Coconut crab curry
Mud crabs from the mangrove creeks around Inhambane and Maputo Bay end up in this curry at Sunday lunch and on beach-shack menus, and eating it is a happy, messy job with fingers and crackers. The sauce is a gentle Mozambican caril rather than an Indian one: onion, tomato, garlic and a mild curry powder cooked down and finished with coconut milk, so it turns rich, orange and slightly sweet, with crab juices running through it. Serve it with plenty of white rice or xima to mop up the sauce, and lemon wedges on the side. Ask the fishmonger for freshly cooked crabs, cleaned and cracked, or crabs already killed and prepared by them, so there is no live crab to handle at home. Chef's tip: the common mistake is boiling the crab in the sauce for ages, which makes the meat stringy; warm cooked crab through for just a few minutes.
A new country every day, from every cuisine on the site.
Small mushroom caps are filled with a garlicky, spicy breadcrumb and onion paste, dipped in a three-flour batter and fried until golden. They are crisp outside and juicy inside. Serve them hot with chilli sauce.
Soft, golden bread buns with a surprise inside: choose a cheesy three-pepper and spring onion filling, a spicy peas kachori filling, or buttery mushrooms, or make some of each. They're perfect with soup or for a party table.
Soft, fluffy semolina (rava) idlis made in half an hour, with no grinding or fermenting: the batter is raised with fruit salt. They're topped with a tempering of mustard, cumin, curry leaves, green chilli, fresh coconut and coriander. Serve with green and coconut chutneys.
Batata vada are spiced, sweet-sour potato balls with onion, coriander and cinnamon-clove, dipped in gram flour batter and fried until golden. They're a favourite snack for rainy days and parties. Serve hot with green coriander chutney and tamarind chutney.
Patta gathia are flat, ribbon-like strips of gram flour dough, rolled paper-thin under the palm on a wooden board and fried until crisp. Black pepper and ajwain give them their flavour. They are a classic Gujarati tea-time snack and are great with fried chillies and papaya sambharo.
Jini sev is the fine, thread-thin sev used on bhel, sev puri, ragda pattice and chaat, and in farsan mixes like bhusu. It's gently seasoned with turmeric, white chilli powder and asafoetida. For medium sev, use a disc with slightly bigger holes.
A colourful Gujarati pawa (poha) of flattened rice with tender sweetcorn, diced potato, peanuts and cashews, tempered with cumin and curry leaves and finished with lemon and plenty of fresh coriander. It's a hearty breakfast or tea-time snack. Serve it hot with green and red chutneys and plain yogurt. Use thick pawa so it holds its shape after soaking.
The classic comfort dish: elbow macaroni in a smooth, rich cheddar sauce, topped with more cheese and grilled until golden and bubbling. Serve it with a green salad.
A hearty, family-friendly bake of shell pasta and baked beans in a spicy tomato, ginger and garlic sauce, topped with cheddar and capsicum rings. Serve hot with garlic bread.
Cannelloni tubes filled with a gently spiced stuffing of ground peas, grated potato and carrot, baked slowly in a herby tomato sauce under a layer of cheddar. The long, gentle bake cooks the dry tubes in the sauce.
Dahi vada are soft, spongy dumplings of ground urad, moong and black-eyed bean lentils, fried, soaked and then covered in a cool spiced yogurt with cumin, chilli and tamarind chutney. They are a cooling, tangy party dish. Instead of soaking the fried vadas in hot water, you can soak them in thin buttermilk for an hour for an even softer, tangier vada.
Kanki is broken rice simmered until soft and creamy in water seasoned with a generous whole-spice tempering of cumin, cloves, cinnamon, sesame and curry leaves, with green chilli and ginger. It's a warming Gujarati snack like khichu. Serve hot with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of red chilli powder.
Pasta and crisp green vegetables in a light coconut milk sauce flavoured with coriander-chilli paste, lemon and fresh basil. Fresh, gently spicy and dairy free.
Soft, fluffy steamed idlis of rice and urad dal, served with a tangy, lightly sweet pigeon pea lentil sambhar full of vegetables: aubergine, drumsticks, bottle gourd and potato, tempered with mustard, fenugreek, curry leaves and kokum. Serve with coconut chutney. The batter is ground the day before and left overnight.
