Vegetarian Indian dinners

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

Indian Vegetarian

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Sing pakPeanut fudge

Sing pak is the Gujarati fasting-day fudge: peanuts roasted, skinned and ground coarse, then cooked into a one-string sugar syrup with ghee and cardamom and set in a tray. Because it uses no grain, it is made for Ekadashi, Shravan Mondays and Navratri, and children love it any day. It is soft, rich and a little crumbly. The common mistake is cooking the syrup too far; past one string it sets rock-hard and grainy. Chef's tip: pinch a drop of syrup between finger and thumb (carefully, after cooling it on a spoon): one thin thread should form as you pull them apart.

30 min

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Bhang ki chutneyRoasted hemp seed chutney

In Kumaon every kitchen keeps a jar of hemp seeds, and this tangy chutney is ground fresh to go with rotis, aloo ke gutke and festive pakodas all through the year. It uses hulled, food-grade hemp seeds sold for cooking, which are not psychoactive at all; they simply taste like a cross between sesame and toasted pine nuts. The seeds are dry-roasted, ground with mint, chilli and the juice of the big hill lemon, and loosened with a little water. The usual mistake is roasting the seeds too dark, which turns the chutney bitter and grey. Chef's tip: grind in a mortar or with short pulses and stop while it still has some texture; a perfectly smooth paste loses the pleasant crunch.

15 min

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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 min

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DubukThick lentil curry

Dubuk is a Kumaoni winter staple from the hill villages around Almora and Pithoragarh, where soaked bhatt (black soybean) or gahat is ground on a stone and simmered slowly in an iron kadhai until it turns thick and dark. It is eaten with plain rice on cold evenings, and the iron pot gives it its slightly earthy colour and taste. Toor dal or a mix of toor and urad works well if you cannot find pahadi lentils. The common mistake is grinding the lentils to a fine paste and boiling hard, which makes dubuk gluey; grind coarse and keep the simmer gentle. Chef's tip: stir in a spoon of the rice paste only at the end, and only if the gravy needs body, because the lentils thicken a lot as they stand.

60 min

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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 min

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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 min

Indian Soups

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Chamba chukhChilli and lemon paste

Chukh is the fiery condiment of Chamba in western Himachal, made at the end of summer when red and green chillies are abundant, and kept for months to brighten dal, rice and rajma through the winter. Chillies are lightly cooked in mustard oil, pounded with lemon juice and salt, and stored in glass jars under a film of oil. Just a dab is used at a time. The common mistake is leaving moisture in the jar, which lets mould grow; use a bone-dry, sterilised jar and a dry spoon. Chef's tip: wear gloves when handling this many chillies, and do not touch your eyes for hours afterwards.

90 min

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MarchuDeep-fried wheat breads

In the high Lahaul valley, marchu are fried by the basketful before the winter festivals of Halda and Losar, when families visit each other and every house must have a pile ready for guests. They are thick, soft rounds of wheat dough, sometimes lightly sweetened, fried in oil until puffed and golden, and they keep for days in the cold. They are eaten with butter tea or a spicy potato dish. The common mistake is frying in oil that is too hot, which browns the outside before the inside cooks; keep the heat medium. Chef's tip: prick each round twice with a fork so it puffs evenly rather than ballooning on one side.

50 min

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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 min

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DhebraPearl millet flatbreads

Gujarati families pack a stack of dhebra for every train journey, picnic and tiffin box, because the yogurt and oil in the dough keep these spicy millet and fenugreek flatbreads soft for two or three days. They are thicker than a thepla and earthy from the bajra, and they are eaten with pickle, chhundo or a cup of tea. The common mistake is adding too much water at once: the yogurt and fenugreek release moisture as you knead, and a slack dough sticks and tears. Chef's tip: pat them out on a damp cloth or between two sheets of plastic rather than rolling, the way Gujarati kitchens do, so the delicate millet dough does not crack.

40 min

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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 min

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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 min

Indian Salads

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Badam ka halwaAlmond halwa

In Jaipur, badam ka halwa came out of the royal kitchens and now appears at winter weddings and on cold nights when someone wants a real treat. Soaked, peeled almonds are ground to a coarse paste and cooked slowly in ghee with milk, sugar and saffron until the halwa turns golden, glossy and leaves the sides of the pan. It is very rich, so a small bowl is enough. The common mistake is grinding the almonds too fine, which gives a pasty halwa instead of a soft, grainy one. Chef's tip: stop grinding when the almonds look like wet semolina and add the milk only during grinding, never water.

