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41 recipes

Indori shikanji

Anyone who orders shikanji in Indore expecting lemonade gets a surprise: here it is a spoonably thick drink of slow-reduced milk, saffron and cardamom, with a gentle tang from thick yogurt and plenty of chopped dry fruit. It is a late-night treat at Sarafa and Chhappan Dukan, poured from steel jugs into glasses after a round of savoury snacks. Think of it as somewhere between a lassi and a cold rabri. Chef's tip: the milk must be completely cold before the yogurt goes in, or the drink splits into grainy curds.

45 min

Indian Drinks

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Kashmiri girda

Every neighbourhood in Srinagar has a kandur, a baker working at a pit oven, and before sunrise people queue there for girda: round breads about the size of a side plate, pressed all over with fingertips so the crust sets in ridges and hollows. The outside is lightly crisp, the crumb soft and slightly chewy, and the bread is torn and dunked into salty pink noon chai or spread with butter. A home oven with a heavy tray heated until very hot gets close to the kandur. Chef's tip: wrap the breads in a clean cloth as they come out; the trapped steam keeps the crust tender rather than hard.

142 min

Indian Baking

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Kahwa

Kahwa is the warming green tea of Kashmir, traditionally brewed in a brass samovar and poured for guests on cold winter days. Green tea leaves are infused with saffron, green cardamom and cinnamon, sweetened lightly and served with slivered almonds in each cup. It's golden, fragrant and soothing, and is drunk after heavy meals to help digestion. Chef's tip: never boil the tea leaves; simmer the spices first, then let the tea steep off the heat for just 2 minutes or it turns bitter.

10 min

Indian Drinks

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Chajá

Chajá was created in 1927 at a bakery in Paysandú, a city on the Uruguay River, and named after a local bird whose feathers look as fluffy as its crumbly meringue coat. Today it's Uruguay's birthday and celebration cake: layers of light sponge soaked in peach syrup, filled with whipped cream, peaches and dulce de leche, then covered in crushed meringue. It's sweet, soft and crunchy at once, best on the day it's assembled. Chef's tip: soak the sponge but not too much; it should feel moist, not wet, or the layers slide.

90 min

Paraguayan Baking

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Punjabi lassi

In Amritsar and on the highways across Punjab, lassi comes in a tall steel or brass glass, churned so thick a spoon nearly stands up in it, with a raft of malai (clotted cream) floating on top. It is a summer drink, but Punjabis drink it all year with a stuffed paratha breakfast or after a heavy lunch. This is the plain sweet kind, with no fruit, so the tang of good full-fat yogurt is the whole point. Chef's tip: chill the yogurt, milk and glasses beforehand; cold lassi stays thicker.

5 min

Indian Drinks

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Lal sah

In Assam, the home of half of India's tea, the everyday cup is lal sah, 'red tea': strong CTC or orthodox Assam leaf brewed briefly, poured off, sweetened and drunk black. It is what tea-garden workers, Guwahati office-goers and grandmothers drink from morning till evening, often with a slice of lemon, a crushed piece of ginger or, in upper Assam, a bay leaf. Its colour is a deep, clear red and its taste is malty and brisk, never stewed. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat before adding the leaves; boiling them makes the tea harsh and cloudy.

7 min

Indian Drinks

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Darjeeling first flush tea

Darjeeling's first flush is picked in March and April on estates clinging to the hills above the town, and in Darjeeling's tea rooms it is served plain: pale gold, flowery and slightly astringent, with a 'muscatel' note in the later second flush. It is the opposite of a strong breakfast tea, so it is never boiled, stewed or given milk. Hill families drink it from morning till dusk, and it is a souvenir every visitor buys from Chowrasta. Chef's tip: use water just off the boil (about 90°C) and time the brew; overheated or overbrewed first flush turns bitter and loses its scent.

6 min

Indian Drinks

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Filter coffee

In Tamil Nadu the day starts with filter coffee: a strong decoction dripped slowly through a two-tier steel filter, mixed with plenty of hot, boiled milk and sugar, and frothed by pouring it from a height between a steel tumbler and its little bowl, the davara. It's served at every Chennai and Kumbakonam 'hotel' and in nearly every home, and it's thick, sweet and slightly bitter from the chicory in the coffee powder. Chef's tip: press the coffee only lightly in the filter and pour the water in slowly; packed too tight, it drips for an hour, and too loose, the decoction is thin.

25 min

Indian Drinks

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Jigarthanda

Jigarthanda means 'cool heart', and on a hot evening in Madurai crowds queue around the carts near the Meenakshi temple for a tall glass of it. It's layered rather than blended: a spoonful of soaked almond gum (badam pisin), a glug of nannari (Indian sarsaparilla) syrup, chilled milk reduced until creamy and lightly caramel-coloured, then a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. The result is cold, floral, wobbly and rich all at once. This home version uses shop-bought vanilla ice cream; check that yours is eggless and gelatine-free. Chef's tip: let the reduced milk chill overnight; cold, thick milk is what makes it taste like the street version rather than flavoured milk.

55 min

Indian Drinks

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Hyderabadi Irani chai

Irani chai came to Hyderabad with Persian migrants who opened cafés across the old city, and it is now the city's signature drink, poured at all hours in places around the Charminar, often with Osmania biscuits or a bun maska. Unlike masala chai, it has no spices: strong tea is brewed slowly in a sealed pot (dum), while full-fat milk is simmered separately with a little khoa until thick and creamy. The two are mixed only in the cup, giving a rich, mellow, slightly sweet tea. Chef's tip: seal the tea pot lid with a little dough or foil, as the cafés do, so the brew steeps without losing steam or strength.

