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Vegetarian Indian dinners

Dal, sabzi, curries and rice dishes for a meat-free Indian dinner. (880 recipes)

Sama ke chawal ki kheerBarnyard millet milk pudding

Sama, also called samak or vrat ke chawal, is barnyard millet, a tiny grain that North Indian families treat as rice on fast days because it isn't a true cereal for the purposes of the vrat. Cooked slowly in milk, the grains swell, burst and release their starch, so the kheer turns thick and creamy in about twenty minutes, much faster than rice kheer, with a mild, nutty flavour. Ghee-fried cashews and raisins add crunch and sweetness. It is made for Navratri, Ekadashi and Karva Chauth, and served warm after the evening puja or cold the next day. Sama sticks to the pan quickly, so use a heavy-based pan and keep stirring once the grains go in. Chef's tip: rinse the sama in several changes of water until it runs clear; the dusty starch on the grains makes the kheer gluey and slightly bitter.

35 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Rajgira ladooPopped amaranth jaggery balls

Before Mahashivratri and Navratri, sweet stalls in Maharashtra pile up trays of rajgira ladoo, and they are one of the few sweets that suit a strict fast and a vegan diet at once. Amaranth seeds puff like tiny popcorn in a hot pan; mixed with jaggery cooked to a firm syrup, they set into light, crunchy balls with a toffee-like, molasses sweetness and a toasty grain flavour. They are eaten as an energy-giving snack on fast days, given as prasad, and packed for long temple queues. Ready-popped rajgira is easy to find in Indian shops; popping your own seeds (a spoonful at a time in a hot, dry, lidded pan) takes about 10 minutes more. Chef's tip: wet your palms with cold water and shape the ladoos while the mix is very warm; once the jaggery cools, it sets hard and won't bind.

25 minIndianIndian SweetsVeganGluten free
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Paneer parathaPaneer-stuffed flatbread

Dhaba breakfasts on the Grand Trunk Road out of Amritsar always have paneer paratha on the board, and it's a lunchbox favourite in Delhi homes because it stays soft and filling until the afternoon. The filling is fresh paneer grated fine, mixed with green chilli, lots of coriander, ajwain, a little onion and a pinch of amchur. Rolled inside atta dough and cooked with ghee, it becomes a mild, milky, protein-rich paratha with crisp brown patches. Serve with dahi, mint chutney or mango achar, and a cup of adrak chai. Use homemade or shop paneer; both are made with lemon or vinegar, not rennet. Common mistake: crumbling the paneer roughly; big lumps poke through the dough and tear it. Grate it finely or mash it with the heel of your hand. Chef's tip: if your paneer is very fresh and moist, add a tablespoon of atta to the filling to bind it, and roll these slightly thicker than a gobi paratha.

40 minIndianBreads & Parathas
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DoodhpakRice milk pudding

Doodhpak and puri is the classic pairing of a Gujarati jamanvar (feast), served at weddings, at Sharad Purnima and, in many families, cooked for pitru paksha (shraddh) to remember the ancestors. Unlike a thick kheer, doodhpak is pourable and silky: a small amount of rice cooks in milk that has been reduced by about a third, so each grain is soft but still whole, and the milk turns creamy and faintly golden from saffron. Charoli (chironji, small almond-like seeds), slivered almonds and pistachios give it bite, and cardamom with a little nutmeg (jaiphal) is the true Gujarati flavour. It thickens a lot as it cools, so take it off the heat while it still looks thin. Serve warm in winter or chilled in summer, with hot puris, dal-bhaat and a dry shaak. Common mistake: adding sugar before the rice is fully soft; the sugar stops the grains cooking and they stay chalky. Chef's tip: rub the soaked rice with a teaspoon of ghee before it goes in, so the grains stay separate and do not form lumps on the base.

75 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChiroteLayered rose pastries

Chirote are what a Maharashtrian or Kannadiga family makes to show off at a wedding or Diwali. Thin sheets of maida dough are spread with satha, ghee whipped with rice flour, stacked, rolled into a log and sliced, so each piece opens in the hot fat like a many-petalled flower. Done well they shatter when you bite them, light and buttery, with sweetness only from the dusting of cardamom sugar on top. In Pune they appear on the faral platter beside karanji and anarse; in Karnataka the chiroti is often served at weddings drenched in warm saffron-almond milk. This takes patience and a cool kitchen, so set aside an unhurried morning. Chef's tip: whip the satha until it is white and fluffy like whipped cream; a dense, oily paste won't keep the layers apart and they fuse into a single chewy disc.

75 minIndianIndian Sweets
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Katachi amtiSweet-sour chana dal stock curry

When Maharashtrian homes cook chana dal for the puran on Holi, the cooking liquid is drained off before the dal is sweetened, and nothing goes to waste: that starchy, nutty stock, the kat, becomes katachi amti. Tempered with mustard, cumin and curry leaves, then simmered with roasted dry coconut, goda masala, tamarind and jaggery, it turns into a thin, hot, sweet-and-sour dal that is poured over puran poli or drunk from a bowl alongside it. The spice balances the rich sweet bread perfectly, which is why the two always appear together on Holi and Gudi Padwa thalis. If you are not making puran poli, cook 150 g chana dal in 1 litre of water until soft, drain off the liquid for this and use the dal for something else. Use gluten-free asafoetida and a goda masala made without wheat for a gluten-free amti. Chef's tip: keep it thin, like rasam; it is meant to soak into the poli, not sit on it.

45 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Singhare ka halwaWater chestnut flour pudding

Singhara, water chestnut, is dried and ground into a pale flour that North Indian homes keep for fasts, and this halwa is what many make first on Navratri Ashtami, Janmashtami or Ekadashi, often as the bhog offered before the fast is broken. It comes together in twenty minutes: the flour is roasted in ghee until it smells toasty and darkens a shade, hot sugar water goes in, and with fast stirring it swells into a soft, glossy halwa that is earthy, sweet and slightly chewy. Serve it warm, on its own or with kuttu puri and aloo for a full fasting meal. It uses only ingredients allowed on most fasts. Chef's tip: dissolve the sugar in the water and keep it at a boil; cold liquid makes the flour seize into lumps the moment it hits the pan.

25 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Gor keriSweet mango pickle

Gor keri is the sweet sister of methia keri, and in most Gujarati homes both jars are filled in the same week of May. The mango is salted and dried in the same way, but the masala is milder, with methi kuria, a little rai kuria, hing and Kashmiri chilli for colour, and the star is desi gor (jaggery). Over 4–6 days the jaggery melts in the mango's own juices into a dark, glossy syrup that covers the pieces and keeps them, so it needs only a little oil. It tastes sweet, sour and gently warm, and children who refuse spicy pickle eat it by the spoonful. Serve it with thepla, puri, khichdi, or dal-bhaat on a hot afternoon. Choose soft, dark, fresh jaggery that breaks easily; hard, pale blocks never fully melt. Common mistake: wet mango, which thins the syrup and invites mould. If the syrup still looks thin after a week, warm the pickle gently on the stove for 5 minutes and cool before jarring again. Use only a clean dry spoon, and throw it out if you see mould. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of lightly crushed fennel (variyali) adds a lovely fragrance, as many Kathiyawadi families do.

45 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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Motichoor ladooBoondi sweet balls

Halwais in Jaipur, Indore and old Delhi sell mountains of these during Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali and every wedding season, and Ganesha himself is usually shown holding one. The difference from ordinary boondi laddu is size: the gram-flour batter is dropped through the finest jhara, so each pearl is no bigger than a mustard seed and the finished laddu is soft, moist and almost melts on the tongue. A light syrup of one-string consistency, saffron, cardamom and a little melon seed is all it needs. Serve them as prasad, in a festive mithai box, or after a thali. The classic mistake is a batter that is too thick: the drops come out with tails and stay chewy instead of round. Being made only from gram flour, sugar and ghee, these are gluten-free as long as no hing or wheat goes near the batter. Chef's tip: shape the laddus while the boondi is still warm and syrupy; once it cools, the pearls will not stick together and the laddus crumble.

75 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Nolen gurer payeshRice pudding with date palm jaggery

In Bengal winter means nolen gur, the new date-palm jaggery that arrives in clay pots in December and January and smells of caramel and smoke. Kolkata sweet shops put it in everything, but at home the best use is a pot of payesh for Poush Sankranti or a birthday. Short, buttery gobindobhog rice is fried briefly in ghee with a bay leaf, then cooked slowly in full-fat milk until the grains break down and the milk reduces to a creamy, spoonable pudding. The jaggery goes in last and turns it a soft brown. Serve warm or cold, in small bowls or clay bhar, with pithe on the side. Common mistake: adding the gur while the milk is boiling, which almost always curdles it; take the pot off the heat and let it cool for a few minutes first. Chef's tip: no nolen gur? Use liquid date-palm jaggery (jhola gur) or a soft palm jaggery; cane jaggery works but the flavour is flatter.

70 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Bengali boriSun-dried lentil dumplings

Winter mornings in rural Bengal used to mean bori-making: the household gathered on the roof with a big bowl of freshly ground, hand-whipped urad dal and dropped little peaked dollops onto cloth in neat rows. In Medinipur the women even pipe them into lace-like gohona bori, a folk art of its own. The everyday kind is simpler, a cone the size of a marble, sun-dried until rock hard. Fried in mustard oil, a bori turns crisp and golden outside and slightly spongy inside, and it soaks up gravy beautifully. A handful goes into shukto, into a maacher jhol with potatoes, into lau ghonto (bottle gourd) or into a simple vegetable chorchori. Common mistake: grinding the dal with too much water; the paste then spreads flat on the cloth instead of holding a peak. Chef's tip: check the whipped paste by dropping a little into a bowl of water. If it floats, it has enough air and the bori will be light; if it sinks, keep beating.

