Phodnicha Bhat
There are few things more satisfying than turning yesterday's rice into today's breakfast. Phodnicha Bhat is the Maharashtrian answer to fried rice. Tossed in a hot tempering of mustard, cumin and curry leaves, with chillies, turmeric and whatever vegetables happen to be hanging around. The magic is in the phodni, or tempering, where a handful of seeds and spices hit hot oil and suddenly make leftovers taste like a plan. Simple, frugal and ridiculously comforting.
Alur Tok Ghonto
This is a wonderfully unfussy Bengali potato dish that gets a surprising amount of personality from a handful of ingredients. Baby potatoes are marinated in tangy curd, vinegar, onion and ginger, then cooked in mustard oil until the marinade clings to them and turns lightly caramelised. The result is a little sweet, a little sour, gently hot and gloriously mustardy. Basically, proof that potatoes don't always need a complicated gravy to have a good time.
Ombhl
Ombhl is a lovely little lesson in balancing flavours. Soft, almost jammy pumpkin gets cooked with tamarind until it turns deeply sour, then jaggery comes in to round out the edges, while mustard seeds, dried chilli and bay leaf bring a little savoury warmth. It's sweet, sour, spicy and earthy all at once, and somehow manages to make pumpkin considerably more exciting than pumpkin has any right to be.
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.
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.
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.