55 min

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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 min

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Dalia chikkiRoasted chana and jaggery brittle

For Uttarayan, the January kite festival, every Gujarati kitchen turns out trays of chikki, and dalia (roasted split chana, the yellow dal sold for chutneys) is the one that gets forgotten until someone tastes it. It is lighter and crunchier than peanut chikki, with a toasty, slightly savoury edge from the dal. It is all about the jaggery syrup. The common mistake is pulling the jaggery off too early; underdone syrup gives sticky, chewy chikki that never snaps. Chef's tip: drop a little syrup into cold water: when it sets hard and cracks cleanly (hard-crack stage), tip in the dalia straight away.

25 min

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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 min

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Gulab pakRose milk fudge

The sweet shops of Bhuj and Mandvi in Kutch sell gulab pak in pale pink slabs that smell of summer roses, and it is a favourite to carry home after a trip to the Rann or a family wedding. Mawa is cooked down with sugar and gulkand, the sun-cured rose-petal preserve, so the fudge is soft and grainy with little chewy flecks of petal through it. The mistake to watch for is adding the gulkand too early: cooked for long, it darkens and turns the fudge brown and toffee-like. Chef's tip: a few drops of rose water stirred in right at the end lift the perfume without making it taste soapy.

40 min

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ThorSugar-coated fried dough discs

At the Shrinathji temple in Nathdwara, near Udaipur, thor is one of the dry prasads that pilgrims carry home in paper parcels, because it keeps for weeks. A very short dough of flour, semolina and plenty of ghee is shaped into thick discs, fried slowly in ghee until cooked right through, then coated in sugar syrup that dries to a crisp white glaze. It crumbles like shortbread. The common mistake is frying in hot fat; the outside browns while the thick centre stays raw. Chef's tip: the ghee should be only warm when the discs go in, rising slowly to medium, so they take a full 15 minutes.

65 min

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Lingdi ki sabziFiddlehead fern curry

When the monsoon arrives in the Kullu and Mandi valleys, coiled fiddlehead ferns (lingdi) appear along streams and in village markets, and families cook them as a quick dry sabzi with onion, garlic and chilli, or pickle them for winter. The young fronds taste a little like asparagus and green beans, with a pleasant snap. Only eat edible fiddlehead species from a trusted seller, and always cook them well: undercooked ferns can upset the stomach. The common mistake is skipping the blanching, which leaves them bitter and unsafe; boil them first, then fry. Chef's tip: rub off the brown papery scales under running water before trimming; they hold grit.

28 min

Indian Vegetarian

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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 min

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Khajur pakDate and nut fudge

Kutch grows some of India's best dates, and in Bhuj and Anjar homes khajur pak is the sweet made for Diwali boxes and for Ekadashi and other fast days, since it needs nothing but dates, ghee, nuts and coconut. The dates melt in warm ghee into a sticky paste, the nuts give crunch, and the log is rolled in poppy seeds and sliced into neat coins. The common mistake is cooking the dates too long, which dries them out so the log cracks when you slice it. Chef's tip: for a harder winter version, swap a third of the soft dates for chopped kharek (dry dates) soaked overnight in a little milk.

30 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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Churma na ladvaWheat crumb and jaggery balls

Churma na ladva are the laddus that sit beside Ganesh at Chaturthi in Kathiawad and fill the sweet course at Gujarati weddings, big rough-edged balls with a sandy crumb and a coat of white poppy seeds. Coarse wholewheat dough is shaped into fist-pressed muthiya, fried slowly in ghee until crisp right through, ground to crumbs and bound with jaggery melted in ghee, nutmeg and cardamom. The mistake that ruins them is frying the muthiya too fast: the outside browns while the inside stays doughy and the crumbs turn gummy. Chef's tip: break one muthiya open before you take the batch out; it should be dry and biscuit-like right to the centre.

70 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

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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 min

Indian Pasta & Noodles

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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 min