Dal Makhani is one of the most ordered Indian dish in restaurants. You can make authentic, buttery, rich dal makhani at home. It’s just as good as the restaurant version! Black gram and kidney beans are simmered in a creamy spiced sauce and is perfect for special occasions or a great dinner. With Instant Pot and Sauce pan instructions. (gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, oil-free option).

Love ordering Dal Makhani at restaurants? You’ll love this homemade version even more! This is adapted from my home-style dal makhani that’s on the blog and in my books. The difference is that this version has more spices, including some whole spices, which create more layers of flavor. 

This version of dal makhani is a little bit more involved than my home-style version. It has both a base sauce and a spiced oil. This levels up the flavor and adds a smoky, creamy flavor, like restaurants usually serve.  There’s also a lot more Kashmiri chili powder in this version compared to the home-style one. 

The home-style recipe is quicker and still delicious, but this one takes it up another couple of notches, simmering the beans in a deeply-flavored sauce.

Makhani means both “butter” and “like butter,” and the dish is called dal makhani, both because of the butter content and the creamy, buttery texture of the dal. The goal is to cook the beans long enough that they become soft and almost break down into the sauce, thickening it and creating a smooth consistency. For the right texture, I prefer to use a pressure cooker / instant pot, but you can also cook it in a saucepan. I included both methods in the recipe.

After cooking the beans, we make a delicious sauce with whole spices, aromatics, and ground spices, then add the cooked beans to it. Then, we prepare a spice oil with toasted fenugreek leaves, Kashmiri chili, smoked paprika, and a smoky burnt cinnamon stick. Burning the cinnamon stick for just half a second before adding it to give the dal its smoky restaurant-style flavor.

Traditionally, restaurants achieve this smoky flavor by using food-grade charcoal. They place a piece of hot charcoal in a bowl with oil, which immediately smokes. Then, they nestle the bowl inside the dal pot and cover the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. If you don’t want to use charcoal or burnt cinnamon, liquid smoke can also work.

Why You’ll Love Dal Makhani

• creamy, buttery dal with two kinds of beans
• deep flavor from the sauce and the spice oil, no dairy needed!
• flexible! Cook the beans in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free with an oil-free option

Continue reading: Restaurant-Style Dal Makhani

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Vegan Chicken 555 reimagines a beloved South Indian street-style appetizer. Crisp golden tofu is coated in a richly spiced sauce infused with fennel, ginger, garlic, coriander, and peppers,  and enough heat to make you reach for seconds (and maybe a cold drink).  gluten free, nut free. soy free option.

This is another one in my series creating vegan versions of these amazing, meat-heavy, regional Indian appetizers. There’s just so much variety in all of these super delicious snacks and appetizers, and sometimes you don’t find those flavors and that spice in the vegetarian appetizers.

You can use this recipe with tofu, soy curls, chickpea tofu, chickpeas, or vegetables, like cauliflower. Basically, you coat your protein or vegetables of choice with this amazing, flavorful batter, and either pan fry or bake it. 

Then, we make this easy, spicy, and delicious sauce mixture. It’s kind of a dry sauce, and you toss the crisped tofu “chicken” in it. Oh my god, it’s so incredibly delicious and also pretty spicy!

You can adjust the spice level to your preference. There are four kinds of chilies in this tofu 555: Kashmiri chili powder in the batter, and green chilies, cayenne, and red pepper flakes in the sauce. To get the flavor with less heat, reduce any or all of those. The combination of peppers adds a ton of flavor, so you definitely want to use some of each, even if you don’t use the full amounts. You can use a milder green chili to manage the heat, too,  if you prefer.

Basically, adjust the heat based on your preference, but definitely try this vegan chicken 555. It’s just so fabulously delicious!

Tofu 555 is great on its own or in crunchy salads with juicy fruits like apples, pears, or mangoes, or with roasted or fresh vegetables. A cucumber salad with a simple lime, salt, and pepper dressing also pairs wonderfully with this Indian appetizer. Or, you can make wraps with lettuce, creamy dressing, and fresh green chilis or pickled jalapeños. 

No matter how you serve it, you have got to try vegan chicken 555!

