Recipes

Worth the Effort - Over 120 Min

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170 Min

GF

Persian Lentil Stew

Every winter usually during the colder weeks, I make this stew at least once or twice and enjoy it for a couple of days. It almost amplifies in flavor the next day.

150 Min

Bihari Ghugni Salad

Ghugni refers to a preparation with black chickpeas, as a snack or a curry. Here, as a salad, it makes a wonderful little starter or snack.

130 Min

Dum Chicken Pulao

Pulao, which usually refers to meat and rice cooked together in a pot can be even more delicious especially when made in the ‘dum’ (cooking under steam) style. It is a one-pot-wonder, aromatic yet not too spicy and the Chai masala, which is slow cooked with the chicken and rice, suffuses the rice with its heady aroma. This is a big recipe but do note that the pulao tastes even better the next day.

310 Min

GF

Wonderstock

It is easy to purchase chicken stock but once you make your own, you may never go back to boxed or canned stock. For homemade stock, one can use all the bones from chicken to oxtail to lamb. Your house will smell wonderful also!

140 Min

DF

GF

NF

Winter Chicken Soup

Crushing spices helps incorporate their flavor into the broth and black pepper and cloves have been a home remedy for sore throats for millennia in India. Dairy can often make congestion worse, so I used coconut milk instead – it’s also easier to digest. The soup has more vegetables than chicken, which makes it even more nourishing.

150 Min

GF

Purple Sweet Potato Roast

Accompanied with yogurt flecked with cumin and a flavor packed herb masala, these potatoes are bound to become your new favorite starch. Add these to your holiday table for a bright splash of color and flavor!

180 Min

Lamb Shank Roghan Josh

The stew is aromatic, slightly hot and spicy – if wanting milder flavors, cut back on chili powder and warm spices at the end.

140 minutes

Plum Naan

Taking a page out of my own book, I adapted the royal naan recipe from Masala to give this bread a thick fluffier consistency yet kept the spirit of a naan intact. I added plums, onions, and seasonings on top. Serve it with yogurt tossed with cumin and black pepper, bean spreads, flavored oils, or ghee as a starter or to accompany a hearty stew.

120 Min

NF

Beauty Berry Lemon Cake

Here is a recipe for a small lemon cake with cherries, topped off with whipped cream and beauty berries.

150 Min

DF

Mushroom Tamales

Twenty years ago, when I opened Indika, my team comprised of a diverse group of cooks from Americans to Indians to South and Central Americans. One such cook was a young man by the name of Juan Velasquez. This modern rendition of the traditional Guatemalan tamale is a tribute to Juan and the countless immigrants from Guatemala. Today, Guatemala is one of the largest growers of cardamom and turmeric, and I added those to the recipe. Did I make the tamales just like Juan did? Of course not. I switched out the lard and butter for olive oil, sesame and almond butter and meat for mushrooms. Knowing my passion for vegetables, I know Juan would expect no less from me.

Curry Masala Chicken

Here is a chicken curry with a lot of vegetables added for good measure. Feel free to leave them out or switch them out for other ones of your choice.

120 Min

GF

NF

Chaat Masala Beet Salad

Here, a simple roasted composed beet chaat gets the crowning glory of chaat masala however, most salads are good candidates for a sprinkle of chaat masala.

120 Min

Peach Cobbler

The biscuit crossed with a cake like topping is crunchy but soft and cakey inside. My favorite way to eat cobbler or any such warm fruity sweet is with a side of plain unsweetened cream.

120 Min

GF

Chicken Biryani

Biryani is the decadent aromatic rice dish that was created during the Mughal era of India – it is a mashing of the Persian pilaf and khichri, a traditional Indian lentil and rice stew. In a biryani, all elements are cooked separately and then brought together, allowed to rest for about 30 minutes to an hour before serving. In this biryani, since we are using white meat which tends to dry out very quickly, the chicken is roasted in the oven separately and then added to the rice just at the end. The onion masala adds depth to the flavor of the biryani so caramelize the onions long and slow.

