Every region of the world has its version of a chicken noodle soup, but this variation may be the best one I’ve tasted on a trip to Nepal a few years ago. Perfect to eat during colder weather, it’s infinitely adaptable, tastes even better the next day and can be made with or without meat.

There are few things as comforting as the smell of banana bread wafting out of the oven, especially one laced with aromatic spices like cardamom and cinnamon. The topping of blueberries adds a splash of color and a tang to the bread. If you have houseguests, it’s a great way to start off a holiday weekend, especially after a night of indulgences.

You can make the turkey kebabs ahead of time and finish in the oven when ready to eat. Here is a tamarind glaze that will not only be delicious on grilled vegetables like butternut squash or zucchini but also on meats like chicken or lamb. The glaze will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Here is a fresh fava curry that can be adapted to be eaten just as a soup, topped with yogurt, herbs, nuts and greens or with a side of rice or bread. Just like most stews or curries, it is best enjoyed at least a couple of hours after all the ingredients has had time to chill together and mellow out.

Here is an aromatic pumpkin and scallop stew tinged with saffron and cardamom. The cardamom stews slowly in the sauce and softens towards the end for a punch of flavor with every bite. Coconut oil is an acquired flavor so feel free to substitute with olive oil or ghee. Enjoy it for a first course over the holidays over rice or pasta or as a main course for a weekend meal.

Here is a recipe for a small lemon cake with cherries, topped off with whipped cream and beauty berries.

Curry masala, essentially curry powder, is best in long-stewing curries and beef, or any other dark meat works well with it.

What adds to the appeal of the Hatch chile is that they pack just the right amount of heat and are neither too spicy nor too mild. They can be added raw to salads, turned into salsas or fire smoked and stuffed with everything from cheese to vegetables to meat fillings.

Ocean masala may have been created with seafood in mind, but it is good with so many other things including vegetables and poultry. Zucchini is the kind of bland everyday vegetable that absorbs flavor effortlessly and this masala is the perfect foil for it.

They are fresh, tiny, and tender, about the size of an apple and the knife slides right through them. For a larger butternut, I’d discard the seeds along with the stringy tissue around it but with these little beauties, I leave them in.

An ancient Rajasthani delicacy, safed maas is a white curry usually made with red meat. It is also the only curry that is traditionally mild in flavor with no chiles added. We have made this curry with dark meat chicken and a touch of rosemary, which complements the creamy rich sauce. And just like most curries, this one is best a few hours later or the next day.

Over years and after much tweaking, I have developed a non-toxic solution of edible camphor with essential oils to deter mosquitoes and I use it freely at home and at the restaurants. Spray it directly on yourself or leave a bowl out.

One of the best ways to use up leftover roasted, baked, or grilled fish is to make fish cakes or fish koftas. Then pour an aromatic curry on top, cook some rice and you have dinner. Here is a curry inspired by the coastal flavors of Sri Lanka with lemongrass, kari leaves and coconut.

Aloo (which means potato) cooked in a poppy seed (poshto) sauce is a legendary dish from Bengal, enjoyed both in Bangladesh and in West Bengal, India. It’s rich, creamy, decadent, and delicious. Normally eaten with dal and/or grilled meats, along with the Bangla steak, it’s a Bengali meat and potatoes dish of sorts. While in most cases, it is a traditional dish where the potatoes are usually deep fried, we opted for this variation with the potatoes sauteed with the onions and a little addition of cream at the end.

Even for biryani lovers, the kacchi (meaning raw) biryani of Bangladesh is a road less travelled. Biryanis in India are usually made by separately cooking the rice, meat masala, perhaps vegetables and bringing them all together at the end. In this style of biryani making, the Banglas cook the marinated meat and rice together and then finish it with fried onions. It infuses even more flavor into the rice. The pungent mustard oil is one of the most essential components of Bengali cuisine and here it shows up in the lamb marinade.

