Not everything, obviously, but certain curries and gravies taste better after sitting in the fridge overnight. The flavour seems more settled when you reheat them.

I've noticed this especially with dishes that have a lot of spices. Freshly made is great, but the next day's lunch can be even better.

What food do you genuinely prefer eating the next day?

For me, comfort food hits differently depending on the mood. What's your pick, and what makes it so special?

My friend asked me this question and it made me wonder but I could not reach a conclusion

There are lots of popular Indian dishes which come up all the time, like dal chawal, biryani, curries, curd rice, dosa, the list goes on - but none of them are so simple to prepare.

But I can't think of another dish that's so simple yet so quintissentially Indian.

boiled potatoes fried with some jeera, hing and maybe green chilllies.

of course there are variations from every region, and its usually a side dish but I cook and eat it by itself !!

How many times have I searched for a good recipe, and when upon finding the right one only then to groan at the quantities listed in the ingredients for chicken, lamb or seafood !! It has driven me to despair time & time again. Especially when I have already bought the main ingredient prior to deciding on the recipe. Unfortunately there is no standard across the board, each writer uses quantities that they are comfortable with. And no book tells you how to divide OR multiply the ingredients, which can be tricky where spices are involved. Finally I decided to create a list of Indian cook books based on quantities to avoid the despair which I am sharing with you:-

Books for 500gr to 800gr meat or poultry are

• Anurag Aggarwal
• Atul Kochhar
• Cyrus Todiwala
• Denise de Silva Sankh
• Kausar Raja
• Maunika Gauwadhan
• Mehak Kansal
• Monisha Bharadwaj
• Rohit Ghai
• Romy Gill
• Sanjeev Kapoor
• Suki Pantal
• Vijaya Selvaraju
• Vikas Khanna
• Vineet Bhatia
• Dishoom

Books for 1kg & ++

• Asma Khan
• Ashok Bajaj
• Rupa Gulati
• Camelia Punjabi
• Jiggs Kalra
• Vivek Singh
• Kumar Mahadevan
• Hardeep Singh Kohli
• Madhur Jaffrey
• Pushpesh Pant

Books for 1.5-kg

• Karan Gokani

I’ve realised that I have never used cumin powder and coriander powder in isolation - they’re always together, and almost always the same quantity. Are there ever any instances where you are using only cumin powder or only coriander powder? Wondering if I can save some space in the spice box by just combining the two… advantages and disadvantages?

There used to be an aloo recipe on vegrecipesofindia.com that was a very simple curry of lightly mashed potatoes and powdered spices (the usual suspects like cumin, coriander, tumeric, chili powder, etc) and that was it. It was a very basic recipe great for when one was too lazy to scrounge up even onions or tomatoes.

Anyone know of a similar recipe and want to share?

Can anyone suggest acrecipe for fig or apricot seet chutney spice not too much vinegar and includes cummin, coriander....no ginger or garlic.

How do I make Paneer gravy at home that tastes similar (ok, even somewhat similar would be a huge win for me) to dishes served in restaurants?

The rich flavors in the gravy are amazing. When I make this at home, seems weak and rather bland. Even the paneer - in spite of marinating etc.. seems a bit bland.

I could perhaps buy sauces from Indian stores, but would prefer to make my own.

I make my own paneer btw.

Decades ago I was introduced to Malai Kofta at an Indian restaurant called Haveli in Atlanta. That restaurant is gone now and no Malai Kofta I’ve ever had has come close.

First off, this was a savory dish. Nothing sweet or even very cream based about it. I don’t like when dishes use cinnamon for heat because it reads sweet to me personally.

It was potato and paneer and not a HINT of sweetness or raisins anywhere. The sauce was ORANGE. Dark orange. Not tomato red. And not Tikka Masala sauce. I’ve seen it before where it’s basically Tikka Masala sauce and kofta. Which is fine but not what I’m talking about.

It was Onion and Cashew heavy and the koftas were crisp but soft when you broke them open.

What style is this and where can I find some like this in NYC? What would I even google for style comparison.

I saw this video on Eater: https://youtu.be/jMPE4YE8fqw?si=OIVpyV3EIykwAoaG

And it looks delicious. Unfortunately, I live in Europe, so I will probably never make it to Nishaan to try it. I would love to recreate it myself, but I don't really have confidence in my cheffing abilities to reverse-engineer it adequately, despite him graciously listing almost every ingredient.

