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Chilli paneerPaneer with peppers and soy

Chilli paneer was born in the Chinese restaurants of Kolkata's Tangra and Tiretta Bazaar, where Hakka cooks adapted their chilli chicken for vegetarian customers, and today it is the Friday-night order from Delhi to Bengaluru. Cubes of paneer are coated in cornflour and fried crisp, then tossed over a fierce flame with onion petals, green pepper, garlic, soy sauce and plenty of green chilli in a glossy sauce. Paneer is set with acid, not rennet, so it is fully vegetarian. The mistake to avoid is letting the paneer sit in the sauce, which makes the crust soggy; toss it in at the very end and serve. Chef's tip: soak the paneer in hot salted water for 5 minutes before coating; it stays soft inside even after frying. Soy sauce contains wheat; use tamari if you need it gluten-free.

25 min

Indian Vegetarian

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Corn palakSweetcorn in spinach gravy

Corn palak grew out of North Indian restaurant menus, where palak paneer met the sweetcorn that is now in every Delhi and Chandigarh market, and it has become a weeknight favourite for families with children who like the little bursts of sweetness. Blanched spinach is blended smooth and cooked into a light masala with garlic and cumin, then sweetcorn is simmered in and a spoon of cream rounds it off. The most common mistake is boiling the spinach too long before blending, which turns the gravy khaki and bitter; one minute in boiling water and straight into cold keeps it emerald. Chef's tip: a pinch of kasuri methi crumbled in at the end makes it taste like the restaurant version.

25 min

Indian Curries

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Haricots verts persillésGreen beans with garlic and parsley

Haricots verts persillés are the green beans that sit beside roast chicken, an omelette or a plate of potatoes in homes all over France, especially in June and July when fine beans are at their best. They are blanched until just tender, then tossed in foaming butter with a little garlic and lots of chopped parsley, so they stay bright green with a slight snap. Using olive oil instead of butter makes them vegan. The most common mistake is cooking the beans in too little water, so it stops boiling and they turn olive-grey; use a big pot of well-salted water. Chef's tip: cool the beans in iced water after blanching if you want to make them ahead, then warm them in the butter just before serving.

15 min

French Sides

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Khanom kleeb lamduanFlower shortbread cookies

Named after the lamduan, a fragrant cream-coloured flower with three curled petals, these tiny Thai shortbreads are a classic of the royal-style Thai sweets once made in palace kitchens and now sold in Bangkok's old dessert shops and given at weddings and merit-making. Each flower is three teardrop petals around a ball, pale and fragile, and they melt like sandy fudge. Their perfume comes from tian op, a special scented dessert candle: it is lit, blown out, and left to smoke inside a closed container with the cookies. If you cannot find one, a little jasmine water in the dough gives a different but lovely scent. The mistake is baking them hot or long; they should stay ivory, never golden. Chef's tip: candle smoke is real fire and smoke, so do it in a metal or ceramic pot, well away from curtains and children, with the flame blown out before the lid goes on.

78 min

Thai Baking

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Dahi tikhariYogurt with garlic chilli tempering

Dahi tikhari is a fiery side from the farmhouses and highway dhabas of Kathiawad in Gujarat, where it is scooped up with thick bajra rotla, raw onion and jaggery at supper. Thick yogurt is seasoned with salt, then hot oil with crushed garlic, red chilli and cumin is poured over so it sizzles and streaks the bowl red. It takes ten minutes and cools down a spicy meal while adding its own heat. The common mistake is letting the garlic go dark brown, which makes the whole bowl bitter. Chef's tip: hang the yogurt in a sieve for a few minutes while you prepare the tempering; thicker yogurt holds the oil in pools instead of splitting.

8 min

Indian Chutneys & Dips

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Masala pavSpiced buttered bread buns

Masala pav comes from the pav bhaji stalls of Mumbai, where cooks use the last of the spicy bhaji base to fry split buns on the tawa as a quick evening snack. Here the masala is made fresh: onion, pepper and tomato cooked down in butter with chilli, garlic and pav bhaji masala, then the buns are pressed into it until they soak it up and turn crisp at the edges. It is a fast tea-time snack and a children's favourite with a glass of buttermilk. The usual mistake is putting the buns into a wet, half-cooked masala, which makes them soggy instead of toasty. Chef's tip: cook the masala until it is jammy and clings to the spoon before you add the pav.

