Mutton slow-cooked in a sealed clay pot with whole garlic bulbs, mustard oil and spices – Bihar's famous dish.

Fried boiled eggs and potatoes in a gently spiced Bengali onion-tomato gravy with mustard oil.

Kerala chicken curry in a dark, nutty gravy of coconut roasted with spices until brown.

Mild, creamy chicken tikka marinated in cream cheese, yoghurt, cardamom and white pepper – oven or grill.

Mangalorean Catholic pork curry with a deep red bafat spice powder, vinegar and plenty of onions.

Prawns roasted in a dark masala of shallots, kokum, pepper and coconut oil – Kerala's spicy prawn dish.

Silky, fragrant minced lamb patties from Lucknow, pan-fried in ghee – so soft they melt in your mouth.

Pale, aromatic Mughlai chicken curry from Kolkata with yoghurt, cashews, kewra and white pepper.

Punjabi street-style fried fish in a spiced gram-flour batter with ajwain – crisp outside, flaky inside.

Mild, fragrant Kerala fish stew in coconut milk with ginger, green chillies and curry leaves.

Crispy prawns in a spiced gram-flour batter with ajwain and chaat masala – Mumbai's fishermen-style fry.

Lamb shanks slow-cooked overnight-style in a silky, spiced gravy with bone marrow – Old Delhi's breakfast stew.

Chicken in a bright green masala of coriander, green chillies, garlic and lime, pan-fried until charred.

Fish fillets coated in a pungent mustard-coconut paste, wrapped in banana leaf and steamed or pan-roasted.

Boiled eggs in a slow-cooked, sweet-spicy onion and tomato masala with coconut oil and fennel.

Tender squid rings roasted in a dark, peppery onion-tomato masala with coconut oil and curry leaves.

Smoky, sour pork from Nagaland cooked with fermented bamboo shoot, ginger and fiery king chilli.

Home-style Kerala beef curry with roasted coconut, shallots, coconut oil and curry leaves.

Rich, tangy Goan festive pork and liver curry with vinegar and spices – made days ahead.

Chicken roasted in ghee with a tangy, fiery paste of Byadgi chillies, tamarind and roasted spices.

Gentle Kashmiri lamb curry in a yoghurt sauce with fennel, dry ginger and cardamom – no chilli, no tomato.

Fiery, sweet-sour Goan prawn 'pickle' in a red chilli-vinegar masala – keeps for days.

Layers of spiced yoghurt chicken and saffron basmati, sealed and slow-cooked 'on dum' – Hyderabad's pride.

Dark, tangy pork curry from the Coorg hills with roasted spices and kachampuli vinegar.

Spicy Indian scrambled eggs with onion, tomato, green chilli and coriander – ready in 15 minutes.

Duck simmered and then roasted in a peppery onion masala with coconut milk – Kerala's Christmas dish.

Flaked shark cooked dry with shallots, garlic, curry leaves and spices – a coastal Tamil speciality.

Whole crabs roasted in a thick masala of shallots, tomato, pepper and coconut oil – messy and delicious.

Big prawns in a mild, creamy coconut sauce with a hint of garam masala – Bengal's festive prawn curry.

Rajasthan's fiery red mutton curry with mathania chillies, yoghurt, garlic and smoky ghee.

Crisp, red, spicy fried chicken bites tossed with curry leaves and green chillies – Chennai's favourite starter.

Dark, peppery beef slow-roasted with coconut slivers, curry leaves and fennel – a Kerala classic.

Tangy, fiery Goan pork curry with vinegar, garlic and Kashmiri chillies – better on day two.

A quick lemony pickle of mango ginger – a root that smells like raw mango – with green chilli and mustard.

Whole collard leaves simmered in mustard oil with asafoetida and green chilli – the everyday green of every Kashmiri home.

Tender bottle-gourd or pumpkin leaves stir-fried with garlic, nigella and dried chilli – a Bengali village classic.

Nutrient-packed moringa leaves stir-fried with shallots, lentils and coconut – Tamil grandmothers' superfood.

The pride of Andhra: tangy gongura leaves cooked with red chillies and garlic into a fiery chutney.

Taro leaves spread with a sweet-sour-spicy gram flour paste, rolled, steamed, sliced and tempered – a Gujarati farsan classic.

Toor dal cooked with amaranth leaves, tamarind and green chilli – Andhra's everyday greens dal.

Fragrant fresh dill cooked with moong dal, garlic and green chilli – a Maharashtrian home favourite.

Blanched bathua greens in spiced yogurt with roasted cumin – a cooling winter raita from North India.

Fresh field beans in a coconut-spice gravy – Bengaluru's winter obsession during the avarekai season.