50 minIndianBasicsVeganGluten free
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ImartiSyrup-soaked lentil spirals

Imarti (jangiri in Tamil Nadu) is the stately cousin of jalebi: instead of a fermented flour batter it uses soaked urad dal, whipped until airy, piped into hot oil in a ring of small loops like a flower, and plunged into warm saffron syrup. The result is crisp at first and then pleasantly chewy, juicy inside but not soggy, and less tangy than jalebi. Halwais in Jaunpur, Agra and across Rajasthan fry it in desi ghee for weddings, Diwali and Holi, often served warm with rabri. This version is fried in oil so it stays vegan; use ghee if you prefer the halwai taste. The batter is the whole secret: grind the dal with very little water, then beat it by hand until a drop floats in water. Common mistake: frying on high heat, which browns the outside before the inside is set, so the imarti go limp in the syrup. Keep the oil at a gentle medium-low and expect them to take a couple of minutes. Chef's tip: practise the shape on a plate first; a ketchup bottle or a piping bag with a 3–4 mm round nozzle is far easier than the traditional cloth with a hole.

65 minIndianIndian SweetsVeganGluten free
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Jalebi

On Uttarayan morning in Ahmedabad and Surat, queues form outside every farsan shop for two things: undhiyu and hot jalebi, sold by the kilo for the terrace party. This is the plain fermented jalebi, not the mawa or instant kind: a batter of maida, a little gram flour and curd left overnight until it smells sour and bubbly, piped in tight double coils into ghee, fried until crisp and dropped into warm saffron syrup. Good ones crackle when bitten, then flood the mouth with syrup, with a gentle tang from the ferment. Eat them hot with undhiyu, with fafda on Dussehra, or with rabri. The common mistake is syrup that is too thick or too cold; it then sits on the surface and the jalebi stays dry inside. Keep the syrup warm and at just one string. Chef's tip: if the batter spreads in the ghee, it is too thin; whisk in a spoon of maida. If the coils break, it is too thick; add a spoon of water.

60 minIndianIndian Sweets
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Moong dal halwaMoong dal pudding

At Rajasthani and Marwari weddings in winter, the halwai's moong dal halwa is the dish people go back for. It is also made at home for Holi, when it is cooked in big kadhais and passed around warm. Soaked yellow moong dal is ground to a coarse paste and roasted in ghee for the best part of an hour, first clumping into a heavy mass, then breaking down into golden grains that smell of toasted nuts and ghee. Hot saffron milk and sugar go in at the end and are cooked back until the ghee glistens. The result is rich, grainy, buttery and fragrant, best served warm in small bowls with slivered almonds. It needs steady stirring and a strong arm, so share the job. Chef's tip: grind the dal with as little water as possible; a wet paste takes far longer to roast and turns sticky instead of grainy.

75 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Gajar gobhi shalgam acharCarrot, cauliflower and turnip pickle

When Punjabi kitchens are full of winter vegetables, this is how they keep them: carrots, cauliflower and turnips are blanched, dried in the weak winter sun, and mixed with smoked mustard oil, ginger, garlic, coarse mustard, garam masala and a dark syrup of jaggery and vinegar. In three or four days the vegetables are tangy, sweet and warm, still crunchy, and the jars come out with makki di roti and sarson da saag, aloo parathas and every dal through to spring. Use white or sugarcane vinegar; malt vinegar is made from barley, so avoid it if you need the pickle gluten-free. Common mistake: packing the vegetables while they are still wet from blanching, which dilutes the vinegar and spoils the batch; they must feel dry to the touch. Keep the jar in a cool place or the fridge once matured, use a clean dry spoon and discard if mould appears. Chef's tip: cut the turnip slightly thinner than the carrot, so everything softens at the same pace.

50 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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Soan papdiFlaky threaded sweet cubes

Long before it came in gift boxes, soan papdi was a halwai's showpiece in the bazaars of western Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Hot sugar syrup is pulled like taffy, then worked into a warm paste of gram flour and maida roasted in ghee, and the folding stretches it into hundreds of fine threads. The result is airy, flaky and crumbly, with a toasty, cardamom-sweet flavour, nothing like the stale boxes passed around offices at Diwali. It is genuinely a two-person job at home: one person pulls while the other keeps the flour warm. Wear clean kitchen gloves rubbed with ghee if your hands are sensitive to heat, and keep children away from the syrup. Chef's tip: keep the roasted flour on the lowest possible heat the whole time; the moment it cools, it stops coating the sugar threads and you get dense, chewy lumps.

90 minIndianIndian Sweets
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Gulab jamun

No Diwali sweet box, wedding thali or birthday party in India feels complete without a gulab jamun or two. This is the classic halwai version made with khoya, milk reduced to a dense crumbly solid, kneaded with a little flour and fried slowly in ghee until the outside is deep mahogany and the inside cooked through. Soaked in light syrup scented with rose and cardamom, the balls swell and become soft and spongy, with a faint caramel milkiness. Serve them warm on their own, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a spoonful of rabri. Buy soft, unsweetened khoya (mawa) for this; dry, hard khoya makes dense jamuns. Chef's tip: fry one test ball first; if it cracks, knead in a teaspoon of milk, and if it spreads, add a pinch more flour.

60 minIndianIndian Sweets
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Rishi panchami bhajiPumpkin, taro and corn stew

The day after Ganesh Chaturthi, many Maharashtrian women fast for Rishi Panchami and eat only what has grown without the labour of a bullock. That rule turns into one of the most unusual dishes of the year: a stew of whatever the backyard and the monsoon give, such as red pumpkin, colocasia (alu) leaves and roots, sweet corn, ridge gourd, snake gourd, lal math (red amaranth), okra and raw banana, simmered with crushed peanuts, coconut and green chilli. It is thick, mildly sweet and fresh-tasting, with no onion, garlic or tomato. Some families also skip the tadka entirely; others use a little ghee or oil with cumin. Eat it hot on its own as the main meal of the day, with nothing else alongside. A common mistake is putting colocasia in without enough sourness, which can leave the throat itchy: always add the tamarind with the colocasia. Chef's tip: add the vegetables in order of how long they need, roots first and leaves last, so nothing turns to mush.

50 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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RabriThickened sweet milk

Halwais in Mathura, Varanasi and Lucknow make rabri in wide iron kadhais, fanning the surface so a skin forms fast, then pushing each layer of malai to the cooler sides of the pan. After an hour or more, the milk has shrunk to a quarter, and the layers are scraped back in to give a thick, spoonable sweet full of soft, chewy ribbons of cream. It is much thicker than Gujarati basundi, which is stirred smooth. Rabri is served chilled in kulhads, or spooned over hot jalebi or malpua at Holi, the hot-cold contrast being the whole point. Use the widest heavy pan you own; the bigger the surface, the more malai and the faster it reduces. Chef's tip: add the sugar only at the end; sugar added early makes the milk catch and stops the skins forming properly.

90 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Kadumanga acharBaby mango pickle

In late February the mango trees of Kerala drop tiny, thumb-sized green fruit with soft stones, and those tender mangoes (kanni manga) become one of the pickles on a Kerala sadya leaf, beside the inji puli and naranga. They are salted whole until they wrinkle and sit in their own brine, then dressed with a tempering of gingelly (sesame) oil, mustard, Kashmiri chilli, roasted fenugreek and hing. The brine turns thick and red, and the little mangoes stay crunchy and sour, with a bitter-sharp bite under the chilli. Kadumanga literally means strong mango, and in some sadya kitchens the name also covers a quicker pickle of finely cut raw mango in the same masala; this is the whole-fruit version. Eat a mango with kanji (rice gruel), curd rice or the sadya rice. Common mistake: pricking or cutting the mangoes; they must stay whole with a bit of stalk so the brine does not turn slimy. Keep them fully covered, use a dry spoon and discard if mould appears. Chef's tip: let the chilli and fenugreek cool in the oil before mixing; added hot, they scorch and taste bitter.

40 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Bagara khanaSpiced tempered rice

Ask for rice at a Hyderabadi wedding or Eid dawat and, if it is not biryani, it will be bagara khana: long-grain basmati cooked in a bagar (tempering) of ghee, shahi jeera, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaf, with sliced onion, ginger-garlic, green chillies, mint and coriander. It has no vegetables or meat in it at all; it is the plain partner for rich, sour gravies like dalcha (lentils with bottle gourd), mirchi ka salan and bagara baingan, and every Old City household eats it on Sunday. Each grain should be long, separate and fragrant, glossy with ghee and flecked with green. The common mistake is too much water, which makes it mushy; measure 1¾ cups of water for each cup of soaked rice and finish on dum. Chef's tip: add a squeeze of lemon to the boiling water; it keeps the basmati white and stops the grains breaking.

40 minIndianRice & GrainsGluten free
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Besan ladooGram flour sweet balls

Every North Indian and Gujarati kitchen has its besan ladoo argument: coarse or fine flour, boora or caster sugar, nuts or not. What nobody argues about is the roasting. The gram flour has to cook in ghee on a low flame for half an hour, going from a stiff lump to a loose, flowing paste the colour of sand, until the raw beany smell is gone and the kitchen smells like roasted peanuts. That patient roast gives a ladoo that is melt-in-the-mouth, faintly grainy and rich, never pasty. They are made for Diwali, offered to Ganesh on Chaturthi and packed for travellers because they keep for weeks. Use besan packed without wheat if you need it gluten-free. Chef's tip: let the roasted besan cool until just warm to the touch before the sugar goes in; hot besan melts the sugar and your ladoos slump into flat discs.

45 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Aloo bhindiPotato and okra stir-fry

Aloo bhindi is the sabzi that Delhi children are happiest to find in their dabba with soft phulkas: okra fried until its edges crisp, potato cubes browned alongside, and sliced onion cooked sweet, all dusted with amchur and cumin. The single big mistake is washing the okra and cutting it wet, which releases slime that never cooks off. Wash it, dry every pod with a cloth and wait half an hour before slicing. Chef's tip: add the salt only at the very end; salt draws moisture out of the okra and makes it sticky.

