Dairy

The herbed sauce in this grain dish gets a double hit of punchy dairy: Not as sharp as other acidic ingredients, buttermilk lends a unique tang and yogurt brings body and richness.

The layer of streusel in this marbled loaf cake gets a complex punch of flavor from a coffee spice blend that includes dried orange peel, cardamom, and fennel seeds.

The salad works best with strips of Persian flatbread, but plain tortillas work just as well. The addition of golpar, with its citrusy aroma, really lifts this dish, accentuating the sweetness of the pomegranates and adding a wonderful depth of flavor, so try and track some down if you can.

This lovely, simple dish is great to have in your fridge at all times. It adds a wonderful, distinctive flavor to any dish it accompanies.

These hamantaschen are filled with a celebration of seeds set in chewy-soft caramelized honey. While poppy is traditional, we threw in sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin as well for variety and crunch.

The Italian word for the ideal risotto texture is all’onda—literally, “like a wave.” Risotto should spread and move and undulate. If you can stand a spoon up in it, it needs more liquid.

You may not mistake these jammy-crisp, slow-cooked onions for bacon, but they are truly exceptional as a stand-in, giving a huge blast of umami to create a truly satisfying breakfast sandwich.

Mashing some chickpeas into the sizzling chorizo adds heft while keeping this meal light on the meat

One bowl and one baking sheet is all you need to achieve sweet, creamy squash, crispy pita chips, and chewy, charred cheese. Fresh mint and a splash of vinegar perk up the final dish.

This may sound like some ancient Alpine classic, but it's rather more modern than you'd expect.

This simple appetizer is a hit every time due in large part to the vast appeal of warm cheesy things.

Nachos can stand an ingredient riff, but to make sure that the cheese is melted throughout and that each bite has the requisite combination of tastes and textures, follow this plan.

This refreshing blended drink is inspired by ayran, doogh, and lassi. Yogurt makes it tangy and creamy; white pepper gives a touch of earthy heat.

This smoothie mimics the flavors of everyone’s favorite muffin.

This smoothie sates my apple pie cravings in the most healthful way possible.

Hindus consider cows and all their milky produce—cream, butter, and cheese—sacred. I can’t argue with that. Traditionally, this dish would be made with a few large slabs of golden butter; here I've swapped out that butter for cubes of paneer.