South Asian

Sweet, spicy, and refreshing all in one, this crisp cabbage side dish is a great way to get out of a steamed-broccoli rut.

A specialty of Kerala, this simple, spiced-up stir-fry makes for a quick, hearty dinner.

This is going to be your new favorite way to serve green beans.

Here, fresh shrimp gets gently poached in herb-laced coconut milk. The spicing is subtle, so as not to obstruct the milk’s sweet flavor.

Frying the paneer in a little oil before stirring it through the masala not only makes it crispy—it also adds loads of flavor.

The essential ingredients for this Portuguese-inspired Indian dish are wine, vinegar, and garlic. Additions of mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric, and chiles make it specifically colonial Goan.

An elegant dish that may be served to the family or at a grand party. Rice is the ideal accompaniment.

This is a South Indian–inspired sweet, mild curry. Serve it with steamed white rice and a tangy fruit chutney like cranberry or mango for a perfect rainy day meal. The recipe calls for a rather small quantity of butternut squash, so you may want to reserve the rest for another recipe.

Shrimp are quick to cook, but still manage to feel rather special. This recipe borrows spices from the southern shores of India; I tasted a dish similar to this when I was learning about the local cuisine. At first, you get pure heat from the chiles; when it subsides, you're left with delicate and delicious flavors. Here, I have toned down the chiles and added some background warmth by using fresh ginger instead. I’ve used tiger shrimp and removed most of the shell, apart from the tail. I prefer to leave the tail on, as it means that you have something to hold on to when biting into the shrimp, but you can take the entire shell off if you prefer. Just make sure the shrimp are raw and that they have been deveined.

Rasam, as prepared in most homes in Southern India, uses either tamarind or tomatoes as the base. It is a piquant broth poured over steaming hot rice. In our home—both in Kerala and America—rasam was a staple part of everyday meals. One night when I was a teenager, I was out to dinner with my brother Tom in New York City’s Little Italy and ate mussels cooked in a light tomato broth very reminiscent of rasam. I couldn’t wait to get home, buy fresh mussels, and cook them in rasam. This dish has made its rounds in my kitchens for close to three decades now. Make sure to have some fresh crusty bread to soak up the tomato-mussel broth.