Agri-Style Jitada Fish Curry
This is the kind of fish curry where garlic takes up the main character energy. A charred coconut and coriander vatan gives the gravy its earthy backbone, Agri Koli masala brings the heat, and kokum adds just enough sourness to keep everything in check. Then there are those golden, bruised pieces of garlic hiding in the gravy. This is a family recipe from my Agri kitchen, and honestly, finding one of those pieces of garlic in your rice is one of the best parts of the whole operation.
Amritsari Paneer Bhurji
Paneer bhurji is essentially paneer deciding it doesn't need to hold its shape anymore. In this Amritsari-style version, soft crumbled paneer gets folded into a buttery masala of onions, tomatoes and spices, then finished with cream and kasuri methi. The trick is to cook the masala properly but barely cook the paneer, keeping it soft, moist and a little fluffy. It's simple, indulgent and dangerously good with a hot kulcha.
Goan Pork Sorpotel
Sorpotel is basically the “no part of the pig gets left behind” kind of dish. It happily welcomes fatty pork, head meat, liver, and whatever other mysterious bits are hanging around, then simmers them all down with dried chillies, spices, and a very enthusiastic splash of vinegar. The result? A bold, tangy, spicy, deeply savoury party in a pot, where the vinegar somehow keeps everything from getting too wild (it tries its best, anyway). And here’s the real magic trick: sorpotel doesn’t just sit there, it improves with age. Today’s batch is delicious. Tomorrow it’s even better. By day three, it’s basically showing off.
Sichuan Braised Duck with Potatoes
Duck and potatoes are already a pretty great duo, but Sichuan cooking turns them into something a lot more exciting. The duck starts by rendering in its own fat, then gets a glossy coat of doubanjiang, dried chillies, and warming spices before being gently braised into tenderness. The potatoes join the party later, just long enough to turn soft and creamy while soaking up all that spicy, savoury sauce. Three stages, one very happy pot.
Chicken Datshi
Chicken Datshi is a beautiful example of how little you actually need to make something deeply satisfying. Chicken, a mountain of chillies and soft, tangy churpi come together in a light broth that slowly turns creamy as the cheese melts into it. Traditionally the datshi is made from yak milk. I'm using cow's milk here, but the principle remains the same: heat, acidity and a little patience doing most of the work. It's simple food, but the combination of heat, funk and richness is anything but simple.
Dan Dan Noodles
Dan Dan Noodles are a small bowl with a slightly unreasonable amount going on. There is spicy chilli oil, numbing Sichuan pepper, fermented greens, savoury pork and a rich sesame sauce, all fighting for attention in the best possible way. Traditionally, the noodles arrive beautifully layered and completely unmixed. That part is your problem. Get your chopsticks in there and mix everything until every strand is coated, then try to work out which flavour hit you first.
Wazwan Rogan Josh
Rogan Josh is one of those dishes that proves you don't need a long ingredient list to make something deeply complex. In this older Wazwan-style version, there is no onion, garlic or tomato. The gravy is built around yogurt, fennel and dry ginger, while ratanjot is used to give the mustard oil its striking ruby-red rogan. It is aromatic rather than fiery, rich without being heavy, and a good reminder that sometimes the most interesting chemistry happens when you leave things out.
Thattukada-Style Beef Curry
There is something very satisfying about a good thattukada curry. Nothing fancy, just beef, onions, spices and enough coconut oil to make everything behave properly. The spices are ground together rather than added separately, which gives the curry a deep, rounded flavour as they cook down with the onions and beef. The final result is thick, spicy and gloriously messy, exactly what you want alongside a flaky parotta or a pile of puttu.
Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes
Pancakes are basically a small exercise in controlled chemistry. Buttermilk brings acidity, baking soda gives it something to react with, and a gentle hand keeps the gluten from getting too enthusiastic. The result is a stack of soft, fluffy pancakes with little bursts of blueberry and a hint of lemon. Simple ingredients, very good science.
Creamy Puttanesca
Puttanesca is not a pasta that believes in subtlety. Garlic, anchovies, olives, capers and chilli all arrive at the same time and make themselves heard. Traditionally there is no cream involved, but I like the idea of giving all that briny intensity somewhere soft to land. The cream rounds out the sharp edges without taking away the attitude. Think of it as puttanesca, after a very good spa day.
Kanakapura-Style Green Mutton Chops
This is the kind of mutton curry that doesn't believe in being polite. The green masala brings coriander, mint, green chillies and curry leaves, while black pepper adds a second, darker kind of heat. There is just enough coconut to give the gravy some body without getting in the way. Then comes the final tempering, where garlic, pepper and curry leaves hit hot oil and make the whole kitchen smell like trouble. Best eaten with ragi mudde, preferably with your hands and absolutely no apologies.
Lahori Murg Chanay
This is one of those dishes that makes perfect sense once you think about it. Chickpeas are cooked slowly in chicken stock until they become rich and savoury, then the shredded chicken goes back in at the end. Nothing complicated, just a very efficient exchange of flavours. The chickpeas get the chicken, the chicken gets the chickpeas, and everyone wins. Chemistry, but delicious.
Pork with Perilla Seeds and Fermented Bamboo Shoots
Pork with perilla seeds is another Naga pork specialty. In the Ao Naga dialect, the dish is called Ak Shi Azü Den Asoba Aon, which translates roughly to pork cooked with perilla seeds. Ak Shi means pork meat and Azü means perilla seeds.
It is a wonderfully straightforward dish built around a few big flavours: fatty pork, the nutty aroma of roasted perilla seeds, the sourness of fermented bamboo shoot, and the citrusy bite of Sichuan pepper. There isn't much going on here, which is precisely the point.
Dhingri Ka Salan
Salan is one of those dishes where the gravy does most of the talking. Here, roasted peanuts, sesame and coconut give it body and a slightly nutty richness, while tamarind cuts through all of that with a good hit of acidity. Mushrooms are a bit of an oddball guest at this party, but oyster mushrooms work surprisingly well. They soak up the gravy while keeping enough texture to remind you that you're eating mushrooms, not just a very enthusiastic sauce.