35 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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Pineapple gojjuSweet and sour pineapple gravy

Pineapple gojju turns up on banana leaves at Kannada weddings, housewarmings and Ugadi feasts, where its bright sweet-sour-hot taste cuts through the rice, saaru and payasa. Ripe pineapple is simmered with tamarind and jaggery, then thickened with a roasted paste of sesame, coconut, chilli and lentils until glossy. It is eaten in small spoonfuls with rice or chapati, or as a relish on the side. The usual mistake is adding the jaggery too early and boiling it hard, which makes it sticky and dull; let the pineapple soften first. It keeps for 4 days in the fridge. Chef's tip: toast the sesame seeds separately and add them last, so they stay nutty and you can hear them crackle.

40 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Gobi matar (cauliflower and peas)

In Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, winter means cauliflower and fresh peas, and gobi matar is what fills countless school and office dabbas between November and February. It is cooked dry, so the florets brown a little at the edges, sweetened by the peas and sharpened by plenty of ginger. The mistake is cooking the cauliflower covered with water until it is soft and smells of cabbage; steam it briefly in its own moisture, then fry it uncovered. Chef's tip: cut the florets so they have one flat side; that face sits on the pan and browns while the rest steams tender.

30 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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Kaju pulao (cashew pulao)

Kaju pulao is the "special" tiffin of Mumbai and Hyderabad homes, packed for a birthday at school or a festival day at the office, yet it takes no more effort than plain rice. Basmati is cooked with whole spices and golden onion in ghee, and a generous handful of cashews fried separately until crisp is folded through at the end. The mistake is cooking the cashews with the rice, which leaves them soft and pale; fry them on their own and add them last. Chef's tip: stop frying the cashews when they are light gold; they keep darkening in the hot ghee after you lift them out. Contains milk (ghee) and cashews.

35 minIndianRice & GrainsGluten free
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Kadle manoliBlack chickpea and coconut curry

Kadle manoli is a Konkani dish from Mangaluru and Udupi, cooked for festive meals, Saturday temple days and family gatherings, where it sits beside rice, dalitoy and papad. Black chickpeas and quartered ivy gourd are cooked together, then tossed in a coarse, roasted masala of coconut, byadgi chillies and coriander, a little tamarind and a coconut-oil tempering. It is dry-ish, coating each piece rather than swimming in gravy. The usual mistake is cutting the ivy gourd into rounds; slice it lengthwise into quarters so it stays crunchy-tender. Slow-cooker: cook the soaked chana and gourd with 500 ml water on low for 7 hours, then stir in the masala and heat through. Chef's tip: grind the masala coarse, with very little water, so it clings to the chickpeas and stays fragrant.

70 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Matar paratha (green pea paratha)

In Delhi and Punjab, matar paratha is the winter tiffin made when the first sweet peas arrive: the peas are boiled, mashed coarse and spiced with ginger, green chilli, cumin and amchur, then sealed inside wholewheat dough and roasted on the tawa with a little ghee. Rolled up in foil with a spoon of pickle, they are still soft at lunch. The mistake is a wet filling, which bursts through the dough; cook the mashed peas in a pan until dry and cool them before stuffing. Chef's tip: make the filling slightly saltier than tastes right, because the dough around it is unsalted and mutes it.

45 minIndianBreads & Parathas
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Awan bangwiSticky rice with nuts

Awan bangwi belongs to the Kokborok-speaking communities of Tripura, who make it for weddings, Garia Puja and New Year gatherings. Soaked sticky rice is mixed with ginger, cashews, raisins and a little ghee, folded into cones of leaf and steamed until glossy and chewy. The mistake to avoid is packing the cones too tightly: the rice swells and the leaves split. Banana leaf or turmeric leaf replaces the local leaf well. Chef's tip: soak the rice overnight; under-soaked grains stay chalky however long you steam them.

75 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Ruwangan chamanPaneer in tomato gravy

Ruwangan chaman, 'tomato paneer', is the red sister of the yellow chaman kaliya, cooked in Kashmiri Pandit homes for Sunday lunches and on festival days when the meat is left out. Fried paneer cubes are simmered in a thin, glossy gravy of tomato with fennel, dry ginger and plenty of mild Kashmiri chilli, with no onion or garlic. It is eaten with plain rice, the gravy soaking in. The common mistake is frying the paneer too long, which makes it rubbery; you only want a light golden skin. Chef's tip: drop the fried paneer into warm salted water for ten minutes before it goes into the gravy, and it will be soft as a sponge.

40 minIndianCurriesGluten free
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Kangri khattaTangy chickpeas

At a Kangra dham, the leaf-plate feast cooked by botis (Brahmin cooks) for weddings and village festivals, khatta comes towards the end, a dark, sweet-sour dish of chickpeas or pumpkin in a gravy soured with tamarind or dried mango and balanced with jaggery. It is served with rice and has no onion or garlic. The gravy is thin, glossy and almost black from the long-cooked tamarind. The common mistake is adding the tamarind to undercooked chickpeas; the acid stops them softening, so cook them fully first. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of rice flour or gram flour stirred into the gravy gives the dham-style gloss without making it heavy.

50 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Bohar bhajiFlower bud curry

For a few weeks each spring, Raipur's markets sell small heaps of bohar, the young buds of the lasoda (Cordia) tree, and they are one of the most prized and pricey vegetables in Chhattisgarh. Cooked with onion, chilli and a spoon of curd, they have a pleasant, slightly sticky bite and an earthy taste, and families eat them with rice and dal for as long as the season lasts. People often skip the boiling step; without it the buds stay gummy and slightly bitter. Chef's tip: if you cannot find bohar, the same masala works with tender lasoda (gunda) fruit from Indian grocers, which is the same tree.

30 minIndianVegetarianGluten free
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Gucchi pulaoMorel mushroom pulao

Gucchi, the honeycombed wild morels gathered in spring on the slopes of Kashmir and Himachal, are among the most prized foods in India, and a pulao of them is kept for weddings, Eid and the most honoured guests. The mushrooms are soaked and simmered in their own soaking water, which then flavours the basmati along with ghee, cardamom and fennel, so every grain tastes deeply earthy. Morels must always be cooked thoroughly; never eat them raw or barely warmed. The common mistake is pouring in the soaking water with its grit, so let it settle and leave the last spoonfuls behind. Chef's tip: slit each morel lengthwise and rinse inside; sand hides in the hollow stems.

75 minIndianRice & GrainsGluten free
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Soya chunks sabziDry soya chunk curry

Soya chunks, called nutrela or meal maker across India, are a hostel and office-tiffin favourite from Delhi to Hyderabad because they are cheap, keep for months and soak up masala like a sponge. Here they are boiled, squeezed and cooked dry with onion, tomato and garam masala until each chunk is glossy and coated. The mistake is not squeezing hard enough: water left inside dilutes the masala and the chunks taste of nothing. Squeeze them in a fist, twice. Chef's tip: soak them in hot salted water with a pinch of turmeric, so they are seasoned all the way through.

35 minIndianVegetarianVegan
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Neem begunNeem leaves with aubergine

Neem begun opens a traditional Bengali lunch in spring, especially around Poila Baisakh, when the neem trees of West Bengal put out soft new leaves. A few tender leaves are fried crisp in mustard oil, then tossed with small cubes of fried aubergine so the bitterness is softened by the creamy brinjal. Eat a spoonful or two with the first mouthfuls of rice, before the dal. It is suitable as part of a balanced diet and is meant to be eaten in small amounts, as Bengali cooks always have. About 110 kcal and 7 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is frying the neem too long, which turns it black and acrid; it needs only seconds. Chef's tip: dry the leaves completely on a cloth before they go into the oil, or they spit and steam instead of crisping.

20 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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Mag ni dal ni khichdi for babiesMoong dal khichdi for babies

In Gujarati homes from Ahmedabad to Surat, the first real family meal a baby shares is a pot of mag ni dal ni khichdi, the same yellow moong and rice that grown-ups eat with kadhi on a quiet weeknight, just cooked softer and left unseasoned. From around nine months it is mashed to soft lumps instead of blended, so babies learn to move food around their mouths and chew with their gums. It tastes mild, creamy and faintly earthy from the turmeric. It contains milk (ghee); swap in a neutral oil to make it dairy free. It has no gluten, egg, nuts, soya or sesame. Chef's tip: soak the washed dal and rice for 20 minutes before cooking; they collapse into a creamier khichdi in less time.

50 minIndianRice & GrainsGluten free
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Chhurpi ko jholCheese curry

Soft chhurpi is the fresh, crumbly cheese that Sikkimese and Darjeeling hill families make by souring leftover buttermilk, and on cold, misty evenings it goes into this thin, fiery soup that is drunk from a bowl alongside rice. The broth is little more than tomato, onion, chilli and coriander, so the cheese has to be good: ricotta-like and mild. The most common mistake is boiling hard once the cheese is in, which makes it rubbery and the soup grainy; keep it at a gentle simmer. Chef's tip: if you cannot find chhurpi, drain fresh ricotta or crumble homemade paneer while it is still soft.

23 minIndianSoupsGluten freeSpicy
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Lal mathachi bhaji (red amaranth stir-fry)

In Mumbai and the Konkan, bunches of red math (amaranth) with their magenta stems come in during the monsoon, and this quick garlicky bhaji turns the dabba's chapatis pink at the edges. It is cooked fast in a hot pan so the leaves stay bright, then finished with a little fresh coconut, the coastal touch that sets it apart from the Bengali way with the same leaf. The mistake is cooking it covered for a long time, which turns it grey and watery. Chef's tip: chop the tender stems finely and cook them for a minute before the leaves go in, so everything is done at the same moment.

18 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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KharoliFermented mustard relish

Kharoli is an old Assamese relish from the villages of upper Assam: ground mustard seed is mixed with khar, the alkaline water filtered from burnt banana peel, packed into a jar and left to ferment until sharp and funky. A small spoon with mustard oil and green chilli is eaten with the first balls of rice, and families make it in the cooler months. The common mistake is using a damp jar or spoon, which lets mould in. Ferment at 20–28 °C for 4–6 days; it is ready when it smells sharply pungent and tangy. Throw it away if you see fuzzy mould, pink or black spots, or it smells rotten or putrid rather than sour. Chef's tip: if you have no banana-ash khar, a quarter teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in the water gives a similar alkaline bite.

