50 Indian Recipes We Love From Tikka Masala to Tandoori Cauliflower

Forget takeout with these 50 recipes for delicious Indian food at home.

August 8, 2017

Who needs takeout when you can bring home the sultry spices of the Indian kitchen?

Most of the ingredients called for in these recipes are available in supermarkets. If there’s something you can’t find, go to a local Indian market or order online.

Alex Lau
1/50
Butter Chicken
The butter sauce for this recipe was developed in the early 20th century in Delhi as a way to soften leftover tandoori chicken with tomatoes, butter, and cream.
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Peden & Munk
2/50
Aloo Chaat
It’s worth visiting an Indian grocer for a couple of ingredients: chaat masala, which is a sour-salty mix of ground spices, and the thin, crunchy seasoned noodles called sev, which add texture to the finished dish.
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Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton, Prop Styling by Christine Keely
3/50
Tandoori-Style Roasted Cauliflower
Dressed in a spiced yogurt, with ginger and garlic, then roasted until caramelized and tender.
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Peden + Munk
4/50
Spice-Marinated and Grilled Lamb Chops
You don’t need a roaring-hot grill for this lamb chops recipe. Grilling them over moderate heat will allow some of the fat to soften and render.
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Peden + Munk
5/50
Cucumber Raita With Black Mustard and Cilantro
While this cooling yogurt sauce recipe is welcome alongside spicy foods, it is also amazing slathered on flatbreads or spooned over basmati rice.
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Peden + Munk
6/50
“Tandoori” Carrots with Vadouvan Spice and Yogurt
What’s vadouvan, you ask? It’s just one of our new favorite exotic spice blends, a French-Indian formula that includes onion, shallots, and garlic added to a currylike mix.
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Marcus Nilsson
7/50
Curried Meatballs
The texture of the raw meatballs is very soft. Don’t worry; it’s the reason they’re so tender when cooked. This dish comes from Mr. Curry, a Brooklyn pop-up from chef Rebecca Collerton that celebrates the rich Indian food scene of England, where she grew up.
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8/50
Onion Naan
Like any bread, prepping this onion naan recipe takes a little time. The good news: each cooks up in under 5 minutes.
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Peden + Munk
9/50
Chickpea Sundal
Serve this light snack warm, room temp, or cold; just make sure you give it a generous dose of acid and salt.
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Peden + Munk
10/50
Chile-and-Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Chicken
Yes, you’ll need a lot of spices, but it’s not much work from there. Let the chicken marinate for 12 hours to get the most impact.
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Photo by Alex Lau
11/50
Spiced Baby Eggplants
The farmers’ market in high summer is the best bet for finding the small, inky-purple, round eggplants used in this recipe.
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Peden + Munk
12/50
Grilled Mustard Broccoli
This is not your average side dish recipe: The broccoli is slathered in a spiced yogurt sauce, then grilled for even more flavor.
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Alex Lau
13/50
Hot Turmeric Latte
While ground spices will work, the medicinal properties will be diminished, and the finished texture less silky smooth.
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Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Sue Li
14/50
Simple Khichari
This restorative stew, from Divya’s Kitchen, features a rotating cast of hard and soft vegetables.
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