With a tropical monsoon climate, the cuisine of Bangladesh has been shaped by its history and the river-line geography. Very similar to the cuisine of West Bengal, India, Bangladesh has rich, aromatic dishes with liberal uses of ghee and was also influenced by the Mughal occupation of India. This chicken roast recipe is inspired by a dish made by a lovely young intern by the name of Ayesha who spent a few months with us at Pondicheri. If you do not have the Indian apricots, use about half the quantity of regular dried apricots but make sure they are not sweetened. It is rich, aromatic and can be eaten just with a side of a pilaf, rotis or warm crusty bread.

Lamprais (pronounced lamp-rice), is to Sri Lanka what biryani is to India, a decadent meat and rice dish. The name is derived from lomprijst (meaning rice packet) and it is truly a feast of rice, curries, pickles and sambals and more wrapped up in a tidy banana leaf package. You can go as elaborate as you like.

This is a take on a traditional rice dish usually made with short grain rice and any kind of meat stock. We used brown basmati rice, which takes a while to cook but absorbs the flavor of the stock beautifully. The aromatic spices, onions and coconut add enough depth of flavor to the rice to be eaten on its own. This rice dish works well with Lamprais, the popular traditional Dutch-influenced dish from the colonial days.

Weather patterns due to climate change are evident in almost all spheres of life. While Houston has a vibrant cycle of summer fruits from peaches to blackberries, figs that used to appear late summer or fall have been at the farmers market much earlier this year. Fall fig sightings are usually followed by cool breezes but this time around, we have a long summer to contend with. But how wonderful that we get to enjoy figs for perhaps a longer harvest period? A fig is a delicate luscious, sweet fruit, however quick to spoil so usually, must be consumed within a few days of harvest. It is delicious just on its own, or sliced and tossed into salads or even slightly roasted but nothing preserves and enhances the flavor of figs like a coating of dark chocolate with a hint of aromatic spices. The chocolate dipped figs can be eaten whole or sliced and served over ice cream for a beautiful, elegant dessert. Buy the best quality chocolate you can as this will make all the difference.

Parsley is not native to Sri Lanka but the flavors do really work well in this condiment.

Dal, the quintessential lentil stew of Southeast Asia has umpteen versions scattered through the sub-continent. This dal is an adaptation of the popular parippu, a red lentil stew seasoned with coconut, garlic, onions. The addition of aromatic lemongrass is a bit of game changer! We added lots of spinach to it at the end to make it greener and healthier! For a more traditional version, add a teaspoon of dried chopped fish flakes or shrimp when preparing the masala.

Cultural influence on Sri Lanka ranges from Indians, Arabs, Malays, Moors, Portuguese, Dutch and the British. The new ingredients that they brought in like tomatoes, potatoes and chiles have been adapted to local preparations. The Sri-Lankans roast their spices to a much darker finish than the Indians do, which characterizes their food as different. This traditional spicy chicken curry of Sri Lanka that is most locals crave when they leave the country. It's rustic and best made with chicken legs on the bone.

Naan, the fluffy bread usually made in a tandoor at most Indian restaurants, can also be made at home.

A bright verdant green masala is perfect for shrimp since they cook so quickly that the masala retains its color as well as flavor.

This mix, pour and bake pudding cake recipe is simple, quick, and given that it has 8 to 10 cups of fruit, a true celebration of the summer bounty. Enjoy it with just a drizzle of fresh unsweetened cream.

These are not the brined mild pickles of the west but more of an intense, tart, salty, spicy oily pickle that is eaten alongside a meal for an intermittent small spicy bite. Enjoy this pickle on the side or put on toast and cream cheese or in pasta or a pilaf.

Here is a gently spiced lemonade to welcome a Texas spring, it’s only lightly sweetened, adjust and spike as needed.

The recipe makes a little more than a cup of pesto, but it is so tasty, you will be putting it on everything from toast to tomatoes, I promise.

In this savory decadent tart, the addition of mushrooms brings an earthy note. It is best to bake the tart a few hours or the day before serving it.