120 Min

NF

Peach Blackberry Pudding Cake

This mix, pour and bake pudding cake recipe is simple, quick, and given that it has 8 to 10 cups of fruit, a true celebration of the summer bounty. Enjoy it with just a drizzle of fresh unsweetened cream.

180 Min

NF

Coastal Chicken Soup

Here is a soup inspired by the coast of Kerala using cardamom and black pepper native to that region.

180 Min

Fennel Tart

In this savory decadent tart, the addition of mushrooms brings an earthy note. It is best to bake the tart a few hours or the day before serving it.

120 Min

DF

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NF

V

Spring White Bean Asparagus Stew

This stew can be made with so many different root vegetables like potatoes, turnips, yellow beets and instead of asparagus, use fennel, kale, or spinach.

150 Min

DF

GF

V

Autumn Khichri

The first whiff of cool weather carries with it a craving for khichri, the peasant rice and bean stew from India, another vehicle for all kinds of vegetables. There is no wrong way to make khichri — varieties of rice and beans and proportions can vary. The key is to cook the khichri long and slow to a soft creamy stew and then add vegetables of your choice. Toppings wise, anything goes — but given that pomegranates appear in the autumn, they make a delicious tart garnish. Fried eggs, minced vegetables, herbs, cheese, olive oil or butter are just a few other suggestions.

120 Min

DF

GF

V

Chickpea Sundal Salad

India is a land of snacks — from crunchy, addictive, savory, nut-filled chevdas to tingly, glorious street foods such as chaats. Some of the snacks can be transformed into cold salads — and this summer, I am on a path of discovery. I ate a warm sundal, a traditional South Indian salad made with chickpeas, coconut and mild spices once in a restaurant in New Delhi, and the memory has haunted me ever since. Sundal can be served warm, cold or at room temperature, and it makes for the most satisfying midday or late-night snack. Staying true to my tradition of turning most foods into carriers for vegetables, here I threw in tiny local ‘Sun Gold’ tomatoes and purple cabbage — but feel free to add diced cherry or large heirloom tomatoes.

120 Min

GF

V

Biryani

Biryani usually starts with marinated meat, chicken, vegetables, or beans slow cooked with warm spices, onions, garlic, and ginger to make a base masala. Tomatoes, yogurt, or coconut can be added next. On the lighter side, one can forego the onion masala and make a vibrant fragrant green herb masala, like a salsa verde or pesto (minus the cheese) for quick cooking seafood or vegetable biryanis. Rice is usually prepared separately, and can be cooked in stock or just plain water – saffron and/or warm spices like a large stick of cinnamon, mace flowers, or bay leaves can be added to the rice. I usually cook the rice with oil rather than ghee or butter as the oil facilitates the flakiness of the rice and prevents it from getting sticky. It is best to make the rice last as freshly cooked hot rice is placed over the base masala topped with nuts and dry fruits, tightly sealed, and allowed to rest for at least 20 to 30 minutes for all the flavors to meld. Here is a recipe for a simple garbanzo and vegetable biryani that can be easily adapted to the addition of meat.

120 Min

NF

Haleem on Toast

Just like most dishes in India, there are dozens of variations on haleem, some are made with goat, some with beef, different kinds of lentils or grains but here is a recipe that reminds me of the haleem my two older brothers would sneak into the house at night for late night treats.

DF

GF

NF

V

Buckeye Bean Stew

A bean native to the United States, the yellow buckeye bean is extremely creamy, more like a classic turtle bean than anything else. Thought to be originally from Montana, it’s dense without being too intense in flavor.

120 Min

GF

NF

Mushroom & Bean Stew

Try this stew using chestnut mushrooms and serve it with warm toasted sourdough bread. If you do not have garam masala — an aromatic finishing spice blend native to Indian cuisine — add a varying combination of ground cinnamon, cardamom, clove and nutmeg or mace.

