Simmer

A salad of brown lentils, dressed with sliced onions and a mustard vinaigrette, is perfect for picnicking. 

This vegan chili has a bold flavor that's so satisfying. Quinoa, which is rich in protein, adds texture. 

Sometimes all you need is just a couple of fresh ingredients thrown into a pan of simply seasoned dal to create a warming and comforting dish. The spinach along with a little yogurt makes this soothing yet deeply delicious.

The simple spices used in the sauce lend this chicken korma a lovely warmth while cashews, poppy seeds, and onions bring creaminess.

Charred zucchini pairs particularly well with sharp flavors; here it’s matched by the deep savory notes of preserved-lemon paste and the tang of creamy feta.

Fish fragrant sauce doesn’t actually have any fish in it, but the sweet, sour, and spicy elements in the sauce are traditionally used to cook Sichuan fish dishes, and it gives this dish its name.

The complex flavor of this dish—briny, aromatic, slightly spicy—belies the extraordinarily simple method of actually making it.

Smoky, subtly sweet grilled broccoli feels luxurious served on a bed of creamy egg salad, turning this dish into a satisfying, comforting main meal.

The defining characteristic of this chile sauce is the crispness, and in my version I’ve included old-fashioned rolled oats and coconut flakes for extra crunch. You will find me adding it to pasta, eggs, jook, pizza and, of course, roasted vegetables. 

For an easy, low-cook dinner, toss canned chickpeas with potatoes, cilantro-mint chutney, tamarind chutney, and yogurt, then top with chiles, onions, tomatoes, and chaat masala.

If any risotto could be a summer dish, it’s this one, topped with perfectly caramelized scallops and flavored with fresh basil and pineapple juice.

Juicy ripe peaches and beautiful pink salmon scream summer. A little curry paste and herbs keep this sweet- spicy curry squarely in the savory realm, and a drizzle of reduced coconut cream cools things off.

Masa is the essence of Mexico. It is the foundation of Mexican cooking. In Oaxaca, a lot of families still make their own nixtamal at home to supply their daily masa consumption. Nixtamal is the process of treating dried corn with an alkaline solution to make it more nutritious. Slaking lime—also known as pickling lime, a naturally occurring mineral compound—has been used for thousands of years for this process. After a night of soaking, the nixtamalized corn is ground and transformed into masa. This technique has been passed from generation to generation, especially in Oaxaca. Every night before my mom goes to bed, she nixtamalizes a batch of corn so she can make fresh masa the next morning. It’s part of her nightly routine.    The trickiest part of making masa might be grinding it, and for that I recommend a tabletop wet stone mill or a hand-cranked wet grinder. I like Premier’s Small Wonder 1.5-liter tabletop wet grinder.    Believe me, there is nothing more fulfilling than making your own masa at home.

This peanut sauce recipe is based on my mom's version, which accompanies Gado Gado. Raw peanuts are roasted on the stovetop or in the oven, and then ground. You'll also have to hunt down tamarind pulp and lime leaves, but it's worth the trouble—the addition of freshly roasted peanuts and fragrant herbs makes for unsurpassed flavor.

Sharp and sweet, rhubarb and beets were made for one another, and this soup is a fitting celebration of their union.

This smoky chipotle and tomatillo salsa is an excellent dipping sauce for crudités or tortilla chips, or you can spoon it on top of tamales. You can use more chiles for a spicier sauce.

The underlying notes of vanilla and nutmeg—found in Coca-Cola—are layered with piquant aromatics and tangy tomato ketchup to produce a barbecue sauce that's remarkably dynamic. 

This barbecue sauce recipe combines bright ginger and sharp Dijon mustard.

Avocado leaves are the aroma of Oaxaca, and they are the main flavor in this indispensable staple. So many things can be created out of this little bean paste flavored with anise-y avocado tree leaves. It is the base for memelas, tlayudas, molletes, enfrijoladas, and so much more. Growing up, we stopped at the market in Tlacolula—a small village located near Oaxaca City—just to buy the paste, already made, in little plastic bags. You buy some tasajo, you grill it, you get some fresh tlayudas, some salsa, and then you spread some of this paste all over your tortilla like it is a savory cake frosting.