40 min

Indian Drinks

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Osmania biscuits

Osmania biscuits are named after the last Nizam of Hyderabad, and they have been baked in the city's Irani bakeries for generations: round, crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth butter biscuits that are gently sweet with a distinct salty edge and a hint of cardamom. In old-city cafés, men linger over a plate of them and a cup of Irani chai in the early morning or after the evening prayers, dunking each one until it is just about to collapse. Chef's tip: chill the dough before cutting and baking; it keeps the biscuits round and thick instead of spreading thin.

47 min

Indian Baking

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Goan poi

Every morning in Goan villages the poder, the local baker, cycles from house to house honking a horn, his basket full of warm bread. Poi is the one Goans miss most when they leave home: a flat, round, wholewheat-and-white-flour bread dusted with wheat bran, baked in a very hot wood oven so it puffs into a hollow pocket. It's torn open for chorizo pao in Goa, but just as good stuffed with spicy chickpea ros, dipped in a vegetable xacuti, or eaten with butter and tea. Traditionally the dough was raised with palm toddy; at home, yeast does the job. Chef's tip: preheat a heavy baking tray in the oven for at least 20 minutes; the shock of hot metal is what makes the poi puff.

50 min

Indian Baking

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Sol kadhi

Sol kadhi is the pale pink drink served at the end of every meal along the Konkan coast, from Malvan to Ratnagiri. Fresh coconut milk is mixed with the deep purple soaking water of kokum, a sour fruit that grows in the coastal hills, and seasoned with a little garlic, green chilli and salt. It's cool, tangy and gently creamy, and it soothes the stomach after a spicy Malvani thali. Drink it from a small glass or pour it over rice as the last course. Chef's tip: make it with fresh coconut if you can; the milk you squeeze yourself is lighter and sweeter than tinned and gives the classic blush-pink colour.

25 min

Indian Drinks

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Sattu sharbat

On scorching May afternoons in Patna, handcarts with steel pots and heaps of lemons sell sattu sharbat by the glass: roasted gram flour whisked into cold water with black salt, roasted cumin, lemon and a bit of raw onion and chilli. It is filling enough to stand in for lunch and is the drink rickshaw pullers and farm workers swear by to beat the loo, the hot summer wind. It tastes savoury, nutty and sharp all at once. Chef's tip: whisk the sattu into a little water first to a smooth paste, then dilute it; tipping it straight into a full glass leaves dry lumps.

5 min

Indian Drinks

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Lebanese date cake

A soft, moist cake made without eggs: self-raising flour and brown sugar are rubbed with butter, then mixed with milk and sour cream and studded with chopped dates, raisins and pistachios, with a warm hint of nutmeg and vanilla. Lovely with tea or served warm with cream.

70 minMiddle Eastern Baking

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Arabian date pinwheels

Crumbly, buttery biscuit dough is rolled out, spread with a soft date filling flavoured with cinnamon and lemon, rolled into logs, sliced and baked into pretty pinwheels. They make a big batch of 50 and keep well in an airtight tin. Serve with tea, or with ice cream as a dessert.

60 minMiddle Eastern Baking

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Farari nankhatai

Crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth nankhatai made for fasting days with cassava flour and powdered cashews instead of wheat flour, rich with ghee and coconut and scented with cardamom. Each one is topped with half a cherry. They bake only until barely coloured. Makes 45 small biscuits (about 3 per serving).

40 min

Indian Baking

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Banana and cashew slice

A soft, moist low-calorie slice made without flour, eggs or refined sugar: ripe bananas are blended with sunflower oil, vanilla and cardamom, then cashews, desiccated coconut, oats and grated apple. Baked and cut into wedges, it is naturally sweet and good with tea or in a lunch box.

45 min

Indian Baking

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Mango lassi

A refreshing, lighter mango lassi made with low-fat yogurt: ripe mangoes, yogurt, a little sugar and rose water are blended with water until smooth and frothy, chilled and poured over crushed ice. Perfect on a hot day or with a spicy meal.

10 min

Indian Drinks

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Ma'amoul

Ma'amoul are delicate shortbread-like pastries made for Eid and Easter across the Middle East. A soft, rose-scented butter dough is wrapped around a filling of dates, walnuts, almonds and pistachios cooked with cinnamon, marked with a fork, baked pale and dusted with icing sugar. Makes 35; they keep well in a tin.

80 minMiddle Eastern Baking

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Semolina biscuits

Melt-in-the-mouth biscuits made with semolina and coconut, each pressed into a mix of shredded pistachio and almond. Similar to nankhatai, and very easy: everything goes into one bowl.

38 min

Indian Baking

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Nankhatai

Nankhatai are crumbly Indian shortbread biscuits made with ghee, butter, semolina and a little gram flour, scented with cardamom and nutmeg. Each one gets a yellow dot in the centre. A must for Diwali.

40 min

Indian Baking

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Brown cookies

Rustic, crunchy cookies made with wholewheat flour, porridge oats, brown sugar and fresh coconut, with a gentle aniseed note from fennel seeds. Not too sweet, so they are good with a cup of tea or masala chai, and they keep well in a tin.

35 min

Indian Baking

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Aniseed biscuits

Crisp, golden finger biscuits flavoured with aniseed, made in the book with a biscuit press (No. 4 disc) to give long ridged strips. Without a press, shape small ovals and mark them with a fork.

45 min

Indian Baking

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