India recipes
Recipes from India: home cooking with cultural background, ingredient substitutes and step-by-step instructions.
Avial: South Indian Mixed Vegetables in Coconut and Yogurt
How to make avial, from the South Indian table: cutting the vegetables, grinding coconut and cumin, heat that keeps yogurt from splitting, the aroma of curry leaves and coconut oil, substitutes, storage, and why it goes wrong.
Bhindi Fry: Indian Dry-Fried Okra
A recipe for bhindi fry, India's stir-fried okra, that stays dry rather than watery in a home kitchen. How to dry the okra, the order for frying the spices, amchur substitutes, storage and the reasons it goes wrong.
Dal Tadka Recipe: Indian Lentil Curry Finished with Spiced Oil
How to make dal tadka in the context of Indian home cooking: toor dal and red lentils, substitutes for hing and kasuri methi, keeping lentils from collapsing, heat control for the tadka, adjusting spice, serving with rice or roti, reheating the next day, and fixes for common mistakes.
Dalpuri: India's Fried Bread Stuffed with Spiced Split Chickpeas
A dalpuri recipe for a home kitchen: chana dal filling, atta dough, frying temperature, how it differs from the thin griddled dhalpuri, storage, what goes wrong and ingredient substitutes.
Dhokla Recipe: Fermented Gujarati Steamed Cake, Soft and Tangy
Gujarat's fermented steamed snack, dhokla, made from a rice-and-lentil batter. Covers soaking, fermenting, the baking-soda foam, how to tell when it is steamed through, how it differs from khaman, substitutions, storage, and the tempering that keeps its tang.
Khichdi: Indian Rice and Mung Dal Porridge
How to make khichdi in the context of Indian home cooking: cooking mung dal and rice until soft, a ghee-and-cumin tadka for aroma, dal substitutes, water ratios, regional versions, and storage and reheating.
Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani): Delhi-Style, Made Without a Tandoor
Butter chicken, or murgh makhani, made in a home oven without a tandoor. Its Delhi origin at Moti Mahal, why the chicken is roasted first, how thick the tomato sauce should be, kasuri methi substitutes, storage and reheating, and what to buy and what to skip.
Pav Bhaji: Mumbai Street-Style Mashed Vegetable Curry with Buttered Buns
A home recipe for Mumbai street pav bhaji: parboiling the vegetables, reducing the tomatoes, mashing to keep some texture, toasting the pav, substituting spices, and storage, with a heat level that keeps the butter from getting heavy.
Phirni: North India's Chilled Rice and Milk Dessert
Phirni is a sweet rice and milk dessert from North India, made by simmering coarsely ground rice in milk and chilling it. Covers how to grind basmati rice, heat that keeps the milk from scorching, bringing out saffron and cardamom, why it is chilled in clay-style bowls, substitutions, storage and common failures from a cook's point of view.
Raita: The Cooling Yogurt Side Dish of India
How to make raita with cucumber, mint, and cumin. Covers draining the yogurt, when to add salt, storage, how to pair it with biryani and tandoori chicken, substitutes, and shopping tips. A basic side dish that cools down spicy food, made with ingredients from an ordinary grocery store.
Rasam Recipe: South India's Thin Soup of Tamarind Tang and Black Pepper
A recipe for South Indian rasam, with the tang of tamarind and the aroma of black pepper. How it differs in thickness from sambar, ingredients that vary by region, coarsely crushed spices, heat that never boils too hard, serving over rice, storage, substitutes and what to buy.
Rogan Josh Recipe: Kashmir's Red Mutton Curry
A recipe for rogan josh, the red meat stew of Kashmir in northern India, made the Kashmiri Pandit way with no onion or garlic. How to use yogurt, fennel, ginger powder, and asafetida, how to keep the yogurt from splitting, and the origin of the name and the two styles.
How to Make Samosas: Indian Triangular Spiced Pastries at Home
A detailed recipe for India's national snack, the samosa, using ingredients from an ordinary grocery store. The oil-rubbing technique for a crisp crust, the golden ratio of potato and spices, and the science of low-then-high two-stage frying, explained from English-language food literature. Includes how to make mint chutney and tamarind chutney.
Tandoori Chicken: Indian Yogurt-Marinated Chicken Roasted in a Home Oven
A tandoori chicken recipe for the home oven: yogurt-and-spice marinade, the history of Moti Mahal, why yogurt tenderizes meat, and a substitute for Kashmiri chili. Chicken goes from marinade to a charred, juicy finish.
What to Serve with Tandoori Chicken: Indian Sides and a Menu
Seven sides for tandoori chicken, from raita and kachumber to jeera rice, naan and dal, with a shopping table and substitutes. Cooling sides, make-ahead prep, using up leftovers and where to buy spices, so you can plan a weekend Indian menu without hesitation.
Thepla: Gujarat's Methi Flatbread
How to make thepla in the Gujarati home style: substitutes for methi, using amchur and cumin, the water level that keeps whole wheat flour from turning stiff, rolling thin, heat control, storage that resists cracking, reheating, and lunchbox serving.
Ven Pongal Recipe: South India's Savory Rice and Mung Dal Porridge
A recipe for South Indian ven pongal made in an ordinary pot. Rice and mung dal cooked until they fall apart, then a hot ghee tempering of black pepper, cumin and cashews: the flavor backbone, the water ratio, substitutes, storage, and the background of the South Indian breakfast and harvest festival.