NF

Roasted Peach and Pepper Cheesecake

Gather your neighbors for this showstopper dessert and do give it a try. It will keep for four to five days in the refrigerator and is best eaten the day after it is made.

120 Min

NF

Tomato Focaccia

Many years ago, a friend and an expert German baker in Houston gave me a lesson in breadmaking. Within a matter of a few hours, while trading food secrets and stories, I watched him transform flour, water, yeast and a few other ingredients into crispy, delicious focaccia.

120 Min

GF

Sai Bhaji

Sai bhaji, which simply means green vegetable, is an age-old staple from the province of my vanished homeland, Sindh. After the India-Pakistan partition in 1947, like many others, my parents migrated to India dearly holding onto food customs as tender memories of their exiled community. Not the most attractive of dishes but delicious when made right, sai bhaji is popular with Sindhis because it’s easy to prepare. It is also highly nutritious with an abundance of vegetables, can be prepared with a minimum of fat and is commonly eaten during winter. As with most Indian stews, every family has its own version, but for the most part, it consists of channa dal slow-cooked with root vegetables, leafy greens, herbs and aromatic spices. I have mixed memories of sai bhaji as a child. Depending on the vegetables at hand and time allowed, my mother would fuss over it all day and lay out a luscious stew with notes of fennel, cardamom and ghee for dinner. Other times it was rushed into a pressure cooker and tasted more like vegetable gruel. I had abandoned cooking it for years, but lately I have been finding ways to bring back the magic of sai bhaji using local seasonal vegetables. Late winter and early spring is definitely the best time to make it when fresh fennel and fenugreek, which I consider integral to this dish, are in season.

DF

GF

NF

V

Mushroom Minestrone

In many versions of this soup, the beans are what create the magic in the minestrone, however, do use this recipe as a guide when making your own. Given the enormous popularity of new mushrooms on the market, try using your choice of mushrooms.

180 Min

NF

Venetian Lasagna

It’s rich, decadent — and vegetarian.

240 Min

GF

NF

Roasted Wild Venison

Marinate it in a medieval spice — kalonji — that adds a subtly smoky flavor to roasted meats. Kalonji pairs beautifully with warm aromatic spices such as cinnamon and cardamom, which in turn create a delicious marinade for slow-cooked meats.

120 Min

Paneer Pot Pie

I spent my childhood in Gujarat, India, and Diwali was one of my favorite holidays. The fanfare began days earlier when boxes of sweets would begin to arrive from friends or my father’s co-workers. To celebrate love and generosity and invoke good luck and fortune into our home, we’d make rangoli designs on the floor just inside the front door — rangoli being a range of traditional handmade folk designs usually with colored powders, rice or lentils. Our parents would surprise us with new outfits to be worn on Diwali day. Two to three nights before, we’d start playing with firecrackers and lighting “diyas,” small terra-cotta lamps in which cotton wicks flicker in warm ghee. My mother would order fresh flowers and garlands, and an intoxicating perfume of marigold, tube roses and fragrant jasmine would envelop our home. Even today, when I go into a temple, the aroma of those flowers transports me to childhood joys of Diwali. Diwali morning we’d eat a light lunch in anticipation of an elaborate dinner that would follow the Laxmi pooja (a prayer ceremony), a common practice in Gujarat. My brothers and I would sit through the pooja with stomachs gurgling, anxiously awaiting the customary dinner of a seven-vegetable stew, pooris (puffy balloon bread) and halwa, a sweet pudding made with whole-wheat flour scented with cardamom. Living in America many decades later, I don’t follow many of those customs at home, but it’s still a time for reminiscing, joy and celebration. Depending on whether my now-adult children are with me, we celebrate accordingly. This year, we will make a delicious pot pie filled with paneer with a simple salad of local greens.

120 Min

DF

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Garlic Garbanzo Soup

When we are preparing for a possible onslaught on our immune system, a small cup of garlic soup a day may be just what we need.

