Mushroom Salna came into my cooking life through an argument. My neighbour insists that a proper salna has to be made with a freshly ground coconut-based paste and nothing else. …

Cashew Pulao earns its place in my weekly rotation for one straightforward reason: it comes together on a busy evening when I have rice soaking and very little else planned. …

Baked Bean Salad came into my life through a mild but persistent argument. A colleague insisted that the only thing you do with canned baked beans is heat them up …

Koozh Vadam had been on my list for two summers before I finally made it. I kept thinking about the sound they make when you deep fry them — that …

Chicken Marsala entered my regular cooking life because my husband kept ordering it whenever we went to a certain Italian-style restaurant in the city, and after the fourth or fifth …

Jahangiri Paneer Labaabdar came to me through a cooking workshop I attended years ago at a small culinary school in Delhi, the kind of place where the instructor actually cooked …

Stuffed Savoury Bitter Gourd earns its place in my kitchen for a very practical reason: I almost always have bitter gourd sitting in the fridge longer than I planned, and …

Gobi 65 is one of those recipes I kept coming back to not because of any particular occasion, but because of a craving I could never quite shake after having …

Duck Curry has caused more arguments in my extended family than almost any other dish. My mother’s side insists the vinegar is non-negotiable, because without it the coconut milk turns …

Vegetable Balls in Hot Garlic Sauce was the first Indo-Chinese recipe I badly overcooked. The balls turned out dense and heavy, and the sauce broke because I added the cornflour …

Crabs with Noodles is the kind of dish I come back to whenever I want to make something that feels like an occasion but still fits inside a regular Saturday …

Brinjals baked in Vegetable Sauce came into regular rotation at home because my husband kept asking for something he could eat with just toasted bread and call it a full …

Grilled Tofu Curry landed in my regular rotation because my sister-in-law asked me to cook something for her that had no meat but still felt like a proper meal, not …

  King Prawn Pulao is the dish my brother-in-law requests every single time he visits. Not biryani, not a curry — this. He made the request so many times that …

Skate and Spinach Salad came into my regular rotation on a weeknight when I had skate wings sitting in the fridge and completely no plan. I had been buying skate …

Sweet Corn Paneer Kofta earns its place in my kitchen for one straightforward reason: it uses things I almost always have sitting around. A couple of boiled potatoes, a small …

Paneer Egg Peas Kurma was not something I got right the first time. My original version had the coconut going in too early, and by the time the peas were …

Caramel Custard takes me straight back to the school tuck shop where I first had it — served cold in a small steel bowl, wobbling slightly as it was set …

Vegetable Paneer Kabab earns a regular spot in my kitchen because it solves a specific problem: what to do with the half cup of boiled carrots, beans, and peas that …

Murgh Badam Pasanda came into regular rotation in my kitchen because of my sister-in-law. She had eaten it at a wedding years ago and kept describing it as “that almond …

There is a particular kind of silence that falls over an Indian home the morning after a wedding or a Diwali party. It is the silence of someone standing in …