Layered saffron rice and pigeon pea bake
A festive, baked khichdi: rice and pigeon pea lentils are cooked with cumin and tinted with saffron, then layered with a garlicky onion and yogurt gravy and crisp ghee-fried onions. It comes out of the oven fragrant and rich. Serve hot with plain yogurt.
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A rich, egg-free mayonnaise whisked from fresh cream, mustard and oil and sharpened with vinegar. It's thick enough to dress coleslaw, potato salad and sandwiches. Keep it covered in the fridge and use within 3 days.
This is home-made yogurt hung in muslin until all the whey drips away, leaving a thick, spreadable cheese a little like labneh. Use it for dips, sandwich spreads, shrikhand and cheesecakes. Pressing it through a sieve before you use it makes it silky-smooth.
Sugar syrup (chashni) is the base of many Indian sweets, and recipes ask for it at different stages. A light syrup is for soaking sweets and sweetening drinks. One-thread and two-thread syrups are boiled longer so the sweet sets. You can make it with milk instead of water for some sweets.
The classic white sauce behind pasta bakes, lasagne, baked vegetables and creamy soups. Butter and flour are cooked together first so the sauce tastes of nothing raw, then milk is whisked in until it turns thick, glossy and smooth. Use it straight away, or keep it covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.
A bright red, tangy Gujarati masala, like a dry pickle masala made with split mustard and fenugreek seeds and sharpened with lemon. It's sprinkled over steaming khichu (khichi), and it's just as good with theplas or a drizzle of oil as a quick dip.
Five ingredients and fifteen minutes. The secret is to cook the garlic slowly so it turns sweet and pale gold, then toss everything with a splash of starchy pasta water so the oil turns into a glossy sauce that clings to every strand.
The basic method for any dried pasta, from penne to spaghetti. A large pan of salted boiling water keeps the pasta from sticking, and you cook it only until just done, with a little bite left. Use it in salads, bakes or with any sauce.
A hearty stock that's simmered for 2 hours, then blended and strained, so the potato gives it body. Its deeper flavour suits thick soups, gravies and stews. Freeze it in portions so it's ready when you need it.
A light, clear vegetable stock with leek, celery, parsnip and fresh herbs, ready in under an hour. Use it as the base for soups, risottos and sauces. It keeps for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.
Classic short crust pastry, rubbed together by hand so it bakes crisp and crumbly. The secret is keeping everything cold and handling the dough as little as you can. This amount lines a 23 cm tart tin or tops a pie. Each recipe gives its own baking time and temperature.
Samosa chapaties (patti) are paper-thin wrappers for crisp samosas. Two rounds are rolled out together with oil and flour between them, lightly roasted, then peeled apart into two very thin sheets. Cut them into strips for samosas, or squares for spring rolls.
Fresh fillo (filo) pastry is stretched and rolled until you can almost see through it. It's soft, pliable and easier to work with than frozen. Use it for baklava, spring rolls, samosas, strudel and savoury pies. Keep the sheets under a damp cloth all the time, because they dry out quickly.
Chaat masala is the tangy, salty, slightly sulphurous sprinkle that makes chaat taste like chaat. Dried mango (amchur) gives the sourness and black salt the distinctive savoury edge. Sprinkle it over fruit, salads, raita, chips and street-food snacks.
The spice blend that turns a cup of tea into masala chai. It's built on cardamom, with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, pepper and nutmeg. Add a pinch (about ¼ tsp per cup) to tea while it boils.
The South Indian spice powder that gives sambhar its body and flavour. Roasted lentils add a nutty thickness, with coriander, red chillies, curry leaves and sesame seeds. Use it in the sambhar served with idli and dosa.
A Gujarati dal masala with whole spices roasted in a little oil, plus star anise, black cardamom and dagad phool (stone flower) for depth. A teaspoon gives dals, kadhi and khichdi a warm, rounded flavour. The recipe makes a big batch, so it's worth making once a season.
An everyday curry powder that's built on coriander seeds, so it's fragrant rather than fiery. Fennel, star anise and bay give it a sweet warmth, with just two red chillies for heat. Season curries with it when you want flavour without much heat.
A heady North Indian garam masala heavy with cardamom, cumin and pepper, rounded out with mace, nutmeg and fennel. The spices are ground raw rather than roasted, so the blend stays bright and perfumed. Use it in rich Punjabi curries such as chole, rajma and paneer makhani.
Home-made garam masala is far more fragrant than shop-bought. The whole spices are roasted until crisp, then ground, giving a warm, slightly hot blend with dry ginger and red chilli. Add a pinch to curries, dals and rice dishes towards the end of cooking.
Two reliable ways to cook plain rice. Method 1 lets the rice soak up all its water, for soft, fluffy rice to serve with curry and dal. Method 2 boils it in plenty of water and drains it, giving separate grains for fried rice, pilau and salads. Soaking first helps the grains cook evenly.
