33 Indian Recipes From Saag Paneer to Samosas

1 8 minutes read

33 Indian Recipes From Saag Paneer to Samosas

The world of Indian cuisine is so vast that even some of the most accomplished Indian chefs haven’t scratched the surface of foods the country has to offer. But don’t let that overwhelm you. Whether you regularly seek out Indian fare or are just getting acquainted with the flavors of Indian cuisine, there will always be more deliciousness to explore. From the rich curries of the north to the coconut-based dishes of the south and the incredible street food offered in cities throughout, this selection of Indian recipes is a terrific place to discover new favorites or rediscover beloved classics.

Kerala-Style Vegetable Coconut Curry

Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

This comforting and aromatic vegetarian curry from chef Jes Thomas is enriched with coconut milk and filled with canned chickpeas, potatoes, and caulifower.

Tandoori Chicken

Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Kelsey Moylan / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle

Tandoori chicken is one of the world’s most popular Indian dishes, thanks to the big flavor that comes from cooking the meat in the deep, urn-shaped clay oven that is the tandoor. Legendary cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey adapted the recipe for a charcoal grill to make it accessible to home cooks.

Tadka Dal with Roti

Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

For a warming, nourishing, grounding meal, look no further than this fragrant dal, which can be prepared as a slurpable soup or a thick stew. Antara Sinha heats the spices and dried chiles in ghee or oil, forming a crispy, contrasting base to perfume the creamy legumes.

Aloo Matar (Indian Potato and Green Pea Curry)

Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Chef Chintan Pandya’s aloo matar cradles tender potatoes and bright green peas in a thick, luxurious curry of fresh ginger, garlic, jalapeño, and tomatoes. Just before serving, a swirl of rich ghee is stirred in for extra oomph.

Kerala Meen Pollichathu (Roasted Fish in Banana Leaves)

Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

In Kerala, banana leaves are a go-to for cooking marinated pearl spot fish. New York chef Vijay Kumar offers an interpretation of the dish for the home cook using easily accessible sea bass fillets. An aromatic and bright masala, layered with fenugreek, ginger, shallots, chiles, and curry leaves and fortified with creamy coconut milk, cooks with the fish inside the banana-leaf packets to form a lush sauce.

Dosa

Heami Lee / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

At once tangy, chewy, and crispy, South Indian dosas are fermented rice and lentil crêpes that are folded over spiced vegetable fillings and eaten for any meal of the day. It takes a little finesse to get them just right; the more you make them, the more adept you’ll become.

Aloo Masala

Heami Lee / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

Simple, quick, and made from just a handful of ingredients, use these golden spiced potatoes enriched with ghee and scented with floral, citrusy curry leaves to fill your dosas.

Bhel Puri with Mango Chutney

Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Emily Neighbors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

Blogger and cookbook author Hetal Vasavada prepares a bright, sweet, and sour make-ahead mango chutney for this crunchy, tangy Indian snack packed with puffed rice, chaat masala, and seasoned potatoes.

Saag Paneer

Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners

Use your favorite blend of leafy greens along with a combination of onion, garlic, ginger, chiles, and fragrant garam masala to make this verdant dish studded with chunks of hearty, squeaky paneer.

Pav Bhaji

Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Thom Driver

Mumbai is known for its pav bhaji. “Pav” is the roll, and “bhaji” is the mixture of lightly spicy mashed vegetables cooked in tomato sauce made with Kashmiri chile powder and other spices, serrano chiles, ginger, and plenty of butter. This recipe calls for using soft, store-bought dinner rolls — toasted in a dollop of butter to caramelize the outside, they’re irresistibly delicious.

Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken)

Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

This flavor-packed, 35-minute curry features chicken coated in a rich, spiced tomato sauce and topped with toasted cashews. The inclusion of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce is not traditional, but the mild, smoky heat marries well with the dish’s signature notes.

Garlic Naan

Diana Chistruga

An indispensable part of Indian cuisine, fluffy, chewy plain or garlic naan bread is simple to make — this version cooks on the stovetop, in a cast-iron skillet.

Baingan Bharta (Eggplant Curry)

Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver

Completely plant-based and completely delicious, this North Indian dish of garlicky mashed, charred eggplant and tomatoes with ginger and spices is easy to prepare — its spreadable consistency makes it perfect to pair with roti or naan for a satisfying meal.

Chicken Biryani

Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless

This South Asian dish is perhaps one of the world’s most elegant rice dishes, and is great for a dinner party or celebration meal. It can be made with nearly any kind of meat or seafood, or even simply with veggies; here, Madhur Jaffrey uses dark meat chicken.

Aloo Samosas

Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Annie Probst / Prop Styling by Gabe Greco

These baked vegetarian Punjabi-style samosas showcase cumin-spiced potatoes and peas enveloped in homemade pastry — it’s made with oil in the dough to ensure the samosas turn crisp and golden in the oven.

