India
Tempered spices, regional thalis and tandoor-charred breads.
Iconic recipes
Butter Chicken
Tandoor-charred chicken in a velvety tomato, butter and cream sauce balanced with fenugreek leaves.
Butter Chicken
Delhi's velvety tomato-cream chicken curry finished with butter, fenugreek and cream.
Hyderabadi Biryani
Layered basmati and saffron-marinated mutton sealed and dum-cooked over slow heat.
Masala Dosa
Crispy fermented rice-and-lentil crepes filled with mustard-tempered potato.
Chole Bhature
Punjab's spiced chickpea curry with deep-fried leavened bhature.
Rogan Josh
Kashmiri lamb curry rich with Kashmiri chili, fennel and ginger powder.
Palak Paneer
Cubes of paneer in a smooth spinach sauce tempered with garlic and cumin.
Samosa
Crisp pastry triangles stuffed with spiced potato and peas.
Tandoori Chicken
Punjab's yogurt-and-spice marinated chicken charred in a clay tandoor.
Dal Makhani
Punjab's slow-simmered black urad and kidney beans finished with butter and cream.
Naan
Leavened tandoor flatbread brushed with garlic butter.
Aloo Paratha
Punjab's whole-wheat flatbread stuffed with spiced potato, griddled with ghee.
Mango Lassi
Punjab's chilled yogurt drink blended with Alphonso mango and cardamom.
Kashmiri Yakhni
Kashmir's Pandit yogurt-based lamb curry perfumed with fennel and dried ginger.
Kashmiri Dum Aloo
Baby potatoes fried and braised in a Kashmiri chili yogurt gravy.
Kashmiri Kahwa
Kashmir's saffron green tea with cardamom, cinnamon and slivered almonds.
Galouti Kebab
Lucknow's melt-in-mouth minced lamb patties perfumed with 100+ spices and kewra.
Shami Kebab
Awadhi patties of minced lamb ground with chana dal, egg-bound and shallow-fried.
Awadhi Biryani
Lucknow's delicate pakki biryani layered with mildly spiced mutton and basmati.
Dal Baati Churma
Rajasthan's baked wheat dumplings served with panchmel dal and sweet churma.
Laal Maas
Rajasthan's fiery red mutton curry stained with Mathania chilies and smoked with ghee.
Ghevar
Rajasthan's disc-shaped honeycombed Teej sweet soaked in saffron syrup.
Dhokla
Gujarat's steamed savory sponge cake of fermented chickpea and rice batter.
Methi Thepla
Gujarat's soft fenugreek-spiced flatbread that keeps for road trips.
Undhiyu
Surat's upside-down winter vegetable and muthiya stew cooked in matlu pots.
Vada Pav
Mumbai's iconic spiced potato fritter in a soft pav with green and dry-garlic chutneys.
Pav Bhaji
Mumbai's buttery mashed vegetable curry served with toasted pav.
Misal Pav
Pune's fiery sprouted-moth-bean curry topped with farsan and served with pav.
Ukadiche Modak
Maharashtra's steamed rice-flour dumplings stuffed with coconut and jaggery for Ganesh Chaturthi.
Goan Fish Curry
Goa's tangy coconut-and-kokum fish curry with pomfret or kingfish.
Pork Vindaloo
Goa's Portuguese-descended pork curry marinated in vinegar, garlic and Kashmiri chili.
Bebinca
Goa's 7-16 layer coconut-milk and egg-yolk cake baked one layer at a time.
Dhansak
Parsi lamb and mixed-lentil stew scented with dhansak masala and served with brown rice.
Patra ni Machhi
Parsi wedding-day fish steamed in banana leaves with a green coconut-mint chutney.
Macher Jhol
Bengal's light mustard-oil fish curry with potato and turmeric — everyday comfort.
Shorshe Ilish
Bengal's monsoon delicacy — hilsa steamed in a pungent mustard-and-green-chili paste.
Kosha Mangsho
Bengal's Sunday slow-cooked mutton — deep, dark and oil-lacquered.
Rasgulla
Bengal's spongy chhena balls simmered in cardamom sugar syrup.
Dalma
Odisha's one-pot lentils and vegetables tempered with panch phutana and ghee.
Chhena Poda
Odisha's caramelized baked cottage-cheese cake — 'burnt cheese'.
Litti Chokha
Bihar's roasted whole-wheat balls stuffed with spiced sattu, served with fire-roasted vegetables.
Hyderabadi Haleem
Hyderabad's Ramadan wheat, lentil and mutton porridge pounded to a silky stew.
Mirchi ka Salan
Hyderabad's peanut-and-sesame gravy of long green chilies, the classic biryani companion.
Chettinad Chicken
Tamil Nadu's Chettinad chicken curry with a freshly roasted spice masala and star anise.
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Sambar
South India's tamarind and toor-dal stew with drumsticks, brinjal and freshly ground sambar podi.
Appam with Stew
Kerala's lacy fermented rice hoppers with a gently spiced coconut-milk vegetable stew.
Malabar Fish Curry
Kerala's coconut-milk fish curry sharpened with kudampuli (Malabar tamarind).
Puttu Kadala
Kerala's steamed rice-flour cylinders layered with coconut, served with black chickpea curry.
Idli
South India's steamed fermented rice-and-urad cakes — light, sour and impossibly soft.
Bisi Bele Bath
Karnataka's spicy hot lentil-rice one-pot with tamarind, vegetables and a distinctive masala.
Andhra Kodi Kura
Andhra's fiery chicken curry with roasted chili-coriander masala and curry leaves.
Gongura Pachadi
Andhra's tart sorrel-leaf chutney tempered with garlic and red chili.
Sindhi Kadhi
A tangy Sindhi yogurt-free vegetable curry thickened with roasted besan.
Assamese Masor Tenga
Assam's light, sour fish stew with tomato, lemon and elephant apple.
Naga Pork with Axone
Nagaland's smoky pork stewed with axone (fermented soybean) and raja chili.
Himalayan Momos
Sikkim–Darjeeling steamed dumplings of chicken or vegetable, served with a fiery tomato dip.
Thukpa
Tibetan-Sikkimese hand-pulled noodle soup with chicken and mountain vegetables.
Gobi Manchurian
Kolkata Indo-Chinese: crispy cauliflower florets tossed in a hot garlic-soy sauce.
Hakka Noodles
Kolkata's Indo-Chinese stir-fried noodles with cabbage, carrot and chili-garlic soy.
Mulligatawny Soup
Anglo-Indian pepper-and-lentil soup — a colonial adaptation of milagu tanni.
Railway Mutton Curry
Anglo-Indian first-class dining-car curry — mildly spiced, tomato-tart, coconut-finished.
Gulab Jamun
Golden fried milk-solid dumplings soaked in cardamom-rose sugar syrup.
Jalebi
Fermented flour spirals fried to a crisp and drowned in saffron sugar syrup.
Masala Chai
India's daily brewed black tea with milk, ginger, cardamom and pepper.
Pani Puri
Crispy hollow puris filled with spiced potato-chickpea and shots of tangy mint water.
Kulfi
India's dense reduced-milk ice — never churned, always sliced.
Boondi Raita
Cooling whisked yogurt with fried gram-flour pearls, cumin and mint.