20 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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MesuFermented bamboo shoot pickle

Lepcha and Nepali households in Sikkim shred tender bamboo shoots in the monsoon, when they push up fresh, and pack them tightly into glass jars or hollow bamboo to sour for one to two weeks. The finished mesu is eaten as a sharp pickle with rice and dal through the rest of the year. A common mistake is leaving shoots above the brine, which invites mould; press them down hard so the liquid always covers them. Keep the jar at 20–28 °C out of direct sun and taste from day 7: it is ready when pleasantly sour and pale yellow. Discard the batch if you see fuzzy, pink or black mould, if it smells putrid rather than sour, or if the shoots feel slimy. Chef's tip: short of time, buy ready-fermented bamboo shoot from a Northeast or Asian grocer and go straight to the tempering.

40 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Methi besan bhajiFenugreek and gram flour stir-fry

Farmers in Vidarbha and households in Jodhpur both make a version of this: chopped methi leaves cooked down and then dusted with roasted besan until the whole pan turns into dry, savoury crumbs that cling to a chapati. Because it has almost no moisture, it is one of the best sabzis for a long journey or a hot day's dabba. The mistake is adding raw gram flour straight to the leaves, which leaves a pasty, raw taste. Roast the besan dry until it smells like biscuits first. Chef's tip: sprinkle a few drops of water over the crumbs and cover for a minute at the end, so they soften just enough without turning into a paste.

25 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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Dubki kadhiUrad dal dumplings in curd curry

Dubki means a dip, and in this Chhattisgarhi kadhi the spiced urad dal batter is dropped raw straight into the simmering curd so the dumplings cook in the pot rather than in hot oil. It is the lighter, everyday cousin of pakora kadhi, served with rice at lunch across Durg and Raipur and at village feasts. The common mistake is dropping the batter into kadhi that is barely warm; the dumplings fall apart, so the kadhi must be at a lively simmer. Chef's tip: whisk the batter by hand for a full 3 minutes until a spoonful floats in water, and the dumplings will be airy, not dense.

290 minIndianCurriesGluten free
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Bilahi chutneySweet-sour tomato chutney

Bilahi is the Assamese word for tomato, and this glossy red chutney, sweet with jaggery and warmed with nigella and dried chilli, closes a festive Assamese meal, especially at weddings and on Bihu, as the sweet-sour last course before curd and sweets. Everyday cooks in Jorhat and Guwahati make a quick batch in winter when tomatoes are cheap. The mistake to avoid is adding the jaggery too early, which scorches before the tomatoes have broken down. Chef's tip: a few dates or raisins added with the jaggery give the chutney a deeper, jammy sweetness.

25 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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Xaak bhajiStir-fried greens

Xaak bhaji is the simplest dish on an Assamese table and one of the most loved: whatever greens are in season, mustard leaves in winter, red or green amaranth and dhekia fern in the monsoon, wilted in mustard oil with garlic and a dried chilli. It is eaten at the start of the meal with rice in homes from Sivasagar to Guwahati. People often add water and stew the greens; they should cook in their own moisture over brisk heat so they stay bright. Chef's tip: mix two or three greens together, as Assamese cooks do, for a fuller flavour.

20 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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Chura sabjiFermented cheese curry

High in Tawang, Monpa families make chura sabji from chhurpi, a cheese of yak or cow's milk left to ferment until it is pungent and soft, cooked down with green chillies and onion into a creamy, fiery curry. It is everyday food in the cold months, eaten with rice or buckwheat bread. The usual mistake is cooking on high heat once the cheese goes in, which splits it into oily curds; melt it gently. Chef's tip: if you cannot get fermented chura, use a strong, crumbly blue or feta mixed with a spoon of curd to imitate the tang.

23 minIndianVegetarianGluten freeSpicy
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Chhena jhiliFried cheese patties in syrup

Chhena jhili comes from Nimapara near Puri in Odisha, where sweet shops fry these flat, oval chhena patties all day for pilgrims heading to and from the Jagannath temple. They are soft and spongy, golden-brown outside and creamy within, soaked in a thin syrup scented with cardamom, and are eaten at Rath Yatra, weddings and any good-news visit. The common mistake is using dry, crumbly chhena; it should be moist enough to press into a smooth patty without cracks, so hang it for no more than 30 minutes. Chef's tip: fry in ghee rather than oil for the true Odia flavour, keeping the heat gentle so the outside stays golden, not dark.

80 minIndianIndian Sweets
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Sem ki sabzi (flat beans with potato)

When flat green sem pods fill the sabzi carts in Lucknow and Jaipur in winter, they go into this dry stir-fry with potato and a crackle of ajwain, the classic partner for paratha in an office dabba. The beans stay a little firm and sweet, the potato soaks up the spices, and nothing drips into the roti. The mistake is leaving the stringy edges on the pods; they never soften. Snap the tip and pull the string down each side before chopping. Chef's tip: cook covered for the first half to steam the beans tender, then uncover and turn up the heat so the potatoes catch and brown.

32 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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VadouvanDried shallot and spice balls

Vadagam, called vadouvan in Puducherry's French-Tamil kitchens, is a seasoning made in the hot months: shallots and garlic are pounded with mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek, curry leaves and castor or gingelly oil, rolled into balls and dried in the sun for days. A piece crumbled into hot oil at the start of a sambar, a kuzhambu, a poriyal or even buttered vegetables gives a deep, sweet, smoky onion flavour. This version finishes the drying in a low oven, which is safer and quicker in cooler kitchens. The common mistake is storing the balls before they are bone dry; any softness inside can turn mouldy, so break one open to check. Chef's tip: crush a ball and warm it in ghee, then toss with roast carrots for a very Pondicherry side dish.

280 minIndianBasicsVeganGluten free
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Hinger kochuriUrad dal stuffed puffed bread

In Kolkata's sweetshops, Sunday breakfast often means hinger kochuri: soft, white-flour puris stuffed with a smear of urad dal paste perfumed strongly with hing, fried puffy and served with aloo dum or a sweet-sour pumpkin chhokka. They are smaller and softer than North Indian kachoris, closer to a stuffed luchi. The hing must be generous; it is the point of the dish. The common mistake is a wet filling, which steams the dough from inside and stops it puffing; cook the dal paste until it leaves the pan dry. Chef's tip: roll gently from the centre outwards so the thin filling layer stays even and the kochuri puffs all over.

60 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
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Urulaikizhangu roast (Tamil potato roast)

In Tamil lunch boxes, curd rice almost always comes with this: small cubes of boiled potato roasted slowly in a cast-iron pan with sambar powder, chilli and curry leaves until they are dark, crusty and chewy at the edges. It is a dry side, so it does not leak into the rice, and it tastes as good cold as hot. The mistake is stirring all the time; the potatoes need to sit undisturbed against the hot pan for a few minutes at a time to build the crust. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of rice flour scattered over in the last few minutes makes the coating even crisper.

35 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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Kumbakonam kadappaMoong dal and potato gravy

Kadappa belongs to the temple town of Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district, where it is ladled beside idli, dosa and soft poori at breakfast, a mild gravy of moong dal and potato thickened with a paste of coconut, roasted gram, fennel and green chilli. Its gentle, aromatic taste is a world away from sambar. The common mistake is boiling it hard after the coconut goes in; the paste separates and loses its fragrance, so heat it just to a simmer. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of poppy seeds ground into the paste gives the creamy body of the Kumbakonam hotels.

40 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Vazhakkai podimas (raw banana podimas)

Podimas comes from Tamil Brahmin kitchens in Thanjavur and Chennai, where green plantain is boiled whole, grated into soft crumbs and tossed with a tempering of mustard, dal, ginger, green chilli and coconut, then sharpened with lemon. It is light and fluffy, and it sits happily next to sambar rice or rasam rice in a tiffin. The mistake is overboiling the plantain: it turns sticky and will not grate into crumbs. Pull it out as soon as a knife slides in with a little resistance. Chef's tip: grate it on the large holes of a box grater while still warm, then let it cool before tossing, so the shreds stay separate.

28 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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Pithod ki sabziGram flour squares in curd gravy

When the vegetable basket is bare, Rajasthani and Malwa kitchens fall back on pithod: gram flour cooked to a thick paste, set in a tray, cut into squares and simmered in a spicy curd gravy. In Udaipur and Indore it is a weekday lunch with phulka or bajra roti, and on wedding menus it appears beside gatte. The common mistake is under-cooking the besan paste; it should leave the pan sides as one mass, or the squares crumble in the gravy. Chef's tip: let the set pithod cool fully, even an hour in the fridge, before you cut it; the squares hold far better.

50 minIndianCurriesGluten free
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Vegetable pulao

This is the plain, comforting pulao that gets packed for small children all over India, from Kolkata to Bengaluru: no chilli heat, just whole spices, a little fried onion and plenty of carrot, beans and peas. It is just as good warm or at room temperature, with a pot of raita or a few potato wedges alongside. The mistake is stirring the rice once the water goes in, which breaks the grains and makes it gluey; cover the pan and leave it alone. Chef's tip: cut the vegetables the size of a pea, so a child's spoon gets rice and vegetables in every bite.

35 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Salam pakSalep root and milk fudge

Salam pak is the grandest of the Gujarati winter paks, made in Kathiawadi and Ahmedabad homes in the cold months and handed out to family as a strengthening sweet. Salam (salep) is the dried, powdered root of a wild orchid sold by Gujarati grocers and Ayurvedic shops; cooked in milk it thickens into a silky, slightly chewy body that mawa, ghee and nuts make luxurious. A frequent mistake is adding the salam straight into hot milk, where it seizes into rubbery lumps that never cook out. Chef's tip: buy salam powder from a busy shop and smell it; it should be clean and faintly sweet, never musty.

70 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Tomato thokkuSpiced tomato preserve

Thokku is the Tamil answer to a jar of chutney: ripe tomatoes cooked down slowly in plenty of gingelly oil with red chilli, tamarind and roasted fenugreek until thick, dark and glossy. A spoonful turns plain curd rice, idli or chapati into a proper lunch box, and travellers from Madurai carry it for trips because it keeps for weeks. The mistake is stopping too early; it is ready only when the oil floats free around the edges and a spoon dragged across the pan leaves a clean trail. Chef's tip: roast the fenugreek seeds until reddish before grinding; raw fenugreek makes the thokku bitter.