Why You’ll Love Chicken 555

• crispy tofu in thick, spicy sauce with flavors of fennel, ginger, garlic, coriander, and 4 kinds of peppers
• easily adjust the heat to your preference
• use your plant based protein or use veggies of choice.
• naturally gluten-free and nut-free with easy soy-free option

Continue reading: Vegan Chicken 555 Appetizer

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Sticky, crispy, ginger- and garlic-packed tofu Manchurian is an easy and delicious meal over rice, quinoa, noodles, or lettuce wraps. This popular Indo-chinese sauce has a sweet heat that is absolutely addictive! (nut-free with gluten-free and soy-free options)

Manchurian sauce is one of the most popular Indo-Chinese sauces, and it’s one of my favorites. You can use it in many different ways to make a variety of dishes. You can find it on restaurant menus paired with crispy fried chicken, crispy cauliflower, or fried veggie balls coated in the thick, sticky sauce. 

This sauce is absolutely delicious, and it has tons of ginger and garlic, so be ready to chop up a lot of both.

You can also make a thinner version of Manchurian sauce to pair with rice, very saucy veggie balls, crispy chicken, or noodles. I have a couple of different ways to use Manchurian sauce on the blog that use these variations.

Today, let’s make tofu Manchurian. We toss tofu in rice flour and cornstarch to make a really crispy coating, then pan-fry it until it gets an amazing crunch. We make the Manchurian sauce in the same pan, then toss the crispy tofu in it right before serving, so it keeps that satisfying crunch. 

Top your tofu Manchurian it with green onions, and serve it with rice, quinoa, noodles, or lettuce wraps. Or enjoy it as a starter on its own!

Why You’ll Love Tofu Manchurian

• crispy tofu in sticky-sweet ginger-garlic Manchurian sauce
• 1-pan dish ready in about 30 minutes
• flexible! Serve as a starter or over rice, grains, noodles, or in lettuce wraps.
• naturally nut-free with easy gluten-free and soy-free options

Continue reading: Indo-Chinese Crispy Tofu Manchurian (1-pan, 30 minutes)

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Lentil trail mix is a super delicious snack, and here I will show you three ways to make it! Peanut gochujang, Indian Chivda, Doritos Nacho flavor! This high protein, savory granola is easy and fun to make and a perfect breakfast or snack. (16 grams of protein and fiber per serving!)

When I shared my red lentil granola recipe, quite a few of you asked for a savory version, and today I’m sharing three different ways to make savory lentil granola/trail mix! Make all three flavors of this delicious lentil trail mix, or triple your favorite flavoring and make one big batch.

Why three ways? Because I just couldn’t decide between these amazing flavors: Indian-spiced, peanut gochujang, and nacho spice. So, I decided to let you choose for yourself!

This trail mix/savory granola recipe uses split red lentils (aka masoor dal) as the base. You cook the red lentils on the stovetop until they are just al dente, and they roast up to be light and crisp in the oven with your seasonings of choice. 

The result is a protein-packed snack that is absolutely full of flavor, no matter which seasoning mix you choose! A serving of this trail mix has around 16 grams of protein and 16 grams of fiber. You can amp up the protein even more by folding in hemp seeds into the granola once it has finished roasting.

The Indian-spiced lentils are inspired by Indian chivda, which usually uses rice flakes or other flaked or puffed grains. It is spicy savory with some balancing sweet from raisins or dates and is fantastically delicious! 

For the nacho spiced savory lentil trail mix, a took inspiration from my nacho cheese granola bars. It’s your favorite snacking chip in crisp trail mix form! you can adjust it to your flavor preference. Add more cayenne for more heat or more nutritional yeast for more cheesiness.

If you love gochujang, definitely try the peanut gochujang lentil trail mix which has an amazing savory-spicy flavor with a hint of sweetness. It pairs so well with the crunchy peanuts! Comment below on which one will you try first!

Why You’ll Love Lentil Trail Mix

• protein- and fiber-packed breakfast or snack with 16 grams each of protein and fiber per serving!
• make all three flavors or choose from 3 amazing flavors: Indian-spiced, peanut gochujang, or nacho cheese
• deep flavors and incredible textures
• naturally gluten-free with soy-free and nut-free options included

Continue reading: High Protein Lentil Trail Mix, 3 Ways Peanut gochujang, Indian Chivda, Nacho cheese flavors

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Indian Chaat meets Tostadas! Cilantro mint lime chutney marinated beans on crunchy tostadas with sweet maple lime sauce and cooling yogurt, are an Indian fusion dish that’s a perfect starter, snack, or even entree! No cook (Options for soy-free nut-free gluten-free)

These no-cook tostadas use canned beans, prepared tostadas, and lots of delicious sauces – no cooking needed! The only cooking you’d need to do is if you are making your tostadas from tortillas. Prepared tostadas are readily available in most grocery stores.

