Indian
Chickpea-Potato Chaat
For an easy, low-cook dinner, toss canned chickpeas with potatoes, cilantro-mint chutney, tamarind chutney, and yogurt, then top with chiles, onions, tomatoes, and chaat masala.
By Rachel Gurjar
How to Make a Better Cup of Iced Chai
A freshly made, hot cup of chai is spicy and aromatic, creamy and perfectly sweet. But iced chai is almost never all of those things. Learn a better method for making this drink, just in time for summer.
By Leena Trivedi-Grenier
Iced Chai
To make delicious iced chai, finely grind the spices to extract their flavors, then simmer the spices and tea in milk to fully hydrate them.
By Leena Trivedi-Grenier
There’s a Lot More to Masala Chai Than Spiced Milk Tea
Born of colonial rule and Indian resistance, masala chai is more than just spiced milk tea. Epi contributor Leena Trivedi-Grenier traces the legacy of chai—and how Indians turned a tool of oppression into an enduring tradition—then shows you how to brew a great cup.
By Leena Trivedi-Grenier
Fresh Ginger Masala Chai
This masala chai recipe highlights the bright, citrusy and fiery notes of fresh ginger.
By Leena Trivedi-Grenier
Dried Ginger Masala Chai
This milky black tea mixes the sweet spiciness of dried ginger with piney-fruity-minty green cardamom and the brash, earthy heat of black pepper.
By Leena Trivedi-Grenier
Ros Omelette
This omelet, with its rich, comforting, fiery gravy, is enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Of course, you could also whip it up deep into the night, the time when most Goan partygoers looking for something to fuel their endless dancing sessions seek it out on the lively Goan streets.
By Maneet Chauhan
This Crispy, Melty, Fresh, and Spicy Sandwich Is the G.O.A.T.
This crispy grilled sandwich layers spiced potatoes, a quick and herby blender chutney, cooling veg, and creamy cheese. Here's Epi contributor Tara O'Brady's take on the classic—whether you add potato chips inside is up to you.
By Tara O'Brady
Bombay Masala Chile Cheese Toasties
Melty, cheesy, crunchy, spicy: These sandwiches, a street food favorite in India, check all the boxes.
By Tara O'Brady
I’m Leaving Everything From 2020 Behind, Except Meera Sodha’s Bombay Rolls
The cheesy, spicy, bright, and buttery wheels from her latest cookbook are coming with me into the new year.
By Kendra Vaculin
Bombay Rolls
Standing three tiers high, the magnificent Bombay sandwich is a whopper of a construction. It’s available on every street corner, and each stallholder obsesses over their own special blend of spices, vegetables, and chutneys, for that “better than yours” taste. Although it’s a wonder, it’s also a labor of love to make at home, and so in this recipe I’ve attempted to embody its spirit—a sharp, hot green chutney, cheese, and onion—but in a pastry roll that can be made in just minutes.
By Meera Sodha
How This Diwali Sweet Became My Thanksgiving Tradition, Too
These pistachio-date balls are nutty, fudgy, and easy to send in a care package if you're celebrating Diwali—or Thanksgiving—away from your loved ones.
By Nandita Godbole
Khajur Ladu (Date, Pistachio, and Almond Morsels)
These date balls, which I make each year for Diwali, are nutty and fudgy—without any chocolate. In years when the celebrations for Diwali and Thanksgiving are close together, I like to make a double batch to add to our Thanksgiving spread. They fit right in.
By Nandita Godbole
Down South Goat Biryani
This dish of tender spiced goat layered with saffron rice, cashews, and golden raisins is a celebratory meal ideal for birthdays and holidays of all kinds.
By Asha Gomez
Cardamom Kheer
This aromatic rice pudding is flavored with cinnamon and cardamom, and gets a topping of pistachios and edible flowers.
By Meera Sodha
Grand Vegetable Biryani
Packed full of a rainbow of colors, flavors, and textures, from spiced paneer, chickpeas, and tomatoes to roasted beets, sweet potatoes, and a citrusy coconut and cilantro sauce this is a vegetable dish for special occasions.
By Meera Sodha
Pista Kesar Kulfi
This creamy, frozen Indian dessert gets its flavor from finely ground pistachios and a pinch of floral, earthy saffron.
By Meera Sodha
Gulab Jamuns in Rose Syrup
These milky little doughnuts are a burnished bronze on the outside, white and cakey inside, and soaked to the core with delicately flavored rose syrup.
By Meera Sodha
Sooji Halva
These pistachio- and almond-studded sweets are made with semolina and ghee. Eat the halva hot and soft out of the frying pan, or press it into a cake tin and cut it into squares.
By Madhur Jaffrey
Bonda or Batata Vada
You'll find these round chickpea flour and spiced potato fritters wherever Indian snack sellers congregate. Serve them with whatever chutney you like for dipping.
By Madhur Jaffrey