Aloo Paratha: North India's Potato-Stuffed Griddle Flatbread
Aloo paratha is a North Indian flatbread of spiced potato sealed in whole-wheat dough and cooked on a tawa. Covers atta versus other flours, sealing the filling so it stays dry, reading the browning, an amchur substitute, storage and regional variations.
Chana Masala: North India's Chickpea Curry
How to make chana masala, North Indian home-style: soaking chickpeas, getting sourness and color from amchur or tea, substitutes for hard-to-find ingredients, a canned-chickpea shortcut, what goes wrong, storage, sides, and shopping priorities. Also useful for building a satisfying menu around beans.
Gulab Jamun: Cardamom-Scented Indian Milk Balls in Syrup
A home recipe for Indian gulab jamun made with whole milk powder: how to scent the syrup with cardamom and rose water, fry gently at 130°C, shape balls that don't crack, soak them properly, plus regional khoya versions, storage and allergy notes.
How to Make Idli: South India's Steamed Rice-and-Lentil Breakfast Cakes
A recipe for South Indian idli, steamed from a fermented rice and urad dal batter: soaking, judging fermentation, steaming for a soft crumb, sambar and chutney, regional shapes, substitutions, storage, fixes and a morning schedule.
Kashmiri Dum Aloo: Baby Potatoes in Yogurt Gravy, Without Onion or Garlic
A recipe for Kashmiri dum aloo, the small-potato dish of northern India's Kashmir, made with Kashmiri chili powder, fennel powder, ginger powder, asafoetida, yogurt and mustard oil. It covers the thinking of the Kashmiri Pandit kitchen that uses no onion or garlic, heat control so the yogurt doesn't split, and the covered steam-braise that is the dum.
Kathi Roll: Kolkata's Street-Food Chicken Kebab Wrapped in Egg Paratha
Kathi roll is Kolkata street food: smoky chicken kebab and thin-sliced onion wrapped in an egg-coated paratha. This recipe for 4 rolls covers laminating and cooking the dough, the fillings, a sour note, rolling order, and chicken doneness and storage.
Kerala Beef Fry: South India's Dry-Roasted Pepper Beef
A Kerala beef fry recipe for the home kitchen: beef tenderized in a pressure cooker, then dry-roasted with curry leaves, coconut and black pepper. It covers the dish's place at the Kerala table, eating it with parotta or rice, choosing cuts, shopping priorities, substitutes, storage and what goes wrong.
Masor Tenga: Assam's Sour Tomato Fish Curry
A recipe for masor tenga, the home-style fish dish of Assam in northeast India, made with white fish fillets, tomato, mustard oil, fenugreek, mustard seeds, nigella and lemon juice. It covers Assam's food culture of naming sourness tenga, searing the fish first so it doesn't fall apart, and telling the sound and color of tempering.
Meen Moilee: Kerala White Fish Simmered in Coconut Milk
Kerala's fish dish meen moilee, made with white fish and coconut milk. The Kochi table and its Portuguese links, how it differs from Malabar fish curry, the heat for finishing without breaking the fish using two rounds of coconut milk, substitutes, storage and shopping priorities.
Pani Puri: Indian Street Snack of Crisp Shells and Spiced Water
How to make pani puri in the context of Indian street food: green pani, tamarind chutney, a potato and chickpea filling, handling the puri shells, regional names, shopping, what goes wrong, storage, and how to eat it.
Pyaaz Pakora: Indian Onion Fritters for a Rainy Day
How to make India's pyaaz pakora, with the batter held together by the moisture of the onions. Covers a thin batter of besan and rice flour, how the names change by region, substitutes, judging the frying temperature, fixing mistakes, mint chutney, and storing and reheating. Also covers the rainy-day chai tradition, choosing ingredients and telling when they are done.
Undhiyu: Gujarat's Winter Vegetable Medley with Methi Muthia
Undhiyu is a Gujarati winter dish of layered seasonal vegetables and fried fenugreek muthia, simmered in a green coconut masala. Surti-style ingredients, regional differences, substitutes, heat control, storage and serving, in home-sized amounts, with fixes for green garlic substitutes and hard muthia.
Pork Vindaloo: Goa's Original Vinegar-and-Garlic Pork Braise
A recipe for vindaloo, Goa's Portuguese-rooted pork dish, made with pork belly, coconut vinegar, Kashmiri chili powder, garlic, ginger, cumin, cloves and cassia. The original flavor from before it became a fiery curry: a vinegar-garlic marinade and a 2-hour braise in the pork's own fat, with no added oil.
Dosa: South Indian Fermented Rice and Urad Dal Crepes
How to make South Indian dosa at home from a fermented rice and urad dal batter: soaking, fermenting at 28–32°C, batter consistency, heat control on a tawa or skillet, potato masala, coconut chutney, storage and troubleshooting.
Sambar: South Indian Lentil and Vegetable Stew with Tamarind
Sambar is a tangy South Indian stew of toor dal, seasonal vegetables, tamarind and toasted spices. This guide covers regional styles, vegetable swaps, cooking the dal, balancing the sourness, fixing common problems, choosing ingredients and tools, and storing and reheating it the next day.