15 min

Indian Snacks & Starters

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Sukhi moong dalDry yellow moong dal

Sukhi (dry) moong dal is made in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh when there is no time for a soupy dal, or to roll into parathas and pack for journeys; Marwari families often serve it at weddings with kachoris. Soaked yellow moong is cooked with just enough water to soften it while keeping the grains whole, then lifted with amchur, ginger and a ghee tempering. The mistake to avoid is too much water or stirring hard, which turns it into a mushy khichdi; add water a little at a time and fold gently. Chef's tip: soak the dal for at least 30 minutes, which is why this dish takes longer than the cooking alone. It is one of the few dals that is just as good at room temperature.

55 min

Indian Curries

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Saumon en papilloteSalmon baked in paper parcel

Saumon en papillote is everyday French home cooking at its lightest: a fillet of salmon sealed in baking paper with ribbons of courgette and carrot, lemon and dill, so it steams in its own juices in the oven. Across France it is a favourite midweek dinner because there is almost no washing-up, and each person opens their own fragrant parcel at the table, ideally with boiled new potatoes or rice. The usual mistake is cutting the vegetables too thick, so the fish overcooks while they stay raw; slice them very thin. Chef's tip: fold and crimp the paper edges tightly all the way round, or the steam escapes and the salmon dries out.

25 min

French Fish

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Moo manao (pork in lime and chilli dressing)

Moo manao is a drinking snack and dinner side from central Thailand, served in Bangkok bars and at home with sticky rice: thin slices of pork, blanched until just cooked, laid on ice-cold cabbage or lettuce and drowned in a fierce dressing of lime, raw garlic, bird's eye chilli and fish sauce. This is a pork dish. The mistake is boiling the pork for too long, which makes the thin slices tough and dry; poach them only until they turn white all through. Chef's tip: plunge the cooked slices into iced water for a few seconds, so they stay tender and take the dressing well.

17 min

Thai Meat

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Boondi raitaYogurt with gram flour pearls

Across North India, from Delhi dhabas to Rajasthani wedding buffets, boondi raita is the cooling bowl that turns a plain weeknight dal and rice or a spicy pulao into a proper meal. Tiny fried gram-flour pearls (boondi) are softened briefly and folded into whisked yogurt seasoned with roasted cumin, black salt and red chilli, so each spoonful is creamy with soft little pops. Ready-made salted boondi is sold in Indian shops; check the packet says it is made only with gram flour if you need it gluten free. The common mistake is leaving the boondi to soak too long, which turns it to mush. Chef's tip: soak the boondi in warm water for just 2 minutes and squeeze it gently; this rinses off excess oil and salt and keeps the raita light.

10 min

Indian Sides

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Vaghareli rotliStir-fried leftover flatbread

In Gujarati homes the last night's rotlis never go to waste: torn into pieces and tossed in a mustard-seed tempering with tangy yogurt, a little jaggery and green chilli, they become vaghareli rotli, a sweet-sour-hot breakfast or light supper on the table in fifteen minutes. The pieces soak up the seasoning and turn soft in the middle with a few crisp edges. Serve it with a cup of masala chai. The usual mistake is adding too much yogurt water, which turns the rotli into paste. Chef's tip: use rotlis that are a day old and slightly dry; fresh ones go gluey.

13 min

Indian Breakfast & Brunch

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Rava upmaSavoury semolina porridge

Rava upma is breakfast in countless homes across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, and the dish every South Indian student learns to cook first. Semolina is roasted until it smells nutty, then stirred into boiling water flavoured with a tempering of mustard seeds, urad and chana dal, curry leaves, ginger and green chilli, so it swells into a soft, fluffy, savoury porridge. Serve it with coconut chutney, a little pickle or a banana. The classic mistake is pouring the rava into water that is not boiling, or all at once, which gives lumps. Chef's tip: roast the rava in advance and keep it in a jar; roasted rava makes lump-free upma in ten minutes on a busy morning.

