Side Dish, Indian Recipes

Try this scrumptious East Indian favorite that can be used instead of bread.

A chapti (whole-wheat roti) stuffed with paneer (farmers cheese) enriched with Indian spices.

Plantains simmered in coconut milk with curry powder, cinnamon, and cloves. A simple African and Indian-inspired side dish where the plantains absorb the spiced coconut sauce as they soften.

Oven-baked curried rice pilaf with dried apricots, toasted slivered almonds, and vegetable stock. A hands-off vegetarian side dish with sweet-savory depth.

Kesari bhaat (sweet saffron rice): Indian basmati rice perfumed with saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, and clove, sweetened with jaggery, and finished with almonds and currants. Traditional festival dessert.

Authentic Indian roti made with just whole wheat chapati flour and water, cooked on a hot cast-iron griddle and puffed directly over an open flame. Two-ingredient vegan flatbread.

Curried rice baked with dried apricots and toasted almonds in vegetable stock. A fragrant, hands-off vegetarian side dish with sweet, nutty, and spiced flavors.

Indian chilled carrot salad (Sonf Gazar Subji) with cumin, turmeric, asafetida, and fresh dill, tossed with brown rice and eggless mayo. A spiced, cold vegetarian side dish.

Indian-style fried eggplant with turmeric, cayenne, and black pepper. Quartered and pan-fried until reddish brown, served with fresh lemon wedges.

This is the basic recipe for cooking lentils or beans. Many southern and southwestern regional recipes call for cooked lentils or beans to be stirred gently into a dish near the end of cooking. Therefore, it may be a good idea ot make them a day ahead and have them ready when you begin the actual cooking.

Osas are classic South Indian dosas: thin, crisp rice-and-lentil crepes made from a naturally fermented batter of rice and urad dal. Vegan, gluten-free, and golden with lacy, reddish-brown edges.