Cuisines
Indian recipes
A continent of cooking, not a single cuisine.
Indian cooking is not one cuisine and the word covers more variation than the whole of Europe. The north is wheat, dairy and slow-cooked meat; the south is rice, coconut, tamarind and a great deal more vegetarian cooking; the coasts are fish; and the spice palettes differ so much that a Goan curry and a Punjabi one share almost no technique. What does travel is the sequence: whole spices bloomed in fat, then aromatics, then ground spices, then liquid, in that order and never rushed. Most disappointing home curries are a failure of that sequence rather than of the recipe. The dishes here name their region, explain what the spices are doing at each stage, and give the doneness cues — the oil separating, the onions going properly brown — that the timings alone will not tell you.
14 recipes
Slow-Cooked Black Dal
Whole urad soaked overnight and simmered for hours until it turns black and glossy, then finished with butter and a little cream.
Lamb Rogan Josh
Lamb shoulder browned hard then cooked for two hours in yogurt and Kashmiri chilli, until the sauce is red, glossy and clinging rather than soupy.
Garlic Naan
A yoghurt-enriched yeasted dough cooked in a screaming hot pan and blistered under the grill, which stands in for a tandoor.
Garam Masala
Whole spices toasted one kind at a time, cooled and ground, which is what separates a fresh blend from the grey dust in a jar.
Goan Fish Curry
White fish poached in a coconut and tamarind sauce ground from whole spices, sour and hot in equal measure and cooked in under half an hour.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Yogurt-marinated chicken charred hard under a grill, then finished in a spiced tomato and cream sauce that only works if the char goes in with it.
Weeknight Red Lentil Dal
Red lentils simmered down to a loose puree with turmeric, then finished with cumin, mustard seed and garlic bloomed in hot ghee.
Steamed Basmati Rice
Basmati rinsed until the water runs clear and cooked by absorption, then rested off the heat with the lid on so the grains separate.
Smoked Haddock Kedgeree
Smoked haddock poached in milk, the rice then cooked in that same liquid, folded together with boiled eggs and curry spices.
Saag Paneer
Spinach cooked down to a dark, silky base with ginger and green chilli, with cubes of fried paneer folded through at the end.
Pork Vindaloo
Pork marinated in vinegar, garlic and dried chillies, then cooked slowly until sharp, dark and much more sour than hot.
Malai Kofta
Potato and paneer dumplings fried until crisp, sitting in a mild cashew and tomato sauce enriched with cream.
Egg Curry
Hard-boiled eggs, scored and browned in spice, simmered in an onion and tomato masala.
Chana Masala
Chickpeas simmered in a dark, sour tomato and onion masala, finished with amchur so the sourness sits behind the spice rather than on top of it.