20 min

Indian Breakfast & Brunch

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Palak paneerPaneer in spinach sauce

Palak paneer is a Punjabi winter favourite, made when fresh spinach piles up in the markets of Amritsar and Ludhiana, and now cooked on weeknights all over India with makki di roti, naan or rice. The spinach is blanched for just a minute, blended smooth and cooked with fried garlic, onion, tomato and gentle spices, then soft cubes of paneer are folded in. Paneer is acid-set, so it contains no animal rennet. The usual mistake is overcooking the spinach, which turns the sauce khaki and bitter: blanch it briefly, cool it fast, and simmer the purée for only a few minutes. Chef's tip: fry a little extra sliced garlic in ghee and pour it over just before serving for the classic dhaba finish.

30 min

Indian Curries

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AkuriSpiced scrambled eggs

Akuri is the Parsi community's breakfast scramble, served in Mumbai's old Irani cafés and Parsi homes on Sunday mornings with soft pav or buttered toast. It is softer and wetter than an ordinary scramble, cooked slowly so the eggs stay creamy and barely set, with sweet fried onion, tomato, ginger, green chilli and plenty of coriander. A spoonful of milk keeps it silky. The common mistake is cooking it over high heat: the eggs seize into hard, rubbery curds and the masala catches. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat while the eggs still look slightly underdone, because they keep cooking on the plate.

15 min

Indian Breakfast & Brunch

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Hyderabadi fruit biscuitsTutti-frutti butter biscuits

Boxes of these pink-and-green flecked biscuits leave Hyderabad in every suitcase: visitors queue at the old bakeries near Charminar and the airport shops stock tins of them. Each one is short and crumbly, buttery, with a faint pineapple scent and chewy bits of candied papaya (tutti-frutti) scattered through. They are eggless, rich with butter and a little custard powder, and go with a cup of Irani chai or a glass of cold milk. The usual slip is mixing the tutti-frutti in wet or sticky, so it bleeds colour and clumps; toss it in a spoon of flour first. Chef's tip: shape the dough into a square log and chill it until firm, then slice; a firm log gives neat, sharp-edged biscuits like the bakery ones.

63 min

Indian Baking

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Guvar nu shaakCluster beans with garlic and jaggery

Guvar (cluster beans) is everyday Gujarati shaak, cooked in Kathiawad and Ahmedabad homes most weeks with bajra rotla or rotli and a bowl of khadhi. The flat, slightly bitter beans are steamed in their pan with ajwain and garlic, then balanced the Gujarati way with a little jaggery and a squeeze of lemon, so every mouthful is gently sweet, sour and spicy. The mistake to avoid is using old, thick guvar; the pods should snap cleanly, and tough ones stay stringy however long you cook them. Chef's tip: a pinch of bicarbonate of soda in the cooking water is an old trick for keeping guvar green, but it is not needed if you keep the lid off at the end. Most hing contains wheat, so buy a gluten-free one if needed.

28 min

Indian Vegetarian

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Tao hoo tod (Thai fried tofu with sweet chilli peanut dip)

In Bangkok and towns all over Thailand, tao hoo tod is sold from street-side woks in the late afternoon, scooped into paper bags with a little bag of sweet chilli dip and a spoon of crushed peanuts for snacking on the way home. Done properly, each cube has a thin, blistered, crisp skin and a soft, almost creamy centre. The mistake that ruins it is frying wet tofu in oil that isn't hot enough, so it soaks up fat and never crisps. It makes a good starter or a light supper with sticky rice and cucumber. Chef's tip: press the tofu under a heavy pan for 10 minutes while you make the dip; drier tofu crisps faster and spits less.

22 min

Thai Snacks & Starters

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Œufs mimosaStuffed eggs with grated yolk

Œufs mimosa have been a starter in French bistros and on family tables for generations, served at Sunday lunch, on Easter platters and as a light supper with salad and bread. Hard-boiled eggs are halved, their yolks mashed with mayonnaise and mustard and piped back in, then a little yolk is grated over the top so it looks like the fluffy yellow flowers of the mimosa tree. They are naturally gluten free. The most common mistake is overboiling the eggs, which leaves a grey-green ring around the yolk and a sulphurous taste; 10 minutes and an ice bath is enough. Chef's tip: keep back one yolk just for grating, so the topping stays bright yellow and dry.

24 min

French Snacks & Starters

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Khai luk khoei (son-in-law eggs)

Khai luk khoei, son-in-law eggs, is a central Thai dish made for family meals and temple fairs, and a favourite way to turn a few eggs into dinner: boiled eggs fried until blistered and golden, halved and spooned over with a sticky tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce sauce, then finished with crisp shallots and chilli. It contains fish sauce, so it is not vegetarian. The mistake is frying wet eggs in oil that isn't hot enough; dry them well and the skin puffs and crisps instead of spitting. Chef's tip: boil the eggs for 7 minutes for a jammy centre; give 10 minutes and fully set yolks for anyone pregnant, very young, older or vulnerable.