120 MIN

GF

Persian Rice Ring

This Persian rice ring is a showstopper, and though the recipe is complicated and lengthy, it’s not hard to make.

240 Min

GF

Sweet Potato Savory Cake with Herb Yogurt

Always wanting to balance sweet with savory and spicy, try this sweet potato cake recipe — it makes a delicious breakfast with lots of herbed yogurt, poached egg on side.

120 Min

GF

NF

Turkey Leg Roast

Roasting turkey legs with onions and yogurt long and slow infuses the flavor of ginger and rosemary down to the bone.

240 Min

GF

NF

Bone Marrow Roast

Marrow, be it goat, lamb or beef not only has tremendous flavor but it also imparts flavor on everything it touches. In this recipe, the onions, garlic cloves, potatoes and peppers take on fragrant meaty flavors with bits and pieces of marrow scented with cardamom and cinnamon.

75 Min

GF

NF

Sayel Goat Chops

Sayel is a Sindhi word meaning rustic, usually a one pot dish using chopped onions with meats or vegetables or both. Even though we start with a lot of onions, they dissolve with the juices of the goat chops and end up a delicious sauce to spoon over rice or scoop up with bread.

DF

GF

NF

Overnight

Goat Paya Stew

In Pakistani cuisine, ‘paya’ (goat or beef feet) are used in a soupy curry that is scooped up with a naan or a roti. There are endless variations to this so here is more of a rough guide on how to use the paya.

120 Min

GF

Watercress and Fennel Khichdi

Khichdi, the humble yet wholesome peasant stew of India, is now a favorite food of urban yogis — and according to Ayurveda, highly recommended as a cleansing meal.

120 Min

GF

Black Turtle Bean Curry with Butternut Squash

These turtle beans are not typically seen in India, however like most other beans they are delicious with spices. The butternut sqush adds a sweet, creamy flavor and makes for strikingly beautiful presentation.

120 Min

DF

NF

Black Bean Egg Toast

Bean spreads - or more like cold “dal” spreads - make great additions to breakfast, or are wonderful just as a snack.

150 Min

DF

GF

V

Tomato Red Bean Khichri

There are many ways to amp up khichri and create a whole meal out of one. This recipe highlights the fresh cherry tomatoes of summer.

120 Min

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GF

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Channa Fry

These make a great snack just on their own, warm or cold.

120 Min

DF

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NF

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Tamarind Chutney

Tamarind Chutney is an essential player in the glorious street foods of India called chaat that encompass sweet, salty, and spicy snacks.

120 Min

GF

NF

Chole

Chole has many regional variations but is usually prepared with white garbanzos. Here is our rendition from the northern state of Punjab, using iron rich garbanzo beans!

120 Min

GF

NF

V

Khichri

Khichri is the ultimate Indian comfort food. Every region and possibly home boasts its own traditions using different combinations of grains and beans — it may be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

150 Min

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Healing Khichri

Khichri is a simple peasant stew made with rice and lentils and usually topped with ghee. There are umpteen variations of it, this one being arguably the simplest of the lot.

150 Min

DF

GF

V

Green Dal

Greens lentils are the inside of the dried green beans called ‘vatana’ in India. They have a deliciously distinct earthy flavor that goes well with leafy green vegetables.

60 Min

DF

NF

V

Ginger Cookie

This is our version of ginger bread, sweet, slightly chewy and filled with flavor and texture (contains no milk, eggs, or butter). The key to getting this cookie right is to not over bake it.

GF

Kulfi

Indian ice cream. Need we say more? Kulfi isn’t whipped so it’s much denser and thicker than regular ice cream.

120 Min

GF

Black Bean Chicken Pilaf

We love meals that involve one pot and letting the heat do the rest. The aroma will have everyone wondering what’s cooking.

90 Min

GF

Beet Yogurt Salad

The earthiness of the beets pairs well with the creaminess of the yogurt and cheese.

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