50 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Shepu bhaji (dill and moong dal)

In Pune and the villages of western Maharashtra, bunches of shepu (dill) come to market in winter, and this dry bhaji of dill and soaked yellow moong dal is packed with bhakri or chapati in the lunch dabba. The dill wilts down to a soft, aromatic tangle, and the moong dal gives it body and a little protein. The mistake is adding water: the leaves release plenty of their own, and extra liquid makes the bhaji stew and lose its fresh, sharp smell. Chef's tip: soak the moong dal for at least 30 minutes beforehand, so it cooks through in the dill's own steam without turning mushy.

25 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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GodsheBroken rice and jaggery pudding

Godshe is the quiet sweet of Goan Saraswat and Gaud Saraswat kitchens, made on festival mornings, for a family puja, or simply when there is fresh coconut and good jaggery in the house. Broken rice is cooked until soft and creamy, then sweetened with dark coconut jaggery and loosened with first-press coconut milk, giving a pudding thicker than payasam and deeply caramel in flavour. Many families make the same dish with chana dal instead of rice. The usual mistake is adding jaggery while the rice is still firm, because the sugar stops the grains from softening any further. Chef's tip: a few slivers of fresh coconut and a pinch of nutmeg on top make it taste like a temple offering.

45 minIndianIndian SweetsVeganGluten free
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Ambadyachi udda methiHog plum coconut gravy

Udda methi is a Goan Saraswat curry named for its two roasted seasonings, urad dal and fenugreek seeds, and in the monsoon months the best version is made with tart green hog plums, ambade. The plums simmer whole in a coconut gravy that is sour, a little bitter, hot and faintly sweet from jaggery, and it is eaten with plain rice on rainy days or at a Shravan meal. The common mistake is burning the fenugreek: it should be roasted only until reddish, because dark seeds make the whole pot bitter. Raw mango works in place of ambade outside the season. Chef's tip: crush each hog plum lightly with a pestle before cooking so the gravy can soak into the flesh around the stone.

45 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Joynagarer moaPuffed rice and jaggery balls

Joynagar, south of Kolkata, makes moa only in winter, when the fragrant kanakchur paddy is harvested and date-palm sap is boiled into fresh nolen gur. Puffed kanakchur khoi is bound with the liquid gur, khoya and ghee into soft balls topped with a raisin and a pinch of cardamom, and Bengalis queue for the first boxes each December. The common mistake is overcooking the gur, which sets the moa hard as stone; it should reach only the soft-thread stage so the balls stay tender and squash slightly when bitten. Chef's tip: if you cannot find kanakchur khoi, use the freshest, crispest puffed rice you can buy and warm it briefly in a dry pan.

40 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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LavasaThin leavened flatbread

Every Kashmiri neighbourhood has its kandur, the baker who slaps breads onto the walls of a clay tandoor before dawn, and lavasa is the thin, soft, bubbly sheet bought for the afternoon or for wrapping hot seekh kebabs at weddings. It is lightly leavened, a little chewy and faintly smoky, and is eaten with noon chai or with harissa in winter. At home a very hot heavy pan or a pizza stone does a fine job. The common mistake is rolling it too thick; lavasa should be thin enough to see light through at the edges. Chef's tip: stack the breads under a clean cloth as they come off the heat, so the steam keeps them soft and foldable.

140 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
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Kandalee ka saagStinging nettle greens

Every spring in Uttarakhand people pick the soft tips of kandalee (bichhu ghas, stinging nettle) from field edges and cook them into a deep green saag with garlic, chilli and a spoon of rice paste, eaten with mandua roti or rice. Nettles taste like a rich, mineral spinach and the sting disappears completely once they are blanched. Always wear gloves or use tongs when picking and washing them. The common mistake is skipping the blanch and going straight to the pan, which leaves stringy stems and some sting. Chef's tip: squeeze the blanched nettles well and chop fine before cooking; this is what gives the smooth, creamy texture hill cooks are proud of.

35 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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SwaleFried lentil-stuffed breads

In Garhwal, swale are fried in huge batches for weddings, for the bride's send-off parcel and for festivals like Basant Panchami, then eaten warm or cold over the next couple of days. Soaked urad or gahat dal is ground with ginger and spices and sealed inside wholewheat dough, then fried until the breads puff and blister. They travel well and taste good with raita or a hill pickle. The common mistake is overfilling, which tears the dough and makes the oil spit. Chef's tip: roll them gently from the centre outwards with almost no dusting flour, so the edges seal and the swale puffs evenly.

70 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
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LesuWheat and finger millet roti

Lesu is a clever Garhwali farmhouse roti in which a small ball of mandua (finger-millet) dough is wrapped inside wheat dough and rolled out, so each bite has a soft wheat outside and a dark, earthy layer within. Families eat it for breakfast or dinner in winter with a big dollop of ghee, jaggery or a green saag. The millet adds minerals and a pleasant nutty taste. The common mistake is making the millet dough too dry, which cracks and pokes through the wheat when you roll. Chef's tip: knead the mandua dough with hot water and keep it as soft as the wheat dough, so the two roll out together.

40 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
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PanchkutaFive desert vegetables with spices

Panchkuta is the Marwari answer to a land where fresh vegetables are scarce: five sun-dried desert foods, ker berries, sangri beans, kumatiya seeds, gunda (lasoda) and amchur, soaked back to life and cooked in mustard oil with red chilli. Jodhpur and Bikaner families keep it for Sheetla Ashtami, when food is cooked a day ahead, and for wedding thalis with bajra roti, because it keeps for days without spoiling. The common mistake is cutting the soaking short; under-soaked ker and sangri stay leathery and bitter. Chef's tip: boil the soaked ker on its own and throw away the first water, which carries most of its bitterness.

60 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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HalvasanMilk and cracked wheat sweet

Khambhat, the old port town at the head of the Gulf, is where halvasan comes from, and its sweet shops still sell the chewy, nutmeg-heavy rounds wrapped in paper to visitors from Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Milk is split so it turns grainy, then cooked down with soaked cracked wheat, ghee, sugar and a little puffed edible gum until it is dark gold and chewy, rather like a cross between a halwa and a barfi. The mistake to avoid is undercooking: if it is taken off while still soft and sticky, the rounds never set and turn greasy. Chef's tip: keep cooking until the mass rolls around the pan as one lump and a drop pressed between two fingers feels tacky but not wet.

95 minIndianIndian Sweets
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Mag na ladvaMoong dal laddus

Mag na ladva are a Central Gujarat favourite for Diwali and for lunchbox treats, rich with ghee yet light in texture because the moong dal is dry-roasted and ground before it ever meets fat. Cooked slowly in ghee, the ground dal turns sandy and smells of toasted nuts, then powdered sugar, cardamom and chopped nuts bind it into soft, crumbly laddus. The mistake many make is grinding the dal too fine and roasting it too fast, which gives a pasty laddu with a raw, beany aftertaste. Chef's tip: grind the dal to the texture of fine semolina, not flour, for the classic melt-in-the-mouth crumb.

45 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Pudina pulao (mint pulao)

Mint pulao turns up in tiffins from Hyderabad to Delhi in summer, when mint grows like a weed on balconies, and it is a lunch box that still smells fresh at one o'clock. Basmati is fried with whole spices and onion, then cooked in water coloured with a paste of mint, coriander, green chilli and ginger. The mistake is boiling the mint paste for a long time before the rice goes in, which turns it khaki and bitter; add it, stir for a minute, and get the rice in. Chef's tip: a squeeze of lime in the cooking water keeps the green colour brighter.

35 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Jhinge postoRidge gourd with poppy seeds

Jhinge posto is a summer staple of West Bengal and especially the Bankura and Birbhum districts, where poppy seed (posto) goes into almost every everyday lunch. Ridge gourd is cooked in its own juices with nigella seeds and green chilli, then coated in a creamy paste of ground white poppy seeds, giving a mild, nutty, slightly sweet dish. Serve it with rice and dal, or with a millet roti for a lower-GI plate. It is suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 150 kcal and 9 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is adding water: the gourd releases plenty, and extra water makes the posto runny. Chef's tip: soak the poppy seeds in hot water for 20 minutes before grinding so the paste is smooth, not gritty.

40 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Chech bhajiJute leaf curry

Chech bhaji is a monsoon green in Chhattisgarh, picked from the jute plants that come up in field edges and village gardens, and cooked almost every week during Sawan. The leaves turn slippery as they soften, a bit like okra, and the cook reins that in with tomato and a little rice water left from washing the rice. It is eaten with plain rice and dal or bore baasi. The mistake to avoid is stirring it endlessly; the leaves go stringy and gluey, so stir only now and then. Chef's tip: frozen or dried molokhia leaves from an Arab grocery are the same plant and work well outside India.

25 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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GujiyaSweet filled pastries

In Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and across the Hindi belt, the days before Holi are for making gujiya: the women of the house sit together rolling, filling and crimping hundreds of these half-moon pastries, which are then offered to guests between rounds of colour. The filling is mawa roasted until grainy and golden, mixed with ghee-toasted semolina, coconut, nuts and powdered sugar; Maharashtra's karanji is the cousin with a coconut filling. The common mistake is frying on high heat, which blisters the pastry and leaves it raw and chewy inside; gujiya should fry slowly until crisp and pale gold. Chef's tip: add the powdered sugar only once the mawa has cooled completely, or it melts and the filling turns sticky.

100 minIndianIndian Sweets
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AkibiyeCreamy taro with fermented soybean

Akibiye is Sumi Naga comfort food from Nagaland: colocasia boiled until it melts into a thick, creamy stew, flavoured with chilli and axone, the fermented soybean that gives Naga cooking its deep savour. It is eaten with rice, especially in winter. For homemade axone, keep boiled soybeans wrapped in leaves at 30–40 °C for 3–5 days until sticky and pungent, then dry or use fresh; discard if black, green or pink mould appears or it smells rotten. The mistake is handling raw taro with bare hands, which itches; wear gloves or oil your hands. Chef's tip: bought axone, kinema or natto work well.