I wanted to make a fun dish with beans, and I took inspiration from chaat, which is a family of Indian snacks or street food characterized by these awesome combinations of different textures and flavors. Especially papri chaat which has crisp crackers paired with mashed potatoes or chickpeas or both and chutneys, sauces and yogurt for a fantastic salad like hearty nachos if you will. Many chaat recipes have crispy, spicy, sweet, and tangy all together. They’re great as snacks or can be a refreshing meal.

I took inspiration from those flavors and textures. Usually, I make this chickpea potato chaat with small crackers, where you take some cooked chickpeas and cooked potatoes, toss them with some spices and chutneys, and layer them with yogurt, more chutneys, and some chopped crunchy veggies.

I turned that dish into this tostada, where we take crispy tostadas and make marinated beans that are soaked in a delicious green chutney, instead of chickpeas, along with cucumber and onion. We top the tostadas with these beans and then add a good drizzle of seasoned non-dairy yogurt and this sweet, tangy, maple-lime sauce to bring all of those flavors together. It’s absolutely fantastic and delicious! The maple lime sauce is a sub for tamarind date chutney. If you have tamarind chutney, use that for more Indian chaat flavor.
Try more Indian salads- Mango Zucchini chickpea Indian spiced oil salad and my Kachumber Salad !

This recipe is very versatile. If you want to control the heat, use less of the green chili, and choose a milder chili.  If you don’t have tostadas, you can make your own! Those instructions are in the recipe notes. If you don’t like cilantro, you can make a mint chutney with more mint leaves instead of the cilantro.

Chutney bean tostadas are just fabulously crispy, zesty, refreshing, and hearty. They are a perfect summer meal!

Why You’ll Love Chutney Bean Tostadas

• perfect warm weather meal or snack – no cooking required!
• incredible combination of flavors and textures! marinated beans, sweet and savory chutneys, creamy cooling cumin yogurt drizzle, on crunchy tostadas
• soy-free and nut-free with easy gluten-free option

Continue reading: Cilantro Mint Chutney White Beans over Crispy Tostadas (no-cook! Papri Chaat inspired)

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Tofu Koliwada is a plant-based version of the popular regional Indian appetizer. It’s like a tofu nugget with tons of fiery heat and so delicious served with green chutney or other of choice. It’s super delicious, crispy and packs flavor! (gluten free and nut-free with soy-free options)

I’ve been veganizing a bunch of decadent, meat-based Indian curries on the blog for a while, and I decided to switch gears. I wanted to explore these regional Indian starters and appetizers, which are just so flavorful —especially some of the meat-based ones. They’re pretty wild, with a lot of different sauces, flavors, and spices.

So welcome to veganizing some amazing appetizers! Let’s start with this delectable koliwada.

Koliwada is a popular crispy appetizer in Indian restaurants, especially around Mumbai city. It’s usually made with prawns ,is fried, and has a signature flavor. It originated with influences from Mumbai coastal cuisine and Punjabi cuisine.

The story goes that a man had moved down to an area close to Mumbai near Koliwada and created this dish, which became super popular.

Koliwada is usually made with prawns, shrimp, or chicken, but we’re using tofu. If you don’t want to use tofu, you can use an alternate protein of your choice.

It is usually served with a green chutney that is slightly different than the usual. It has onion tomato and tamarind and is vibrant and spicy sour with a hint of sweet!

Basically, all of the flavor is in the batter, the spices. It’s kind of like tofu nuggets or crispy fried chicken, but Indian, with tons and tons of heat. Serve it with the vibrant cilantro-mint chutney listed below or with Schezwan chutney, tamarind chutney, or mango chutney.

Why You’ll Love Koliwada

• crispy, super spicy tofu with adjustable heat
• delicious as a side or make it a meal by adding to a wrap or salad
• incredible mint chutney for dipping comes together in the blender
• versatile recipe – use dry coating or a batter, bake or pan fry!
• naturally gluten-free and nut-free with soy-free options

Continue reading: Tofu Koliwada (Indian Spicy Crispy Tofu) with Cilantro-Mint Chutney

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