A mild, bright green pesto made with baby spinach instead of basil and roasted walnuts instead of pine nuts. Keep a jar in the fridge and a bowl of just-cooked pasta becomes an instant meal; it is also good stirred into vegetable soup.
A rich, tangy paste of sun-dried tomatoes, black olives and toasted pecans, sharpened with red wine vinegar and herbs. Toss it through hot pasta for an instant supper, spread it on toast or crackers, or serve it as a dip.
Thin potato slices and onion baked in fresh cream with plenty of garlic and coarse black pepper until tender and browned at the edges. Serve as a side dish with pizza or pasta, or as a snack with chilli and tomato sauce.
A bright green pesto of fresh coriander and mint, made creamy with toasted cashews and sharp with lime juice. Toss it through pasta, swirl it into rice or use it as a sandwich spread.
A quick, nutty pesto of fresh coriander, garlic and roasted peanuts, blended with peanut oil. It is dairy free and vegan, and great tossed through noodles or pasta, or drizzled over grilled vegetables.
Mixed vegetables in a mild, creamy coconut gravy, spread over milk-soaked bread, topped with a buttery tomato sauce and cheese and baked until melting. Serve hot with naan or pitta bread.
Golden fried paneer cubes layered with a creamy, nutmeg-scented spinach sauce and a garlicky tomato gravy, then baked under cheese. Serve hot with naan or bread.
Layers of pasta, a mushroom and courgette tomato sauce and a spinach and ricotta filling, finished with white sauce and cheddar and baked until golden. A generous dish for a family meal; serve it hot with garlic bread.
A golden baked dish of sweetcorn, mashed potato, peas and carrot, spiced with green chilli, ginger and lemon, and tempered with sesame, cumin, curry leaves, cashews and raisins. A ketchup and breadcrumb topping goes crisp in the oven. Serve hot as a snack or with soup.
A quick, light pasta of penne and broccoli in a tangy garlic, chilli and yogurt sauce, finished with toasted pine nuts or cashews. Ready in under half an hour.
Ribbons of tagliatelle tossed with a thick, creamy pesto of basil, toasted hazelnuts, green chilli, mozzarella and cream, which melts into the hot pasta. Finish with plenty of black pepper.
An Indian twist on spaghetti and meatballs: soft paneer kofta, fried until golden, served on buttered spaghetti with a sweet and tangy tomato gravy and a sprinkle of cheese. Children love it.
A simple, filling one-pan sauce of chickpeas, onion, celery and garlic simmered in tomato puree and tossed with pasta. Finished with chopped parsley, it is a good everyday supper.
Chatako is a festive Gujarati mixed dish: slices of patra (steamed colocasia leaf rolls) tossed with potatoes and fresh green pigeon peas in a whole-spice tempering, then folded into a tangy yogurt masala with coconut, ginger, tomato and coriander, sweet-sour with jaggery and tamarind. Serve hot as a side dish with dinner or at tea-time parties. Ready-made patra from an Indian grocer works too.
Fettuccine tossed in a fresh tomato and chilli salsa with parmesan and a garlicky rocket and basil pesto, finished with toasted pine nuts. Serve hot with garlic bread. For a milder pesto, use baby spinach instead of rocket.
Instant cannelloni tubes stuffed with feta, ricotta, walnuts, spring onion and lemon, baked in a gingery tomato and spinach sauce and finished with melted mozzarella.
Instant dhokri are soft, spongy steamed squares of gram flour and dhokra flour, raised in minutes with fruit salt instead of an overnight ferment. They're finished with a crackling tempering of mustard seeds, sesame and curry leaves. Serve with green and red chutneys. To make dhokra flour, coarsely grind 1 cup long-grain rice with 1 cup bengal gram lentils (chana dal).
Crisp vegetable cutlets of potato, raw banana, peas, corn and capsicum, shallow fried in breadcrumbs, then baked in a tangy tomato sauce under cheese and green chilli. A good party dish: fry the cutlets ahead and bake just before serving.
