Tarka is a technique used in Indian cooking which involves frying spices (or herbs, nuts, or chiles) in oil or ghee to add flavor. Think of it as a sort of hot, spiced dressing. I’ve used lime and cumin together here, which really lifts all the other ingredients and...
This crisp and clean bunch of ingredients, mixed with some warming sweet spices, works together as tightly as the rhythm section of James Brown’s funk band. Serves 4 as a side 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 5 tablespoons canola oil 1 cup flaked almonds 1 teaspoon ground...
A salad greater than the sum of its parts that will dominate the dinner table delightfully. Works well with rice and sambhar, and with beet shami kebabs too. NOTE: As tamarind paste varies from brand to brand, add it gradually until it tastes good to you. Serves 4 as...
When my friend Teresa made this for a party, I immediately frogmarched her straight down to the local grocer so she could re-create it. (Sorry, Teresa.) Both this salad and Teresa are from the Seychelles, but the salad is actually Indian in origin. It’s very hot and...
You need hard, semi-ripe mangoes for this, as they tend to have a good balance between sweetness and acidity. They don’t have to be Indian—the green Brazilian mangoes available all year round work really well. You can eat this salad by itself or with some bread, like...
This is an update of an aging rock star of Indian dishes—matar paneer, or paneer and pea curry. I’ve kept the vegetables crisp and tender so they don’t surrender to mushiness: the result is a younger, edgier new kid on the block with a bit more attitude. Serves 4 as a...
A smart and seductive salad. Marinating the red onion for an hour or so in the smashed pomegranate and lime juice takes away its punch, leaving behind fresh, bittersweet, and peppery flavors. Perfect with a dense, buttery rice or a smoky lamb kebab, if you’re that way...
Soft, charred, creamy, crunchy, sweet, and sour. Good for lunch with hot bread, or as a side to dal or chicken. Chaat masala is a spice blend made with dried sour mango powder, pomegranate seeds, and ground ginger, and gives food real zing and perkiness. You can make...
Many a time when I was growing up, my mum would tell my dad to stop the car alongside a mustard field in Lincolnshire while she ran in, gleefully bounced around, and stole some leaves for dinner. In her defense, back then no one but Indians really ate these leaves, so...
In Gujarat, cabbages and potatoes are near deities. In Lincolnshire, where they are the main crops, the same is true. I feel as though my bones, and the bones of my ancestors, are partly made up of these two vegetables. When you want something simple, not much beats a...