45 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Angakar rotiThick rice flour roti

Angakar roti takes its name from angaar, the glowing coals of a village chulha in Chhattisgarh, where a thick round of rice dough is sandwiched between palash or banana leaves and buried in the embers until smoky and crusted. Farmers carry it to the fields with chutney and a green chilli, and it is still a winter breakfast across Bilaspur and Raipur. At home a heavy tawa and a lid do the job. The common slip is making the dough too wet; it should be soft but hold a fingerprint, or the roti stays gummy in the middle. Chef's tip: mix in a spoon of leftover cooked rice for a softer crumb, just as Chhattisgarhi grandmothers do.

35 minIndianBreads & ParathasVeganGluten free
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LyangchaFried milk sweets in syrup

Travellers on the road from Kolkata to Bardhaman stop at Shaktigarh for one reason: lyangcha, cylindrical sweets of chhena and khoya fried almost black and soaked in light syrup, sold hot from roadside shops and carried home in clay pots. The outside is caramelised and slightly chewy, the inside soft, juicy and milky. They are a winter and wedding favourite across Bengal. The common mistake is frying on high heat to get the dark colour quickly; the outside burns while the centre stays raw and the sweet splits in the syrup. Low, patient heat gives an even mahogany shell. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of sugar kneaded into the dough helps it darken evenly.

90 minIndianIndian Sweets
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Mangai sadam (raw mango rice)

When hard green mangoes pile up at the markets of Tamil Nadu in April and May, school lunch boxes fill with mangai sadam, sour and fresh like lemon rice but with a fruitier bite. Grated raw mango is cooked only briefly in a mustard, chana dal and curry leaf tempering so it softens but keeps its tang. The mistake is overcooking the mango into mush, which makes the rice sticky; two or three minutes is enough. Chef's tip: taste the mango first. A very sour one needs a pinch of sugar, and a half-ripe one needs a squeeze of lemon at the end.

22 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Dal panniyeMaize flour breads baked in leaves

Panniye are the festive breads of the Bhil communities of Jhabua and Alirajpur in western Madhya Pradesh, made for weddings, Bhagoria and harvest gatherings. Thick maize-flour discs are pressed between palash or banana leaves and baked over cow-dung embers until smoky and crisp outside, then served with a garlicky dal and ghee. At home you can bake them on a tawa and finish in the oven. The common mistake is rolling the dough too thin, so it dries out and cracks before it cooks through. Chef's tip: knead the maize dough with warm water and a little curd and let it rest; it holds together much better.

65 minIndianBreads & ParathasGluten free
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Sooth pakDry ginger fudge squares

In Saurashtra a new mother is handed a tin of sooth pak within days of giving birth, and the rest of the family quietly helps themselves when winter colds arrive. It is a small, potent square: plenty of dry ginger roasted in ghee, softened by jaggery and wheat flour, with a little puffed gum and coconut for texture, so one piece warms you right through. The mistake to avoid is roasting the ginger powder on its own in very hot ghee, which scorches it in seconds and leaves the pak bitter. Chef's tip: grind dry ginger root yourself in a spice grinder just before cooking; the flavour is far brighter than old packet powder.

45 minIndianIndian Sweets
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AmbalSweet and sour pumpkin

Ambal belongs to the Dogra dham of Jammu, the feast cooked by the hereditary siyan cooks for weddings and festivals and served on leaf plates in a fixed order. Yellow pumpkin is softened with fenugreek seeds and fennel, then simmered in a dark tamarind and jaggery sauce until it is sticky, sour and sweet at once, which is what the name, from 'amla' for sour, promises. It is eaten with rice alongside the dham's dals and madra. The common mistake is stirring hard once the pumpkin is soft, which turns it to mush; shake the pan instead. Chef's tip: let it rest an hour before serving, as the tamarind settles and the flavour deepens.

40 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Hmarcha rawtRoasted green chilli relish

No Mizo table in Aizawl is complete without a small bowl of hmarcha rawt, the sharp relish that goes with plain rice, boiled vegetables and bai at almost every meal. Green chillies are charred over a flame or on a dry pan, then pounded with raw onion, ginger and salt. The mistake is to blend it smooth; it should be coarse and juicy, with bits of charred skin. Chef's tip: roast the chillies until blistered all over, not black, or the relish turns bitter.

13 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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ChauselaRice flour puris

Chausela is the puri of the Chhattisgarh plains, where rice rather than wheat fills the granary, and it turns up at Hareli, Pola and any Sunday breakfast with a sharp tomato chutney or a potato curry. The dough is scalded with boiling water so the rice flour holds together, and the puris fry up pale, soft and lightly crisp at the edges. The usual mistake is mixing the flour with cold water; it cracks as you roll and the puris split in the oil. Chef's tip: knead the dough while it is still warm, using the heel of an oiled palm, and keep it under a damp cloth so the rounds stay supple.

30 minIndianBreads & ParathasVeganGluten free
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Verkadalai sadam (peanut rice)

Peanut rice is the filling variety rice that Tamil and Kannada parents send when the school day ends with games: roasted peanuts, dry coconut, sesame and red chillies are ground into a coarse powder and tossed through rice in a curry leaf tempering. It tastes a little like a savoury peanut brittle, and it stays good at room temperature for hours. The mistake is grinding the peanuts too long; they turn into peanut butter and the rice clumps. Pulse in short bursts and stop while it is still sandy. Chef's tip: keep a few whole roasted peanuts aside and add them at the end for crunch.

23 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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OotiSoft dried pea curry

Ooti is a Meitei comfort dish from Manipur, especially loved in winter and at the community feasts of Ningol Chakouba: dried peas simmered with a pinch of soda until they collapse into a soft, mild stew scented with garlic and spring onion. It goes with rice and a fiery eromba. The mistake is adding too much soda, which tastes soapy; a small pinch is enough. Chef's tip: soak the peas overnight and they will be soft in about 40 minutes.

55 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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Rasam sadam for babiesRasam rice for babies

Rasam sadam, hot rice with a thin, tangy tomato and lentil broth, is everyday lunch in Tamil homes from Chennai to Madurai. When a baby joins the meal at around nine months, many mothers ladle off a mild rasam for the little one before the pepper, chilli and salt go into the family pot. Mashed into soft rice with a spoon of ghee, it is tangy, warm and gently fragrant with cumin and coriander leaf. It contains milk (ghee). We leave out asafoetida, which is often cut with wheat flour, so it is gluten free, and it has no egg, nuts, soya or sesame. Chef's tip: use the ripest, reddest tomato you can find; its natural sweetness replaces the tamarind and jaggery of the grown-up rasam.

40 minIndianRice & GrainsGluten free
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HinkejvuTaro and mustard leaf stew

Hinkejvu is a light Sumi Naga everyday dish from Nagaland's Zunheboto district, where colocasia, cabbage, mustard leaves and beans are simmered together with only ginger, chilli and salt. It is eaten with plain rice and a smoky chutney, often after a heavier meat dish the day before. The common mistake is adding oil or spices, which hides the clean vegetable flavour; Naga home cooking relies on the produce. Chef's tip: cook the colocasia until it starts to break and thicken the broth slightly.

35 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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BhaturuStuffed fermented wheat bread

Bhaturu is the breakfast bread of the Kangra and Kullu valleys, made from wheat dough left to ferment overnight with a little old starter or curd until it is light and sour, then rolled out, sometimes stuffed with a spiced lentil filling, and baked on the griddle. It is eaten hot with ghee, a tangy chutney or the madra left from the night before, and is a fixture at village fairs. Ferment it somewhere warm (25–30 °C) for 8–10 hours; it should smell pleasantly sour and be bubbly. Discard the dough if it smells of nail varnish, turns pink, grey or fuzzy, or has a slimy feel. The common mistake is rolling it thin like a chapati, which loses the soft crumb; keep it as thick as your little finger. Chef's tip: cook it on a medium, not fierce, tawa so the centre bakes through before the outside burns.

60 minIndianBreads & Parathas
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Til ki chutney (Kumaoni)Sesame chutney

This is the everyday sesame chutney of Kumaoni homes, ground on the sil-batta to go with mandua rotis, rice and dal, or the pakodas made for Harela and Ghughutiya. Unlike southern sesame chutneys, it has no coconut or tamarind: just toasted white sesame, green chilli, coriander and plenty of hill-lemon juice, so it tastes bright and nutty at once. It keeps for two days in the fridge. The most common mistake is burning the sesame, which only takes a few seconds too long and makes the chutney bitter. Chef's tip: pull the pan off the heat the moment the first seeds turn golden; they keep cooking in the hot pan.

12 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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Gangaur guneFried dough shapes in syrup

Gangaur, Rajasthan's spring festival for Gauri, is when women fast and pray for their husbands and married daughters receive a sindhara of sweets from home, and gune are always in it. A ghee-rich dough is rolled thin, pleated or pressed into ribbed shapes and fried crisp, then dipped in sugar syrup or jaggery. They are crunchy, flaky and lightly sweet. The common mistake is under-rubbing the ghee into the flour, which makes them hard rather than short and flaky. Chef's tip: rub until the flour holds a clear fist mark when squeezed; that is when the gune will shatter, not crack.

75 minIndianIndian Sweets
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Bandar ladduGram flour and jaggery balls

Bandar laddu is named after Bandar, the old name of Machilipatnam on the Andhra coast, and it is the sweet families carry home after a trip there, offer at Sankranti and give at weddings. Gram-flour pearls are fried, then pounded with jaggery syrup and ghee until the mixture turns dense, smooth and fudgy, unlike the grainy besan laddu of the north. The common mistake is not cooking the jaggery syrup far enough: it needs to reach the soft-ball stage, or the laddus slump and turn sticky. Chef's tip: pound the mix while it is still warm, in batches, in a heavy mortar or food processor, until it clumps when pressed.