27 min

Thai Snacks & Starters

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Egg ghotalaSpicy egg mash

Egg ghotala was born on the evening street stalls of Surat in Gujarat, where cooks on huge iron tawas mash boiled eggs and fresh eggs together into a rich, buttery masala and serve it with pav for dinner. 'Ghotala' means a muddle, and that is the point: half the eggs are grated, half are scrambled straight into the onion-tomato base, so you get creamy and chunky bites together. Some stalls finish it with grated cheese; if you add some, check the label, because many cheeses are made with animal rennet, and choose one marked vegetarian. The usual mistake is adding the raw eggs too early, before the masala is cooked down, which leaves the dish watery and pale. Chef's tip: keep the heat high and keep mashing with the back of the spatula, as the stall cooks do, so the eggs and masala blend into one thick mix.

23 min

Indian Breakfast & Brunch

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Broyé du PoitouGiant butter biscuit

From the Poitou-Charentes region of western France, broyé is one huge, thick butter biscuit baked in a round and carried whole to the table. Tradition says you break it in the middle with a firm blow of the fist, and everyone grabs a jagged piece; farmhouse cooks served it at weddings and family lunches, and it still ends meals there with coffee or a glass of local pineau. It is crisp at the edges, slightly tender in the middle and tastes of salted butter. Some families add chopped candied angelica from Niort. The top is glazed with egg yolk for its shine; milk gives a softer sheen if you prefer no egg wash. Chef's tip: mark the top with a fork in a diamond pattern and press quite deep, because the lines spread as it bakes; a pale broyé is the common mistake, so bake on until it is evenly golden all over.

45 min

French Baking

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Tindora nu shaakIvy gourd stir-fry

Tindora (ivy gourd) nu shaak is a lunch-box and dinner standby in Gujarat and Mumbai's Gujarati homes: thin rounds of the little gourd stir-fried with mustard seeds and turmeric until they are tender inside and lightly crisp at the edges. It is a dry shaak, eaten with dal-bhaat or rolled into a rotli, and children often like it best. The common mistake is slicing the tindora too thick, which means it either stays raw in the middle or needs water that makes it soggy; cut every round about 3 mm thick. Chef's tip: avoid tindora that is red or soft inside, which means it is overripe and will taste sour. Most hing contains wheat, so buy a gluten-free one if needed.

28 min

Indian Vegetarian

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Ooty varkeyFlaky spiral tea biscuits

Up in the cool tea country of the Nilgiris, around Ooty and Coonoor, small bakeries turn out trays of varkey every morning, and tourists carry home bags of them alongside the estate tea. They are flat, golden and lightly sweet, with tight spiral layers that crunch and then melt, a texture the bakers get by rolling a sugared dough up around a fat paste and slicing it like a Swiss roll. Eat them with strong milky Nilgiri tea; locals also crumble them over hot milk. Bakeries traditionally use vanaspati for the paste; butter mixed with a little ghee gives a cleaner taste in this eggless home version. Watch the spiral: if you press the slices too hard when flattening, the layers fuse and the biscuit bakes dense. Chef's tip: chill the rolled log until it is firm enough to slice cleanly; a soft log squashes under the knife and you lose the swirl.

165 min

Indian Baking

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Veg Hakka noodlesVegetable stir-fried noodles

Hakka noodles are the street and restaurant staple of Kolkata's Chinese community, now sold from carts in every Indian city for a cheap evening meal and loved by children everywhere. Thin noodles are boiled, cooled, then tossed over the highest heat with shredded cabbage, carrot, peppers and spring onion, seasoned with soy, vinegar and white pepper. The mistake that ruins them is a crowded, lukewarm pan: the vegetables sweat and the noodles clump into a damp heap, so cook in a very hot wok and do two batches if yours is small. Chef's tip: toss the boiled noodles with a teaspoon of oil as soon as they are drained; they won't stick while you chop. Check the noodle packet: many Hakka noodles contain egg, so buy egg-free ones for a vegan dish.

20 min

Indian Pasta & Noodles

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