There are two ways you can go about making this recipe. You can buy a cured uncooked ham and cook it yourself, which will give you a less sweet, and more savoury ham, especially if you add the hay. Or you can save a lot of time by buying a quality cooked and lightly smoked ham and skipping directly to the roasting and glazing step. You’ll still end up with a great result.

Whether it’s a mid-week slump or a Friday evening dinner, I want something that is elegant, healthy, and—most important—filling. This spicy pot roast is always my go-to when I need a satisfying dinner for one (with leftovers!) or an impressive meal for a tableful of dinner guests. No one will ever know that you just tossed everything in the slow cooker!

This is a meatless riff on one of my all-time favorite sheet pan dinners: a spicy harissa-slathered chicken loaded with lemony leeks, crispy potatoes, and a salty, garlicky yogurt topping. Here, roasted cauliflower stands in for the poultry, and almonds are tossed in for crunch. Added bonus: without the chicken, this lively, highly festive meal comes together in a flash.

Mango is the national fruit of India, and it would be an understatement to say that Indians love mangoes. In fact, Indians are obsessed with mangoes. During mango season, which is March through June, we eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and sometimes in between as a snack. And while we eat mangoes, we go into deep discussions about the virtues of mangoes and their varieties and where we will travel to get the next best box of mangoes. India produces 99 percent of the world’s mangoes yet exports only 1 percent. When mangoes first arrive in markets, the air is thick with the perfumy, sticky-sweet aroma. People mill excitedly, trying to decide which variety to buy. During the Muslim rule, all the emperors were misty-eyed about fruits from Central Asia, like grapes, melons, and peaches, yet each one of them, from Akbar to Shah Jahan, developed a profound love for the mango.

Every mango variety has a different use. As a child, kesar was my favorite. I would massage a ripe kesar in my hands until the pulp loosened into juice, then cut a hole at the top and start sucking the juice out. Totapuri, the shape of which reminds me of a parrot’s beak (tota in Hindi means “parrot”), with its firm, smooth pulp, is perfect in creamy desserts, and the Alphonso, known as the king of mangoes, arrives a little later and has a heady aroma and an unmistakable sweet flavor. Find the sweetest mangoes you can and make sure they are completely ripe before making this rice pudding recipe. A small yellow variety called the Ataulfo, which comes from Mexico, is my favorite mango here in the United States.

This Mumbai street-food specialty—a mashed vegetable curry (the bhaji) with a ghee-toasted soft bun (pav)—will be love at first bite, guaranteed. The first time I visited Mumbai, on the inbound flight I sat next to a Mumbaiker who was returning home, and we had a great conversation about the food culture of this fascinating city. I jotted down the names of some restaurants to try and the districts to visit as he reeled off a list of delicious things to eat and intriguing places to go. As we got off the plane, my last question to him was this: If I should try just one food from this crazy, bustling city, what would it be? His answer was clear: It must be pav bhaji.

Because of my love for this mouthwatering street food, I teach this dish in our cooking classes, sharing its deliciousness and its origins as a Mumbai specialty and showing how simple it can be to make at home. Garam masala and ghee are musts, and choose a pillowy soft bun to serve with it.

This rice reminds me of summer not only because of its optimistic golden hue but also because my mom used to prepare it for our family on hot summer evenings when the thought of a heavy curry made the tempera­ture feel even more oppressive. I was always requesting it, because I love its bright flavor and also because it transported me back to the Chennai station, where I could have wandered all day eating rice and chaat if only my parents would have let me. It’s easy to prepare and could be served as a main dish, as we used to enjoy it in our family, or as a base for a gravy or dal. There’s much more to it than lemon and rice due to its combination of smooth and crunchy textures and nutty, spicy, earthy flavors. It’s lovely with one of the chutney recipes this book and with hot Chapatis, which I enjoy using as a utensil to scoop the rice up into my mouth because forks can be so boring!

This dish is the ultimate comfort food. It’s a stick-to-your-ribs meal that won’t leave you needing to take a nap afterwards. The base is made with potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and green peas coated in a delicious gravy. We even sneak some beans in for extra protein. Everything gets topped with a shatteringly crisp golden-brown pastry. Store-bought puff pastry saves the work of fussing around with a traditional crust. Better yet, this entire dish comes together in a single pan, which can also be brought directly to the table.

Panch phoran consists of five different spices that deliver a distinctive punch of flavor—brown mustard seeds add a mild pungency; nigella seeds lend a delicious oniony flavor; fenugreek seeds give a touch of bitterness; cumin brings in warmth and earthiness; and fennel imparts a licorice-like sweetness. This Bengali Five Spice never fails to add excitement to a dish, and this channa dal preparation with pumpkin is no exception. Channa dal as a lentil has a wonderful hearty texture and can handle the bold flavors of panch phoran. When cooked in the Instant Pot, the panch phoran imparts its extraordinary flavor so impeccably well, I don’t think I’ ll be eating channa dal any other way now!