Sprouting whole green grams makes them crunchier, quicker to cook and more nutritious. All you need is muslin, water and a warm spot, and they're ready in 3–4 days. Use them in salads, bhel, usal and stir-fries. Any other whole pulse sprouts the same way.
A home-made stand-in for golden syrup, from sugar caramelised until amber and boiled with water to a two-thread syrup. Use it in any recipe that needs golden syrup, such as flapjacks, biscuits and treacle tarts.
A soft, spreadable fresh cheese made the same way as paneer, but blended until creamy instead of pressed. Spread it on crackers, or use it in dips, cheesecakes and the eggless mayonnaise.
Set yogurt (dahi) at home with just milk and a spoonful of yogurt from the last batch as the culture. It sets overnight in a warm spot. Scale it up to any amount of milk: allow ½ tsp of yogurt for each cup.
Draining yogurt on muslin over a thick towel turns it into a thick, tangy sour cream. Use it plain, or stir in garlic, coriander and seasoning for a spicy dip. Serve the dip with crackers, tortilla chips or hard toast.
Fresh coconut milk is sweeter and richer than tinned, and it's easy to make with a blender. The first soak gives a thick milk for finishing curries and desserts. The second soak gives a thinner milk for simmering vegetables, rice and dals.
Fresh tomato puree tastes brighter than tinned, and you need only tomatoes and boiling water. The tomatoes are scalded so their skins slip off, then blended smooth. Use it in curries, pasta sauces, soups and the home-made tomato ketchup.
Home-made paneer is softer and creamier than shop-bought, and it takes just milk and a little citric acid. Hot milk is curdled, the whey drained off and the curds pressed into a block that slices cleanly into cubes. Use it in curries such as paneer makhani and mutter paneer, in parathas or in tikka.
A soaked, Bircher-style muesli you stir together the night before. The oats soften in the yogurt overnight and the grated apple keeps it fresh and juicy. In the morning, add the strawberries and breakfast is ready. Any berries work in place of the strawberries.
A punchy sweet-and-hot chilli sauce blended in minutes, with no cooking. Serve it with spring rolls, samosas, bhajias and nacho chips, or stir a spoonful into noodles. It keeps for up to 2 weeks in a clean jar in the fridge.
Proper pouring custard made the easy way with custard powder. It's thick, smooth and lightly sweet, just right with apple pie, crumbles, fruit salad and trifle. Serve it warm, or chill it for trifles.
A thick, glossy chocolate sauce made from store-cupboard cocoa and milk, ready in under 10 minutes. Pour it hot over vanilla ice cream, or let it cool and spread it on cakes and puddings.
Stir everything together before bed and breakfast is ready when you wake up. Chia seeds make it thick and creamy, and frozen berries thaw overnight into a jammy layer.
A simple dough, a no-cook tomato sauce and the hottest oven you can manage. A heavy baking tray preheated in the oven does a good job of standing in for a pizza stone.
A quick coat of cornflour and soy keeps thin slices of beef silky, and a hot wok gives the broccoli char without overcooking it. Faster than ordering in.
Proper masala chai is simmered, not steeped: whole spices and fresh ginger are boiled with black tea, then milk is added and brought to a rolling boil to make it rich and creamy.
The blacker the bananas, the better the loaf. This one is mixed in a single bowl with melted butter and a little brown sugar, so it's soft, deeply banana-y and keeps well for days.
Roasting the tomatoes with onion and garlic concentrates their sweetness and gives the soup a gentle smokiness you can't get from a tin. Lovely with a grilled cheese sandwich.
Proof that a meat-free taco night can be the best one. The beans are mashed with chipotle and cumin so they hold together in the tortilla, and a quick lime slaw adds crunch.
The best fried rice starts with cold, day-old rice, so the grains stay separate and toast in the wok instead of turning mushy. A great way to use up leftover rice and odds and ends of vegetables.
A weeknight green curry that tastes like a takeaway. Frying the paste in the thick top layer of coconut milk wakes up the lemongrass and chilli, and a last-minute balance of fish sauce, lime and a little sugar makes it sing.
A one-pan breakfast that works just as well for dinner. Peppers and onions are cooked down with cumin and smoked paprika, then eggs are nestled in and poached until the whites set and the yolks stay runny. Bring the pan to the table with plenty of bread for dipping.
The easiest way to cook salmon perfectly: a hot oven, a quick lemon-garlic butter and 12 minutes. Serve with new potatoes and greens, or flake it over rice.
Home-made tortilla chips from a simple maize and wheat dough, rolled thin, cut into triangles and fried until crisp. They're lighter and fresher than packet chips. Serve them with salsa, sour cream dip or avocado dip, or use them for nachos.
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