati thali.
Finally, Scottie cooks up his main course a hearty lamb curry with fenugreek dumplings and chips with cashew nuts. What will Scottie's 15 curry-loving team-mates think of his home-cooked feast?
Episode 3: Bengali
In London, Anjum Anand meets James Moody, a self-confessed foodie who loves throwing dinner parties for his friends. James enjoys Indian food but is daunted by the prospect of cooking it and apprehensive about the numerous components he believes the dishes require.
With East London's trendy Brick Lane nearby (home of authentic Bengali cuisine in the UK), Anjum introduces James to the delicious fish dishes available on his doorstep.Feeling inspired, they head back to the kitchen where Anjum shows James how to cook up a Bengali feast.
The first recipe James must master is a Bengali fish stew. Next it's off to the restaurant of top Bengali chef Udit Sarkhel for a hands-on experience making keema stuffed mashed potatoes.
Anjum's final two dishes for James are a sumptuous and earthy butternut squash dish with chickpeas and a wonderful combination of prawns, mustard and coconut.
James must now use his new culinary skills to cook for his friends. With his dinner party reputation at stake, Anjum's calm helping hand ensures James can't help but impress.
Episode 4: Punjabi
Anjum Anand travels to Edinburgh to meet Wendy Barrie. Wendy is a champion of Scottish food and a local culinary celebrity, thanks to her popular cookery demonstrations.
Wendy's traditional Scottish food is always a hit, but she has decided to go on a voyage of gastronomic discovery and cook Indian food for the first time.
Anjum is on hand to show Wendy how to cook three delicious Punjabi dishes, which Wendy must, in turn, demonstrate to her many fans at one of Scotland's biggest gardening festivals.
The first dish is a flavoursome tarka dal. Wendy then takes a break from the kitchen and visits the local Punjabi community, in order to get a real flavour of the local cuisine.
She meets Tony Singh one of Scotland's best chefs to uncover the secret of how to make wonderful rotis, or Indian breads.
With two more dishes to learn, Anjum cooks up luscious chicken in spinach and puts an Indian twist on a Scottish dessert, Punjabi Cranachan.
To complete Wendy's Indian experience she meets Tasnim, a maths teacher at her local school and a wonderful home cook, who shows Wendy how to make perfect pecoras. Finally it's the day of the festival, where 100 people turn up to watch Wendy's demonstration.
In just an hour she must convince her audience that Indian food is simple and speedy to make. By putting Anjum's helpful hints and tips into practice, will Wendy's food become the talk of the festival?
Episode 5: Goan
Again in London, Anjum Anand meets Jonathan Readman, who married his wife Lorraine (who comes from Goa) two years ago.
Jonathan confesses to Anjum he has only managed to cook for Lorraine twice and every Sunday he enjoys a Goan feast lovingly prepared by his mother-in-law, Clara.
Anjum and Jonathan agree it's time he repaid Clara's hospitality, so they set to work with Anjum teaching Jonathan how to make three gorgeous Goan dishes.
To ease Jonathan into Indian cooking gently, Anjum takes him to a top Goan restaurant to discover the secrets of dry-roasting spices.
Then, Jonathan joins Anjum in the kitchen to learn how to cook his first dish, fantastically easy fried spicy aubergines.
Jonathan also gains a hilarious insight into the extraordinary methods of making prized Goan sausages, before being thrown into the deep end, learning how to make a delicious, authentic vindaloo a far milder version than the UK palette is used to.
Anjum's last dish for Jonathan is a beautiful stuffed sea bass. Finally, Jonathan gets cracking on the ultimate test cooking for his mother-in-law.
Clara's high standards mean she isn't easily impressed, but Anjum's traditional and tasty recipes make Jonathan look like a natural in the kitchen.
Episode 6: Kashmiri
Anjum travels to the multicultural town of Bradford in the north of England to meet Jessica, who is no stranger to cooking for the masses. She is a volunteer chef on board a classic steam train that wends its way through the stunning Yorkshire Dales.
Jessica and her team have never cooked an Indian menu for the passengers who dine on the train, but with Anjum's help Jessica is keen to give it a go.
Bradford is home to a large community of Kashmiris, which inspires Anjum to teach Jessica a number of delicately flavoured Kashmiri dishes.
To begin, Anjum shows Jessica how to prepare one of Kashmir's best-known dishes a traditional rogan josh, a rich, hearty, meat and tomato curry which is full of flavour.
On the train, Jessica will serve it with a pilaf (rice cooked in a seasoned broth), so Anjum takes her to the restaurant kitchen of Mohammed Aslam, a local Kashmiri chef who shows them how to cook this rice dish to perfection.
Back in her own kitchen, Jessica discovers how to make scrumptious peppers stuffed with spicy paneer, an Indian cheese. Dessert is a childhood favourite of Anjum's angel vermicelli, topped with orange cream.
With a packed train eagerly awaiting their first on-board Indian meal, will Jessica's tiny kitchen be up to the challenge?
As always Anjum's calm composure ensures the passengers enjoy the food as much as the scenery.
Seasons
(All seasons aired exclusively on BBC Lifestyle and each season consists of six episodes)
Season 1
Premiere: 2 September 2008 | Finale: 7 October 2008 | Tuesdays, 18h30
Season 2
Premiere: 14 August 2009 | Finale: 18 September 2009 | Fridays, 18h30