60 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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ShankarpaliFried sweet diamond biscuits

Every Maharashtrian Diwali faral box has a pile of shankarpali: small diamond-shaped biscuits, flaky and crisp, sweet with sugar dissolved in warm milk and ghee. Families make large batches in the week before Diwali alongside chakli and karanji, and the tin is raided until Tulsi Vivah. The common mistake is frying too hot, which browns them outside before the layers crisp, so they soften within a day; fry slowly until pale golden. Chef's tip: dissolve the sugar fully in the warm milk and ghee before adding flour, or sugar crystals burn in the oil as dark specks.

70 minIndianIndian Sweets
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KhurchanScraped milk skin sweet

Khurchan means 'scrapings', and in Mathura and the sweet lanes of Old Delhi it is made by simmering milk in a wide iron kadhai and lifting off the skin that forms, layer after layer, then stacking the sheets with a sprinkle of sugar and cardamom. It is a winter sweet, sold in small squares, and offered at Janmashtami in Krishna's town. It takes patience, not skill. The common mistake is letting the milk boil, which breaks the skin; keep it just steaming, never bubbling. Chef's tip: fan the surface of the milk gently with a paper plate between layers; the cooler air makes the skin form faster and thicker.

125 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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ChutagiWheat pasta in vegetable soup

In Leh and the villages along the Indus, chutagi is the one-pot supper of the long winter: little hand-pinched bow-ties of wheat dough dropped into a broth of turnip, carrot, onion and greens. Families sit around the stove pinching the dough together while the pot comes to the boil, and the soup is eaten piping hot, often with a spoon of chilli paste on the side. The broth is light but the pasta makes it filling. The usual mistake is rolling the dough too thick, which leaves the centres of the bows doughy; roll it about as thin as a coin. Chef's tip: let the shaped bows dry on a floured tray for ten minutes before they go in, so they hold their pinched centre instead of opening up in the pot.

55 minIndianSoupsVegan
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Menthya soppu bath (fenugreek leaf rice)

In Bengaluru and Mysuru, a "bath" is a one-pan rice dish seasoned with its own roasted spice powder, and menthya soppu bath is the winter version, made when bunches of fresh fenugreek are cheap. Unlike Tamil variety rices, the rice is cooked right in the masala with the leaves, tamarind and a touch of jaggery, so it comes out soft, tangy and gently bitter. The common mistake is using too much methi stalk, which makes the rice harshly bitter; strip the leaves and use only the softest stems. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of jaggery and a squeeze of tamarind balance the bitterness better than extra salt.

40 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Kachi haldi ki sabziFresh turmeric curry

When fresh turmeric root reaches the markets of Jodhpur and Jaipur in December, Marwari families cook kachi haldi ki sabzi, a rich, warming winter dish eaten in small portions with bajra roti and a glass of buttermilk. Grated turmeric is fried slowly in plenty of ghee until it darkens and loses its raw bitterness, then simmered with onion, yoghurt, green peas and spices into a golden, earthy curry. The usual mistake is rushing the frying: it needs 15–20 minutes on a low heat, or the dish tastes harsh. Wear gloves when grating, as turmeric stains hands and boards. Chef's tip: whisk the yoghurt with the ground spices before adding it, and keep stirring until it boils, so the sauce stays silky.

60 minIndianVegetarianGluten free
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Minil songaBamboo-roasted sticky rice

The Garo of western Meghalaya make minil songa for festivals, hunting trips and family picnics, packing soaked sticky rice into lengths of green bamboo and roasting them in the embers until the rice comes out fragrant, firm and faintly smoky. At home, a hot oven or a grill gives a very good result. The mistake to avoid is sealing the bamboo too tightly: steam must escape. Chef's tip: if you have no bamboo, roll the rice in a double layer of banana leaf and foil.

70 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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PabaRoasted barley and pea dough

Paba is the plain, sustaining staple of Ladakhi farm kitchens, especially in Zanskar and the Nubra valley, where roasted barley, dried peas and wheat are ground together and stirred into hot water with a little butter. It is eaten at lunch with tangtur, the cool curd-and-greens side, or with a thin vegetable soup, pinched off by hand. The texture is dense and earthy, with a nutty taste from the roasting. The most common mistake is adding the flour all at once, which leaves dry lumps in the middle; sprinkle it in while stirring hard. Chef's tip: toast the flours in a dry pan until they smell like biscuits before you start, even if the bag says roasted, because fresh toasting makes all the difference.

20 minIndianBreads & Parathas
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KabokPuffed rice and sesame balls

Kabok are crunchy balls of puffed rice and sesame bound with hot jaggery syrup, made in Meitei homes for Yaoshang, Cheiraoba and temple offerings. Black puffed rice is used in some villages, giving dark, toasty kabok. The key is the syrup: cook it to the hard-ball stage, when a drop in cold water sets into a firm ball, or the balls will fall apart. The common mistake is shaping with dry hands; wet them so the hot mixture doesn't stick or burn. Chef's tip: warm the puffed rice in the oven for a few minutes first so it stays crisp.

25 minIndianIndian SweetsVeganGluten free
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JholiYogurt and gram flour kadhi

Jholi is the thin, everyday kadhi of Kumaon, cooked when there is curd in the house and no time for pakoras, and spooned over rice for a quick lunch. It is tempered with jakhya, a tiny crunchy hill seed with a mustardy bite, and coloured gold with turmeric. Because there are no fritters, it is lighter and tangier than a Punjabi kadhi. The common mistake is letting it boil before the gram flour has cooked in, which splits the curd into grains. Chef's tip: keep stirring in one direction until the first bubble; after that the jholi is stable and can simmer on its own.

30 minIndianCurriesGluten free
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Aloo pitikaMashed potato with mustard oil

Aloo pitika is the first thing on many Assamese lunch plates, a rough mash of boiled potato sharpened with raw mustard oil, onion, green chilli and coriander, eaten with the first mouthfuls of rice and dal. Guwahati families make it daily, and in winter it may be mixed with roasted aubergine or a boiled egg. The usual mistake is making it smooth like a Western purée; it should be coarse and hand-mashed so the onion and chilli stay crunchy. Chef's tip: use pungent kachi ghani mustard oil and rub it in last, so its heat hits the nose.

25 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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Kanji payar for toddlersRed rice gruel for toddlers

Kanji and payar, rice gruel with a dry dish of green gram, is Kerala's oldest comfort meal, eaten for dinner in homes across Kottayam and Palakkad and at simple roadside kanji kadas on rainy monsoon evenings. For toddlers from 12 months the matta rice is cooked until it bursts into a creamy porridge, and the cherupayar is steamed soft and finished with a little coconut and cumin instead of chilli, then the two are mashed together. Skip the usual pickle and pappadam. It contains coconut; there is no milk, gluten, egg, nuts or soya, and it is vegan. Chef's tip: soak both the rice and the gram overnight; it halves the cooking time and makes them far softer.

55 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Aloo seddho bhaat for toddlersRice and potato mash for toddlers

In Kolkata homes, from north Kolkata's old paras to the flats of Salt Lake, aloo seddho bhaat is what you cook when someone is tired, ill or very small: a potato boiled right in the rice pot, mashed with hot rice. Grown-ups add raw mustard oil, green chilli and onion; for toddlers from 12 months it is mashed instead with a spoon of ghee, so it's soft, buttery and mild. Gobindobhog rice gives it a lovely fragrance. It contains milk (ghee); there is no gluten, egg, nuts or soya. Chef's tip: mash the potato and rice with a fork or your fingers, never a blender, or it turns gluey.

25 minIndianRice & GrainsGluten free
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TangturCurd with greens and chilli

Through the short Ladakhi summer, when the fields around Leh are green, tangtur is on the table at almost every lunch: boiled leafy greens chopped into thick, cool curd or buttermilk with raw onion and green chilli. It is served beside paba, khambir or rice, and cuts through anything rich or spicy. In villages the greens may be wild ones gathered from field edges; spinach, mustard or radish leaves work well at home. The mistake to avoid is adding the greens while still hot, which splits the curd; cool them completely first. Chef's tip: squeeze the boiled greens really hard in your fist so the tangtur stays thick instead of watery.

15 minIndianSaladsGluten free
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Goan tendli bhajiIvy gourd stir-fry

On an everyday Goan plate of rice, fish curry and a vegetable, the vegetable is very often this quick tendli bhaji. Thin rounds of ivy gourd are softened with onion and green chilli in coconut oil, then tossed with fresh grated coconut just before serving, so they stay crunchy-tender and sweet. Hindu homes make it without onion on fasting or puja days. The mistake to avoid is cutting the tendli thickly and covering the pan for too long, which gives grey, soggy rings; thin slices cooked mostly uncovered keep their green colour. Chef's tip: pick firm, bright green tendli and discard any that are red inside, as they are overripe and slimy.

25 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
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Dal dhokli for toddlersWheat dumplings in dal for toddlers

In Ahmedabad pols and Surat kitchens dal dhokli is the Sunday one-pot lunch: diamonds of spiced wheat dough cooked straight in tangy toor dal. This toddler version, for children from 12 months, keeps the soft pasta-like pieces small, leaves out the chilli, peanuts and cloves, and uses only a pinch of jaggery so the dal stays sweet-sour the way Gujarati families like it. It is cooked in oil, so it is dairy free and vegan. It contains wheat (gluten); there is no milk, egg, nuts or soya. Chef's tip: roll the dough thin, about 2 mm; thick dhokli stay chewy in the middle.

45 minIndianCurriesVegan
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Metkut bhaatRice with lentil powder and ghee

Ask anyone who grew up in Pune or Mumbai's Dadar about their first proper meal and many will say metkut bhaat: soft hot rice, a spoon of melted ghee and a sprinkle of metkut, a roasted powder of chana dal, urad dal and rice with turmeric and cumin. It is the bowl grandmothers make on lazy evenings and for toddlers from 12 months, nutty, savoury and gentle without any chilli. Shop metkut usually contains salt and asafoetida (which often has wheat), so this recipe roasts a small salt-free batch at home. It contains milk (ghee); the home-made powder has no gluten, egg, nuts or soya. Chef's tip: roast the dals slowly until they smell like popcorn; pale dal gives a raw, floury powder.

