Indian Recipes & Food Ideas

Although not traditional, the brightness of the lemon plays beautifully with the citrusy earthiness of the turmeric and the fruity heat of the Kashmiri chilies.

This Indo-Chinese dish is worth the effort.

This spicy chickpea curry is a total classic.

It's made with a special blend of spices and nuts like almond, fennel, saffron, sugar, cardamom, and rose petals, which gets shaken with milk and served cold.

Any time I go to my parent’s house, this meal will just be there waiting for me. It's the dish that I associate with home.

Sweet potatoes never had it so good.

You'll be making this on repeat.

One single bite of chaat encapsulates the vibrancy and richness of an entire subcontinent.

This recipe combines papri (or any crispy, crunchy element of your choice) with boiled potatoes, drained chickpeas, and a variety of chutneys.

Usually drizzled with tamarind and green chutneys, the puris are stuffed with a simple spiced potato mix and are meant to be enjoyed as one big bite.

This chaat recipe involves making lentil fritters (wada), dousing them in a creamy yogurt (dahi) sauce, and then serving them with a variety of spicy and sweet chutneys.

This recipe was inspired by a very traditional Indian dish and my travel experiences. You’ll find a variation of Badanekai Tumbida, or stuffed eggplant, in a lot of Indian households (including mine), mainly from Maharashtra and South India. The stuffing is generally a mix of sautéed onions, garlic, peanuts, and a lot of different spices. You make an x-shaped cut in the rounded end of the eggplant, stuff it, then flash sear the eggplants in a hot pan.

This abundant Indian dish is layered with spiced marinated meats and aromatic long-grain rice.

The staple dish is the perfect gateway into South Indian cuisine.

The sweet butternut squash breaks down as it cooks, combining with the coconut to make a luscious sauce.

Yes, it's as good as it looks.

This extra-special dessert is our current baking obsession.

A combination of steaming and roasting makes for the best-ever sweet potatoes.

This cozy and comforting warm dessert is perfect for an after-dinner treat.

It looks fancy and tastes complex, and yet it's not hard to make.

It's been a favorite ever since I was a kid.

It's my secret weapon in the kitchen.

Fill it into dosa, pile onto corn tortillas, or serve alongside eggs.

This smart shortcut version is easy to love.

It's crunchy, tangy, and incredibly vibrant.

Here's how to make dosa at home, including a from-scratch dosa batter and instructions for how to cook it.

The versatile South Indian condiment is ready in 15 minutes.

From a beginners’ guide to dosa to tips for stocking a South Indian pantry, here’s Chitra’s collection of recipes and inspiration to make South Indian food part of your own weeknight cooking.

This version of a shepherd’s pie plays with the regional flavors of India, and in actuality, probably shouldn’t be called a real shepherd’s pie because it has no lamb. Perhaps an Indian chicken-wrangler pie would be a better name. Notwithstanding nomenclature and food history’s neurotic exactness, this dish embodies the flavors of the subcontinent.

You probably already have (most) of the ingredients to make this!

Nandita Godbole of Atlanta, Georgia, is originally from India, and she wanted to create her own version of Thanksgiving for her family. No matter the menu, this cranberry-cherry chutney is always on the table.

If you haven't tried the warming flavors of garam masala, it's time.

We can't get enough of this Indian-inspired parfait.

We're obsessed.

So much better than takeout.

Filled with chiles, chaat masala, onions, and ginger.

It's as impressive as it is easy to make.

It's just as creamy and comforting as the original.

Nik Sharma says this recipe represents California due to the bounty of gorgeous citrus in the Golden State, and the recipe’s celebration of the state’s ever-growing immigrant cuisine.

Turmeric-spiked coconut oil travels into the nooks and crannies of smashed cucumbers, while toasted coconut flakes and peanuts add a welcome crunch to the mix.

This curry is simple, flavorful, and made to fit the life of my mom — a harried cook, but someone who valued the texture and taste of a meal made with love.

Carrot halwa, also known as gajar ka halwa, is an unusual Indian dessert. It’s made with grated carrots, whole milk, dried fruit, and nuts, and it has a delicious light fudgy texture. Traditionally served at Indian festivals and in temples, this classic dessert is a favorite in Indian households during Diwali, the festival of lights, which is this week! Diwali — the festival of lights — is one of the best-known Indian festivals.

I love how easy it is to find naan bread nowadays, from the fresh ones at Whole Foods to the frozen garlic naan at Trader Joe’s. Lately this soft Indian flatbread has been my go-to base for sandwiches and, to my pleasant surprise, pizzas. Here’s a tasty pizza inspired by one of my favorite Indian dishes, saag paneer. Saag paneer is a spiced, creamy spinach stew finished with soft pieces of mild paneer cheese.

I adore Indian food, and while my tastes range wide in that nation’s incredibly diverse cuisine, I have to admit that the rich, Westernized chicken tikka masala was my gateway love and still a guilty pleasure. But what does it look like when you flip the bowl and leave the curry until last? Can chicken curry be a lighter, fresher meal?

There’s no need to order chicken tikka masala takeout when you can make it lightning-fast in the pressure cooker. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs bring lots of flavor and tenderness to this recipe. Before cutting the thighs into pieces, remove any excess fat. You want the chicken pieces to be bite-sized, so aim for a cut about 1 1/2 inches. Traditional chicken tikka masala recipes start with marinating the chicken in a yogurt sauce.

Of all the many frozen meals at Trader Joe’s, their Chicken Tikka Masala is definitely a fan favorite. Devotees feel pretty strongly that it’s the next best thing to the version served at their local Indian restaurant. This slow cooker version is equally as lazy, and we’d argue it’s even more tasty. If chicken tikka masala is your go-to Indian restaurant order but you’ve never tried making it at home, here’s your invitation.

Takeout curry is one of my favorite mid-week pleasures. Warmly spiced vegetables over a bed of rice, in all its creamy glory, is nothing short of soul-soothing. However, this year my family has been laser-focused on reigning in our food budget, leaving little room for impulse takeout purchases.

This version goes full steam ahead with lots of hearty vegetables, like cauliflower, thick-cut carrots, and peas.

This is a curry dish that benefits from a nice, long simmer anyway, so why not let that happen while you're off doing other things?

There’s no denying that rice pudding is at the top of the list when it comes to comforting desserts. This classic Indian version, called kheer, is spiced with cardamom and flecked with golden raisins and pistachios, and is sure to become a new favorite. This recipe comes courtesy of Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi; it’s one of her favorite things to make for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

If you don’t already have plans to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, these recipes might make you reconsider. Like so many holidays around the world, food is an important part of Diwali. Snacks and sweets are especially present, along with many of the classic Indian dishes you know and love. It’s the perfect excuse to get into the kitchen and cook! Read more: What Is Diwali?

Now that fall has settled in and a chill has returned to the air, it’s the perfect time for stocking up on hearty stews and curries to take you through the season. Meaty brown lentils star as the base of this wholesome and comforting vegan curry. It’s kissed with warm, sweet spices like garam masala and turmeric, laced with fire-roasted tomatoes, and finished with a can of creamy coconut milk for just a touch of richness.