paraplu

Aside from what's mentioned here already, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything is a great resource. I'm not sure how much Indian food is in it, but the recipes are simple and followed by a long list of simple substitutions to make different variants.

I have a copy of Curry Easy and everything I've made from it has been good.

I don't think I've seen anything that wouldn't be suitable for beginners, but I'm also not entirely sure I would notice.