Bihar's iconic baked wheat balls stuffed with spiced roasted gram flour, with smoky mashed vegetables.

Odisha's wholesome toor dal cooked with vegetables and finished with roasted cumin-chilli powder.

Light, comforting Bengali fish curry with potatoes, panch phoron and a whiff of mustard oil.

A beloved Bengali side dish: potatoes cooked in a creamy paste of white poppy seeds.

Maharashtra's spicy sprouted moth bean curry, topped with crunchy farsan and served with soft buns.

Goa's festive chicken curry with roasted coconut, poppy seeds and warm spices.

A thick, spicy Godavari-style prawn masala from Yanam, the small French-era enclave in Andhra.

A Franco-Tamil curry from Pondicherry built on vadouvan – a sun-dried shallot and spice blend.

A tangy coconut fish curry from India's southern tip, where Tamil and Kerala cooking meet.

Tamil Nadu's bold, peppery chicken curry with freshly roasted spices and coconut.

A mild, festive Kerala dish of vegetables in a coconut-yogurt sauce, finished with coconut oil.

Karnataka's comforting 'hot lentil rice' with vegetables, tamarind and a roasted spice mix.

Crisp, protein-rich crêpes from soaked green moong – Andhra's favourite breakfast.

Fluffy basmati rice tossed with ghee and toasted cumin seeds – the easy side dish for every curry, made two ways.

Punjabi-style chickpea curry in a spiced onion-tomato gravy with a tangy finish of amchur – vegan, filling and perfect with rice or bhatura.

Tender marinated chicken in a silky tomato, butter and cashew sauce – the classic from Delhi, made with Kashmiri chilli and garam masala.

Indian breakfast omelette with onion, tomato, green chilli and coriander.

Melt-in-the-mouth gram-flour sweets roasted in ghee – a Diwali favourite.

Pakistani-style chicken cooked fast in a wok with tomatoes, ginger and green chilli.

Baby potatoes slow-cooked in a spiced yoghurt gravy.

Mushrooms and peas in a spiced onion-tomato gravy.

Soft Gujarati flatbreads with fenugreek leaves and spices – great for travel.

Juicy prawns in a thick, spicy onion-tomato masala.

Fish slices in a spicy red masala, pan-fried until crisp.

Peppery rice and moong dal porridge with ghee, cumin and cashews.

Spiced potato balls in crisp gram-flour batter – Mumbai's favourite snack.

Soft, spongy steamed gram-flour cake from Gujarat.

Red lentils cooked with tomato, ginger and a garlic tadka – in 25 minutes.

Light, quick-cooking split mung lentils with cumin and garlic.

Crunchy Indian salad of cucumber, tomato, onion and lemon.

Roast and grind your own warm spice blend in 10 minutes.

Cool yoghurt with cucumber, roasted cumin and mint.

Sweet and sour 'imli' chutney for chaat, samosa and pakora.

Bright green chutney for samosas, pakoras, tikka and chaat.

Quick semolina pudding with ghee, sugar and cardamom – ready in 20 minutes.

Winter carrot pudding slow-cooked with milk, ghee and cardamom.

Creamy Indian rice pudding with cardamom, saffron and nuts.

Soft milk dumplings soaked in rose and cardamom syrup.

Refreshing salty buttermilk with roasted cumin, mint and black salt.

Thick yoghurt and mango drink with a hint of cardamom.

Strong black tea simmered with milk, ginger and cardamom.

Mumbai beach snack: puffed rice with chutneys, onion and sev.

Crisp pastry triangles filled with spiced potatoes and peas.

Crispy onion fritters in spiced chickpea batter.

Tangy yoghurt and chickpea-flour curry with onion fritters.

Comforting one-pot rice and yellow lentils with ghee and cumin.

One-pot basmati rice with vegetables and whole spices.

Small puffed fried breads for festive breakfasts.

Soft, bubbly naan made in a frying pan, brushed with garlic butter.

Soft everyday whole-wheat flatbread – only flour, water and salt.