Saffron adds incredible depth and richness to this simple breakfast. Ghee is optional but highly recommended at the finish.

Saffron adds incredible depth and richness to this simple breakfast. Ghee is optional but highly recommended at the finish.

Saffron adds incredible depth and richness to this simple breakfast. Ghee is optional but highly recommended at the finish.

This is an afternoon tea staple in India. Nothing can make a kitchen smell warm and delicious like fresh pot of chai can.

This is an afternoon tea staple in India. Nothing can make a kitchen smell warm and delicious like fresh pot of chai can.

Hot Potato cakes off the fryer, when made right, are one of the best appetizers ever. Called Aloo tikki in India, they can be stuffed with all kinds of fillings like ground meat, cheese, crushed peas, or other such fillings. This herb yogurt spice filling is an explosion of flavor in your mouth, well worth the work in making it. Turn the potato cake into a chaat by drizzling cumin yogurt, tamarind, and cilantro chutneys on top.

This is a simple, rustic fish curry & almost any firm fish will work.

Hot Potato cakes off the fryer, when made right, are one of the best appetizers ever. Called Aloo tikki in India, they can be stuffed with all kinds of fillings like ground meat, cheese, crushed peas, or other such fillings. This herb yogurt spice filling is an explosion of flavor in your mouth, well worth the work in making it. Turn the potato cake into a chaat by drizzling cumin yogurt, tamarind, and cilantro chutneys on top.

This is a simple, rustic fish curry & almost any firm fish will work.

As we said our final goodbye to Indika, the restaurant I opened in 2001, this past week, I was reminiscing about Corn Mint Chaat, a popular summer salad. Renditions of street food from India, with magical combinations of fresh vegetables and aromatic herb-infused sweet, spicy and savory chutneys with crunchy tidbits in almost any form — and sometimes turned on its head into a salad — bring on tastes that make most of us transplants from India swoon. One of the unusual flavors common to chaat is black salt, a sulfurous salt native to India. It smells funky (imagine boiled egg aroma), appears pink but turns blackish when it hits food or water and is absolutely delicious on chaats. Over the years, I have experimented with dozens of chaat combinations — from using potato or tortilla chips for crunch to grilled kale and basil leaves for herbs — but making one is no easy task. However, here is a take on the corn mint chaat that may be relatively easy to execute at home.

As we said our final goodbye to Indika, the restaurant I opened in 2001, this past week, I was reminiscing about Corn Mint Chaat, a popular summer salad. Renditions of street food from India, with magical combinations of fresh vegetables and aromatic herb-infused sweet, spicy and savory chutneys with crunchy tidbits in almost any form — and sometimes turned on its head into a salad — bring on tastes that make most of us transplants from India swoon. One of the unusual flavors common to chaat is black salt, a sulfurous salt native to India. It smells funky (imagine boiled egg aroma), appears pink but turns blackish when it hits food or water and is absolutely delicious on chaats. Over the years, I have experimented with dozens of chaat combinations — from using potato or tortilla chips for crunch to grilled kale and basil leaves for herbs — but making one is no easy task. However, here is a take on the corn mint chaat that may be relatively easy to execute at home.

Halwa is a sweet often used as a divine offering in Indian temples. To my fellow Indians who attempt it, it will be reminiscent of trips to temples and gurudwaras.

Almost every old culture has embraced a tradition of a sweet milky pudding and India not only has several, but every state has their own. Payasam is said to have originated from the southern state of Kerala, thousands of years ago.

Halwa is a sweet often used as a divine offering in Indian temples. To my fellow Indians who attempt it, it will be reminiscent of trips to temples and gurudwaras.

Almost every old culture has embraced a tradition of a sweet milky pudding and India not only has several, but every state has their own. Payasam is said to have originated from the southern state of Kerala, thousands of years ago.

Halwa is a sweet often used as a divine offering in Indian temples. To my fellow Indians who attempt it, it will be reminiscent of trips to temples and gurudwaras.

Almost every old culture has embraced a tradition of a sweet milky pudding and India not only has several, but every state has their own. Payasam is said to have originated from the southern state of Kerala, thousands of years ago.