Here is a light and springy herb-forward pasta with snap peas using a lot of dill and parsley. In the spirit of spring cleansing, I decided to skip the cream or even coconut milk, instead studded the pasta with copious amounts of herbs.

Shrimp can be stir-fried with many different vegetables like asparagus, snap peas, green beans, or carrots. This masala becomes the crowning glory of the stir-fry. If you want to add heat the dish, add a teaspoon or two of red chile powder or slice a serrano pepper into the dish. The stir fry can be enjoyed on its own or with rice or noodles.

The best part about the ocean masala is that you can directly slather it on fish with very little else and roast it in the oven.

Roasting cauliflower is one of best ways to cook a vegetable that can often get mushy when braising. The ocean masala adds a nice tart tone to the cauliflower.

Here simple mashed potatoes made with ghee and yogurt, as opposed to the more traditional butter and milk, are topped off with pop masala to not only add a crunch, but a burst of flavor.

This is our spin on a plant-exclusive ranch dip, enjoy!

Squash is one of those plain canvas kinds of vegetables that can absorb any flavor you put on them.

Emerging wisdom is indicating that to maintain a healthy gut flora, diversity of diet is just as important as what we eat. The sheer variety of produce in an Asian grocery store from half a dozen varieties of Bok choi to other leafy greens or a whole jackfruit may seem daunting. But this is when trips to stores from other cultures can become an exciting adventure and keep in mind, it’s only food. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it again. In Indian grocery stores, aside from the umpteen aromatic spices and lentils you can peruse through, varieties of intriguing squashes can be found that resemble neither zucchini nor butternut squash. One such tender squash with a delicate burst of flavor is the tindora, or the ivy gourd. They are size of your finger, need a quick light braise, and are packed with fiber and phytonutrients. This sabzi (which simply means cooked vegetable) is inspired by the cuisine of Gujarat. Enjoy it with dal, a lentil stew, and rice. Here is to starting the new year off with a fruit or vegetable you have not tried before…

Here is a recipe for first creating a spreadable slightly fluffy seasoned cream cheese and next, you can choose three options of masalas to prepare.

More so than other vegetables, broccoli or broccolini needs to be cooked just right to be served at its best. For example, okra or green beans may not look pretty when overcooked but tastes just fine. Broccoli is better slightly undercooked than overcooked because the later can result in a soggy dish devoid of flavor, which is why roasting or grilling it guarantees good results. It took me a few tries to realize that it was the strong brassica smell of the broccoli that my taste buds subconsciously objected to. Now, I always cook broccoli with something fragrant, least of all garlic but usually an aromatic spice like cardamom, nutmeg, or mace. A quick little grating of nutmeg at the end, or the spears tossed with cardamom, black pepper and olive oil can transform broccoli. A squeeze of lemon or orange juice at the end can add even more fragrance and a smear of yogurt on the bottom can add a creamy luxurious finish.

While I love the traditional mayonnaise and cheese on sandwiches, with this garlicky spread, I missed neither. Do give it a try or at the very least, go buy the delicious Taha Toum at the farmers market or at Central Market, where it is now sold as well.

For most Sindhis, this tamarind fragrant soup, or Sindhi kadhi, as it is called, is synonymous with a lazy Sunday afternoon lunch. Usually eaten with steamed rice and sweet laddus, this was one of my favorite memories of growing up in a traditional Sindhi household.

