South Asian

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Calcutta, former seat of the British Empire and today capital of West Bengal, sits just above the Ganges delta. Fish is cooked here in harmonious combinations with root vegetables, squash, and leafy greens, incorporating Bengali seasonings such as pungent kalonji seeds and ground mustard seeds. In the following recipe, for a truly authentic taste use mustard oil instead of vegetable oil. Be sure, though, to heat the mustard oil to the smoking point and let it smoke for 3 to 5 seconds. This tempers its pungency.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional sitting time.

Tandoori chicken gets its name from the clay oven (heated by wood or coal) it is traditionally cooked in—a tandoor—which bakes meat, fish, poultry, and bread at temperatures upward of 500°F. In our version, the chicken is broiled and the signature yogurt and spice marinade contains only ingredients that are readily available on supermarket shelves.

Sources for posto are Penzeys (800-741-7787; penzeys.com) and Kalustyan's (800-352-3451; kalustyans.com). Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 20 min

On the eastern side of the Indian peninsula, fronting the Bay of Bengal, is Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu state. This recipe from that cosmopolitan city is typically made with sardines, mackerel, and crab, but we have substituted orange roughy for a more delicately flavored dish.

Introduced to India by Portuguese settlers, this spicy stew can also be made with pork, beef or lamb. Serve over steamed basmati rice.

The simplest flatbread you can make.

Savory from chile, ginger, and cumin, these adai are a filling breakfast to power you through the day.

Lacking an actual tandoor, the air fryer might be the best way to make chicken tikka. Juicy, charred, and well-spiced, it’s your new weeknight MVP.

This one-pot South Asian dish is simple and celebratory.

Using store-bought pizza dough and pre-made chana masala to make these flavorful stuffed pockets, dinner comes together in a snap.

Nutty bites for an afternoon boost or postpartum nourishment.

This classic palak paneer recipe keeps things simple with minimal ingredients but fries the paneer for a crispy texture to pair with the creamy spinach purée.

Fluffy, sweet Hawaiian rolls layered with melted cheese and spicy-sweet seeni sambol are the perfect crowd-pleasing snack.

All the flavors of a samosa with none of the deep-frying. A cheesy, spiced potato filling folded into whole wheat tortillas is the best double-carb mashup.

The key ingredient to this Sri-Lankan-style curry with fatty pork, lemongrass, and fragrant spices? Black peppercorn and lots of it.

We swapped hard-to-find parathas for flour tortillas in this riff on paneer kathi rolls. With a tangy yogurt sauce and filling veg, it’s the ideal to-go lunch.

Golden lentil dumplings dunked in creamy yogurt and topped with chaat masala.