Full of nutrients and flavor, this dish can be served with any type of Indian bread and a yogurt relish. For a more Western-style meal, serve it with a simple green salad. SERVES 4–5 • 3 tablespoons olive or peanut oil • ½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds • 1 medium onion,...

This is almost a meal in itself, nutritionally complete if you add some whole-grain pita bread (or rice) and yogurt on the side. You could also convert it into a soup by adding a mugful of water or stock toward the end of the cooking time. SERVES 4–6 • 1⅓ cups green...

In India, rice is always served with something wet and flowing because it is considered too dry on its own. The exception is a rich biryani, but even that is offered with a raita and salads. The wetness deemed necessary could come from a curry with a sauce, a dal, or...

A “karhi” is just heated and flavored yogurt. Since yogurt curdles when it is boiled, it has to be stabilized with starch. That starch in India is usually chickpea flour (though it could be rice flour), which adds its own nutrients to the dish. All Indians eat karhis,...

Everything said in the introduction to the preceding recipe applies here as well, so please read that before you begin. If you want this dish to be hot and pungent, sprinkle the chaat masala over the top just before serving and stir it in. SERVES 4–6 • 1 tablespoon...

For this recipe, I used only two cans of organic low-salt chickpeas because that is what I was able to find. I prefer to use organic chickpeas because I can use all the liquid in the can. If your chickpeas are not organic, throw away the liquid in the can and use...

This is a Gujarati dish usually made with the very long, pale green Indian squash known as “doodhi” or “ghiya.” Many Indian grocers sell it, but I find that chayote or sayote, the South American pear-shaped vegetable (also known as “cho cho,” “chow chow,” and...

This dish, from no specific region of India but with a lovely mixture of northern and southern seasonings, could also be made with moong dal or toovar dal. I often make it for dinner for my husband and me, accompanying it with rice, a dish of green beans or...