A spiced vegetable filling of potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, beans and peas with tomato, spring onion and warm cinnamon-clove, baked in a potato and bread crust and piped with a potato topping. Dotted with chilli sauce and ketchup, it makes a colourful centrepiece.
A vegetarian moussaka for a crowd: fried aubergine and potato slices layered with a herby tomato sauce and a garlicky cheese white sauce, topped with cheese and mixed herbs and baked until bubbling. Serve sizzling hot with bread.
Soft, white steamed squares of ground rice and urad dal, spiced with black pepper and green chilli and topped with a mustard and sesame tempering. They're a classic Gujarati farsan. Serve with green and red chutneys. For yellow dhokra, use bengal gram lentils (chana dal) instead of black gram lentils, and add a pinch of turmeric and some garlic paste to the batter.
Uppma is a soft, savoury semolina dish cooked with vegetables, onion, green chilli, ginger and curry leaves. This version cooks the semolina in tangy buttermilk and finishes it with lemon, coriander and cashews. Toasting the semolina first keeps the grains separate. Serve it hot for breakfast or tea, with plain yogurt.
Everyday Gujarati dal: smooth, thin pigeon pea lentils simmered with tomato, peanuts, drumsticks, kokum and dried dates, sweet with jaggery and sharp with lemon, under a fragrant tempering of cloves, curry leaves and mustard. Vary it by changing the seasoning and tempering: for example, temper it with curry leaves, mustard and onions fried in oil, and finish it with green chillies, sambhar masala and kokum pieces. Serve hot with plain boiled rice.
A Gujarati favourite: tender valore (Indian flat beans) cooked in a sweet, sour and spicy tomato masala with ajwain, then mixed with crisp fried methi muthia, little dumplings of wheat and gram flour full of fresh fenugreek. The muthia soak up the gravy beautifully. Serve hot with chapaties.
Paneer two ways, fried cubes and coarsely grated, with green peas in a silky gravy of onion, tomato, yogurt and cream, flavoured with whole spices, poppy seeds and cashews and then blended smooth. It's rich and mildly spiced. Serve hot with naan.
Small capsicums and firm, unripe tomatoes hollowed out and filled with a spiced mix of potato, peas, carrot, beans and paneer seasoned with roasted cumin, chaat masala and amchur, then topped with cheddar and cooked gently until tender. A lovely dish for a dinner party. Serve hot with naan or chapaties.
Light, crisp koftas of gram flour and chopped spinach dropped into a pale green kadhi of yogurt and spinach puree, spiced with a fresh-ground masala of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and coriander seed. Add the koftas just before serving so they stay soft but hold together. Serve hot with any paratha or puri.
Julienned carrots, baby corn, capsicum, beans and peas, blanched so they stay tender-crisp, tossed with fried potato fingers in a quick tomato gravy with curry leaves, mustard, ginger and amchur. It's colourful, a little tangy and spicy. Serve hot with naan or parathas.
A royal potato curry: halved potatoes are hollowed out, fried golden and filled with paneer, peas, cashews and raisins, then laid in a creamy, aromatic gravy of onion, yogurt, whole spices, tomato, cashew, nutmeg and mace. Make the gravy ahead and add the potatoes just before serving so they hold their shape. Serve hot with naan or paratha.
Diced potatoes, carrots, beans and peas cooked until tender in a pale, creamy gravy of yogurt, ground cashews and fresh coconut, finished with cream and chopped cashews. It's mild, rich and comforting. Serve hot with naan. You can also make it with boiled, peeled baby potatoes instead of the mixed vegetables, or with corn kernels, peas, fenugreek and a squeeze of lemon juice.
A festive mixed vegetable curry from Kolhapur: fried potatoes, beans, carrots and paneer with peas, corn and three colours of capsicum, in a thick gravy of tomato, onion, mawa, cashew and yogurt spiced with coriander seed, cardamom and dried pomegranate. Topped with fresh cream, it's rich enough for a party. Serve hot with naan or choppadia.
Showing 45 of 7,762 recipes
Show more recipesPage 814 of 863
Indian
Spanish
Italian
American
Chinese
Mexican
Brazilian
Japanese
Paraguayan
British
Greek