25 minIndianRice & GrainsGluten free
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Gol dhanaJaggery and coriander seed sweet

In Gujarat, when two families agree on a match, a plate of gol dhana is passed around before anything else, and the engagement itself is often simply called 'gol dhana'. The same mix appears on auspicious days, at a griha pravesh and at the start of a new venture: soft jaggery rubbed together with dhana dal, the split, lightly roasted coriander seeds sold in every Gujarati grocery. It takes five minutes and needs no cooking. The common mistake is using whole coriander seeds, which are hard and bitter; buy dhana dal, or split and toast the seeds yourself. Chef's tip: choose a soft, golden Kolhapuri-style jaggery that crumbles between your fingers, so it coats the seeds instead of staying in lumps.

5 minIndianIndian SweetsVeganGluten free
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Kozhikode halwaCoconut oil halwa with cashews

Walk down SM Street, 'Mittai Theruvu', in Kozhikode and you pass shop after shop stacked with jewel-coloured slabs of halwa, which Malabar families have bought for Eid, weddings and visits since the Arab trading days. The classic is made from wheat-flour milk (or plain flour) cooked for a long time with sugar and coconut oil or ghee until glossy, chewy and translucent, studded with cashews. The common mistake is rushing the cooking: the halwa must be stirred until it stops sticking, turns transparent and the fat seeps out at the edges, or it sets soft and cloudy. Chef's tip: add the oil a spoonful at a time only after the mixture thickens, so it is absorbed rather than floating.

90 minIndianIndian Sweets
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Moong thalMoong dal flour fudge

Moong thal is a Diwali tray sweet of Bikaner and Marwari homes, made by roasting coarsely ground moong dal in a generous amount of ghee, then setting it with sugar syrup and mawa and topping with nuts. It is richer and grainier than besan barfi, with a deep, toasty flavour. Marwari families in Kolkata and Mumbai still make it for Diwali boxes. The common mistake is under-roasting the moong, which leaves a raw, beany taste. Chef's tip: roast until the mixture turns light and frothy and the ghee releases from it; that is your sign it is cooked through.

60 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Rajgira no sheeroAmaranth flour pudding

On Ekadashi, Navratri and other fast days, Gujarati homes make this quick sheero from rajgira (amaranth) flour, which is allowed when grains are not. It is roasted in ghee until nutty, then cooked with milk and sugar into a soft, spoonable pudding with cardamom and a few nuts. It is ready in 20 minutes and is often offered to the Mataji before the family eats. The common mistake is adding cold milk to the roasted flour, which seizes into lumps. Chef's tip: heat the milk and sugar together first and pour it in slowly while you whisk.

20 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Kesar pendaSaffron milk pendas

In Ahmedabad, any good news, from exam results to a new home or a newborn, means a box of kesar penda passed around the office and the street. These are soft, creamy pendas of fresh mawa cooked briefly with sugar and plenty of saffron, so they stay pale gold and fudgy, quite unlike the browned pedas of Mathura or Dharwad. The common mistake is overcooking the mawa once the sugar goes in, which turns the pendas dry and cracked at the edges. Chef's tip: stop cooking as soon as a small piece rolls into a smooth ball between your palms; they firm up as they cool.

30 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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NeureosCoconut and jaggery pastries

No Goan Catholic kuswar, the tray of Christmas sweets sent to neighbours, is complete without neureos, little crimped half-moons of crisp pastry stuffed with fresh coconut cooked down with jaggery, cardamom and a few raisins or cashews. Families gather in the week before Christmas to roll, fill and pinch them by the hundred, and they keep well in a tin until New Year. The common mistake is a wet filling: if the coconut mix is still moist when sealed the pastries burst in the oil, so cook it until it leaves the pan and cool it fully. Chef's tip: use a fluted pastry wheel to trim the edge after crimping, which gives the classic frilly finish and a tighter seal.

75 minIndianIndian Sweets
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Goan pezRice porridge with pickle and papad

Pez is the plainest food in a Goan kitchen and one of the most loved: red parboiled rice simmered in plenty of water until the grains burst and the liquid turns milky. Fishermen and farmers ate it before a day's work, mothers serve it to anyone who feels unwell, and on heavy monsoon evenings it comes with a spoon of mango or lime pickle, a roasted papad and sometimes a dry fish or vegetable on the side. The mistake is cooking it in too little water so it becomes a sticky porridge; good pez has whole soft grains floating in thin, starchy broth. Chef's tip: stir in a little salt only at the end and let everyone add buttermilk or coconut milk to their own bowl.

45 minIndianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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TondakMixed beans and cashew gravy

Tondak is a Goan Saraswat dish cooked in homes around Ponda and Margao for festivals, weddings and Sunday lunches: mixed beans and plump cashews in a gravy of roasted coconut, red chillies and coriander seeds. The beans soften into the reddish-brown sauce while the cashews stay buttery, making it filling and rich in protein. Serve it with a little rice or a millet bhakri and a vegetable side. It is suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 380 kcal and 34 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is grinding raw coconut; it must be roasted to a deep golden brown first or the gravy tastes flat. Chef's tip: dried kidney beans must be soaked overnight and boiled hard for 10 minutes before they simmer, so do this even if you then use a slow cooker or pressure cooker.

65 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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ManganeChana dal and sago pudding

In Goan Hindu homes, especially around Ganesh Chaturthi, a pot of mangane is cooked for the naivedya and handed round warm after the aarti. Soft chana dal and glassy sago pearls sit in a thick, caramel-coloured sauce of coconut jaggery and fresh coconut milk, scented with cardamom and studded with cashews. The common mistake is boiling the dal hard after the thick coconut milk goes in, which splits it into oily curds; once the first milk is added the pot should only steam gently. Serve it warm in small bowls, or cool so it sets a little and spoon it up like a soft pudding. Chef's tip: soak the sago only until the pearls just give when pressed, or they melt into glue in the pot.

55 minIndianIndian SweetsVeganGluten free
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Phing tarkariGlass noodle curry

In Gangtok kitchens phing tarkari turns up beside rice on ordinary weeknights and at Losar and Dashain spreads, the slippery noodles soaking up a thin, gingery gravy studded with mushrooms and greens. Phing are mung-bean glass noodles, and Sikkimese cooks treat them more like a vegetable than pasta, so the dish is spooned over rice rather than eaten as a noodle bowl. The usual mistake is boiling the noodles first: they turn to mush, so only soak them in warm water and let them finish in the gravy for the last few minutes. Chef's tip: snip the soaked noodles into 10 cm lengths with kitchen scissors so they mix evenly and are easy to serve.

28 minIndianPasta & NoodlesVegan
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Manda pithaSteamed rice dumplings with coconut

Manda pitha is the soft white dumpling of Odisha's Raja festival in mid-June, when girls swing on rope swings, wear new clothes and eat pitha for three days; it is also made for Prathamastami and other family feasts. A smooth dough of rice flour cooked in water is wrapped around a filling of coconut, jaggery, chhena, black pepper and cardamom, then steamed. The common mistake is mixing raw rice flour with cold water: the dough must be cooked with boiling water and kneaded hot, or it cracks when shaped. Chef's tip: grease your palms with a drop of ghee while shaping so the dough stays silky and the edges seal cleanly.

70 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Chhena kheeriFresh cheese in sweet milk

Chhena kheeri is one of the dishes of the Jagannath temple's chhappan bhog in Puri, and Odia households make it for festivals, birthdays and the evening Rath Yatra meal. Soft, freshly made chhena is crumbled into milk that has been simmered down until creamy and sweet, then scented with cardamom and a little camphor in temple style, or simply nutmeg at home. The common mistake is adding the chhena too early and boiling it hard, which makes it rubbery; it should go in at the end and simmer only briefly. Chef's tip: crumble the chhena by hand into pieces the size of rice grains, so every spoonful has some.

75 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Bellam paramannamRice and moong dal jaggery pudding

Bellam paramannam is the naivedyam of Telangana and Andhra homes, cooked for Sankranti, Ugadi, Varalakshmi Vratam and almost any puja, a soft rice-and-moong pudding sweetened with jaggery and glossed with ghee. Its colour is a warm caramel and its taste deeper than a sugar kheer. The classic mistake is adding jaggery to milk that is still on a high boil, which can split it; take the pot off the heat, let it stop bubbling, then stir the jaggery in. Chef's tip: roast the moong dal in a spoon of ghee until it smells toasty before cooking; it gives the paramannam its homely flavour.

45 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Gahat ke paratheHorse gram stuffed parathas

Gahat (horse gram) is the warming winter lentil of Uttarakhand, and in Garhwal it is boiled, mashed and stuffed into parathas for cold mornings, served with butter, curd and a hill pickle. The filling is spiked with ginger, garlic, green chilli and coriander, and the parathas keep you full for hours. Gahat is hard, so it needs a long soak and a pressure cooker. The common mistake is leaving the filling wet; moisture steams through the dough and the paratha tears. Chef's tip: dry the mashed gahat in a pan for a few minutes after mashing until it holds together like a soft crumble.

80 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
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Tamatar kutTangy tomato curry

Tamatar ka kut is a Deccani dish from Hyderabad's old Muslim and Kayastha kitchens: tomatoes cooked down, sieved smooth and thickened with roasted sesame and gram flour, then finished with a sizzling bagaar of curry leaves, garlic and dried chillies, with halved boiled eggs often slipped in. It is served with khichdi or plain rice, particularly on a Sunday. The common mistake is skipping the sieve; seeds and skins make it coarse, and the kut should be velvety. Chef's tip: roast the gram flour until it smells like biscuits before it goes in, so there is no raw taste.

40 minIndianCurriesGluten free
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Bachali kura pappuDal with Malabar spinach

Bachali, or Malabar spinach, climbs over back walls all across Telangana and Andhra, and its thick, glossy leaves go into this everyday pappu that turns up at lunch several times a month with rice, ghee and a pickle. The leaves give the dal a silky body and a faint lemony note. People often overcook it until the greens turn khaki; add them after the dal is soft and cook just long enough to wilt. Chef's tip: use the tender stems too, chopped small; they add a pleasant crunch.

35 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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