Matar ka sisua is Marwari home cooking at its fastest — sweet peas tossed in a cumin, ginger, and green chili tempering and done in ten minutes flat. No onion, no garlic, nothing to grind; the peas carry the dish. This is the side I make when the dal is already...

Restaurant-style masala dosa filling is softer and more buttery-tasting than most home versions — waxy potatoes broken up by hand, a mustard seed and curry leaf tempering, and just enough turmeric to turn everything golden. It is the potato curry that makes a dosa...

Crispy, non-slimy okra is not luck — it is three rules, and this bhindi fry follows all of them. The pods get dried before chopping, a wide pan, and an uncovered cook with onions and green chilies until the edges brown. Thirty minutes later you have a stir-fry with...

Punjabi bhindi masala takes everyday okra and gives it the full dhaba treatment — a base of very finely chopped onion, ginger, and garlic, sweet peeled tomatoes, and a crumble of kasuri methi over the top. The masala clings to every browned pod. Forty-five minutes for...

Perfectly non-slimy okra is not a myth — this bhindi sabzi with yogurt proves it. The pods fry dry and hot first, then whisked yogurt goes in at the end so it clings instead of watering everything down. Thirty minutes start to finish, and even the okra skeptics at my...

Crispy bhindi fry is the okra dish that converts skeptics — dry, deeply browned pods tossed with onion, tomato, cumin, and coriander, finished with a tangy dusting of amchoor. Nothing wet goes into the pan until the okra has had time to crisp. Simple weeknight...

Konkani okra stir-fry, or bhindi sabzi, is my favorite no-fuss way to cook okra: a quick tempering of mustard seeds, urad dal, and curry leaves, then onion and okra tossed until tender and dry. A squeeze of lemon at the end wakes the whole pan up. Thirty-five minutes...

Kashmiri-style sautéed kale — haak — is greens at their most soothing: winter kale wilted with nothing but asafetida, chilies, onion, and patience. This is the dish home cooks make when nobody's watching, and it's exactly right. There's a unique magic in...

Bengali-style stir-fried kale — kale ki sabzi — cooks young kale quickly in mustard oil with nigella seeds and hot green chilies. Fifteen minutes, and the trendiest green in the market becomes village food. Tired of the same old kale salad? Let's transport your taste...

Ashram-style cauliflower with ajowan and ginger — ajwain wali gobi — is quiet, restorative food: cauliflower cooked with carom seeds, a generous two-inch piece of ginger, garlic, and turmeric. Simple as its name suggests, and better for it. The Soul of Ashram...