Bhindi Masala with Tomato Tarka (Stir-Fried Okra with Tomatoes and Spices)

Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell

2020 F&W Best New Chef Niven Patel’s take on the North Indian classic bhindi masala features tender, stir-fried okra served over a bed of tomato sauce redolent with fenugreek, turmeric, chiles, cumin, and other spices.

Mango Lassi

Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne

This sunny lassi is made with canned kesar mango puree that’s blended with yogurt or buttermilk until smooth. A bit of lime juice balances the sweet mango for an especially refreshing drink.

Jasmine-Infused Chicken Tikka Masala

Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Audrey Taylor

Here, “masala” refers to the spice paste that clings to pieces of tender charred chicken in this quintessential Indian dish. It starts with infusing ambrosial jasmine pearl tea into chicken broth, which gets added to a bold blend of onion, lightly crushed cardamom pods, tomatoes, garam masala, and red chile powder.

Raita

Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Thom Driver

Creamy, yogurt-based raita is an extremely versatile condiment. This version is made with toasted spices, curry leaves, and finely chopped cucumber, red onion, and mint. Use it as a dip for naan, or as a cooling element to temper the heat of spicier dishes.

Stuffed Parathas

Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling Barrett Washburne

These buttery, flaky whole-wheat Indian flatbreads developed by Maneet Chauhan are filled with your choice of gingery spiced carrots or smashed peas, though you could certainly leave them plain. They’re cooked in ghee on the griddle; serve them with yogurt or raita and Indian pickles, or with chutney.

Pista Burfi Bark

Andria Lo

Ground pistachios are combined with floral, fragrant cardamom and sugar syrup to make this fudgy, beloved Indian sweet from Hetal Vasavada. Top it with white chocolate, edible flowers, and gold leaf for a party-perfect presentation.

Matar Paneer

Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling

Paneer is a soft, mild, non-melting cheese that’s cubed and tossed into all kinds of Indian dishes. Here, it cooks with peas in a rich, spiced tomato-based sauce for a tasty meal that comes together in less than an hour.

Egg Bhurji (Spiced Indian Scrambled Eggs)

Photo by Rachel Vanni / Food Styling by Judy Haubert

Upgrade your scrambled eggs with onions, chiles, ginger, tomatoes, and warming spices, along with lemon juice and cilantro for a pop of brightness, to make this terrific Indian breakfast dish. Enjoy it with roti or paratha, or serve it with toast.

Masala Paneer Kathi Rolls

Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Thom Driver

Packed with paneer (firm tofu also works), roasted vegetables, and a crispy cabbage salad, each warmly spiced element of these kathi rolls delivers plenty of vibrant flavor in every bite. Use parathas, whole-wheat flour tortillas, or white pita rounds to overstuff these rolls, or create an assembly line for guests to make their own.

Vada Pav

Photo by Rachel Vanni / Food Styling by Judy Haubert

“Vada pav, one of Mumbai’s most popular street foods, is a potato fritter the size of a baseball stuffed into a flaky white bun, smeared with coconut and spicy green chile chutneys, and then squished until it’s small enough to fit into your mouth,” Maneet Chauhan says. “They’re so much fun to eat and are one of my favorite chaat to have on sticky, hot Mumbai afternoons.”

Kerala Beef Curry

Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

This warming South Indian curry from chef Asha Gomez features boneless short ribs that braise in a curry-perfumed sauce that’s perfect for soaking up with appams.

Masala Chai

Photo by Adam Friedlander / Food Styling by Pearl Jones

Black tea is steeped with crushed cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon along with ground ginger and black pepper, milk, and sugar for a cozy, soul-warming drink that takes just 10 minutes to prepare.

Pani Puri

Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Micah Morton / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Pani puri is an Indian snack of crispy puffed bread filled with potato and spicy mint water. Using store-bought puri ensures it comes together easily.

Boti Kebab (Spiced Yogurt–Marinated Lamb Skewers)

Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Shell Royster

Allow four hours for cubes of boneless leg of lamb to marinate in a garlicky blend of yogurt and spices, which not only tenderizes the meat but also forms into a flavorful crust on the grill.

Mango Rasmalai

Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Micah Morton / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Vijay Kumar’s creamy dessert owes its gorgeous hue to both fragrant saffron and velvety mango. Not only does he stir puree into the sweetened, infused milk that blankets the soft chenna, but he also makes a luscious mango sauce to top each bowl.

Hina Auntie’s Chana Masala with Puri

Gerard + Belevender

Add distinct depth of flavor to this spicy chickpea dish from western India by toasting and grinding whole spices. The recipe is from Hina Mody, Khushbu Shah’s auntie who emigrated from the Indian state of Gujarat.

Boiled Peanut Chaat

Victor Protasio

Chef Vishwesh Bhatt’s peanut chaat is boiled with turmeric, ginger, garlic, and other spices to create a delicious and aromatic snack we can’t stop eating.

Tomato-Coconut Chutney

Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Victoria Granof / Prop Styling by Thom Driver

This silky, spicy chutney from chef Vishwesh Batt has a rich tomato flavor from tomato paste and canned tomatoes. Coconut cream cuts through the acidity.

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