So I figured I could try and bring this sandwich to attention here and maybe someone with more experience could help.

Also, Pepper Jack, I don't think that is a cheese that exists here, but is there a European equivalent? Or should I just throw in some cheddar mixed with jalapeno or something? I don't know, never heard of it before.

Is is possible to use pressure cooker as Kadai for making Aloo Bhujiya, Fish Curry, sabji curry?

Can it be done or there will be issue?

Visited Burma Burma at Fort recently and got a chance to meet Ankit Gupta, one of the co-founders. We ended up talking about the story behind the restaurant, which was honestly more interesting.

He shared how the idea was inspired by his mother, who is from Burma, and how that connection influenced the food and the concept. One thing that stuck with me was his point about Khow Suey. Apparently, there are around 100 versions of it in Burma. I had always thought  its one dish.

We also spoke about how the different outlets have their own design themes inspired by different parts of Burma.

It was nice getting to hear the thinking behind a restaurant directly from one of the people who built it.

Mine is:-

Monday:- Oggani Mirchi ( Puffed rice equivalent of Poha but better, with Mirchi Bajji)

Tuesday:- Chole Bhature (pickled chilli and onions are must)

Wednesday:- Upma accompanied with Podi and Lemon(semisolid and hot with minimal vegetables)

Thursday:- Poori with Onion Saagu (Saagu must be more on the liquidy side)

Friday:- Chilli Cheese Maggi

Saturday:- Pav Bhaji (I'm not sure if its consumed as a breakfast)

Sunday:- Masala Dosa (medium crispy along with karam)

I'm not looking for a healthy plan or low-carb, keto or anything. Just some variety.

Just want ideas so that I can make a rough menu for the cook.

North Indian. 1-2 days per week chicken/mutton recipe. No seafood.

I hate soupy or mushy Maggi, I want it to be completely dry, with the noodles firm and nicely separated, but still full of flavour.

The problem is, I’m still learning how to cook, so I have no idea how to get that perfect texture without messing it up.

A few things to keep in mind:

No vegetables, please

No soy sauce or anything spicy

Just regular Maggi noodles, the masala packet, a little oil or butter, and maybe some fresh coriander and garlic

Can someone give me a simple, step-by-step method to make perfectly dry Maggi without making the noodles sticky, overcooked, or burning the masala? Please explain it in simple step-by-step method

Looking forward to your tips and recipes!

For me, simple ghar ka khana somehow feels incomplete without a little achar on the side

Mango pickle is the one we always have at home, especially the spicy homemade kind.

Even plain dal chawal feels better with it.

What's the one pickle that's always in your kitchen? Mango, lemon, chilli, mixed veg, or something specific to your region?

Would love to hear about the less common ones too.

Has any one ever tried this.?

I have almost no experience in cooking and i just got new Air fryer, Phillips 4.2L...

I tried McCain fries in it, I put it at 200 for 20 mins, i put little oil on fries... I opened out twice in between to shake them a bit... They came out crispy but all its moisture was drained, they tasted as if life's been squeezed out of them completely...

Next I tried McCain mini pizza samosa... I put it at 200 for 10 mins, edges got brown but it's center areas were whitish so I put for another 5 mins... It still gave same results... Tasted horrible like uncooked maida... I didn't put salt on these tho

Both times i set it on 200 for 2 mins before I put anything in it and i tossed frozen food directly as mentioned on package

Firstly, what am I doing wrong here?

Secondly, any easy air fryer receipes or value for money instant frozen food to cook in air fryer for a complete new beginner? I'm veg and I can eat eggs too

Thirdly, do I buy silicon moulds, parchment papers or any other accessories for it? Silicon brush?

The grocery store had fresh turmeric and I got some to make haldi doodh. I do not know how to make it.

My eyes are burning and I think I am going to get a fever due to the changing weather.

The recipe I know for Haldi doodh uses turmeric powder, milk, fresh ground black pepper - let it boil, then add honey to taste.

How do I add the fresh turmeric? Asal lo does it have any benefit? Does it work for a fever?