Tucked deep within the belly of a famous street market in Delhi, is a legendary ethereal dessert that is often compared to eating a cloud. Served on carts over ice and only made during the coldest winter months, the delicate as dew Daulat ki chaat (translates as snack of abundance or bliss) is said to have traveled to India from Afghanistan where it was made using mare’s milk. During the early hours of the morning over moonlight, raw milk with cream and aromatics like cardamom and mace is churned with a mallet by hand. The foam is then carefully skimmed off the top and the process is repeated over and over. The early morning dew is supposed to make it light and frothy. Rose water, ground nuts or crumbled milk solids are slowly incorporated, and it’s topped with saffron cream. Just like every other street food in India, each street vendor his or her own iteration; some use almonds, some pistachios, some the essence of rose or vetiver and it is often finished marigold or rose petals and gold or silver leaf. One cold February morning, I finally got to enjoy it with a cup of chai, discussing its nuances with the enthusiastic vendor, whose family has been making this chaat for over 100 years. It is challenging to recreate the charm of street food in the comfort of our western homes however, I tried several iterations and landed on this simple recipe. I decided to turn a cake with whipped cream on its head and added tiny amounts of dry-soaked cake crumbs to whipped cream. Use old sponge or angel food cake and I suggest using a stand mixer for best results. Enjoy it on a moonlit evening over the holidays with your friends and family!

Great with your morning coffee or cup of chai!

Sunchokes, despite being starchy, are a high source of fiber and in particular inulin, which makes us feel full after eating.

A wonderful way to balance holiday indulgences and alleviate the guilt associated with it is to eat something cleansing after. Besides, why not start the year on a fresh healthy note? Green papaya salad, or Som Tum as it is known in Thai cuisine is believed to have originated in Laos. I have never tasted a version of this salad that I don’t love, and I often make a meal out of it. The fact that green papaya has innumerable health benefits like high fiber and vitamin content always helps. But it’s the endless possibilities with this salad that make it most exciting. On a basic level, fresh grated green papaya is tossed with chiles, dried shrimp, palm sugar and fresh garlic. Add grated carrots, cabbage, apple, green beans, cucumber, or mango. The shrimp is delicious but not essential to the flavor; instead throw in copious amounts of grated, finely minced, or julienned ginger. Slice in some tomatoes for the acid, peanuts for crunch with herbs like cilantro or basil for aroma and you have a wonderful salad. Instead of peanuts, add cashews, add sliced almonds, or pine nuts. Switch out sugar for something as wholesome as honey or maple syrup. If you have extra papaya left over, use it in meat marinades as a tenderizer.

Stuffed parathas are delicious for breakfast or lunch and make a great appetizer for dinner when cut into wedges. Top them with a chutney and a slaw. Stuffing can vary from simple mashed potato to grated daikon, keema (ground meat) to a sweet paratha stuffed with jaggery and nuts.

Thanksgiving has been my favorite American holiday for a very long time. Just like many other immigrant communities

The first whiff of cool weather carries with it a craving for khichri, the peasant rice and bean stew from India, another vehicle for all kinds of vegetables. There is no wrong way to make khichri — varieties of rice and beans and proportions can vary. The key is to cook the khichri long and slow to a soft creamy stew and then add vegetables of your choice. Toppings wise, anything goes — but given that pomegranates appear in the autumn, they make a delicious tart garnish. Fried eggs, minced vegetables, herbs, cheese, olive oil or butter are just a few other suggestions.

Masalas do not have to be complex — they can be as simple as parsley, garlic, black pepper and olive oil. Having a masala in your kitchen cabinet or refrigerator is a great hack to whipping up a quick meal.

Rice noodles, also called string hoppers, are sometimes sold in the streets tossed with vegetables, coconut and spices. This salad-like chilled noodle dish is inspired by the flavors of Kerala and, true to my cooking, comes with copious amounts of freshly minced ginger.

Many years ago, I enjoyed a delicious chilled almond soup, ajoblanco, native to Spain, at a wonderful restaurant called Feast in Houston. The dish was garnished with a drizzle of good olive oil, sliced grapes and was delicious to the last spoonful. Ajoblanco is often called white gazpacho and predates its more popular tomato version, since tomatoes did not arrive in Spain until the time of Columbus. The classic version is made with slices of white bread pureed with almonds. Preferring my bread warm, grainy, toasted and slathered in butter, I use plain white rice as the thickener here. The quality of rice will not matter, as it will all get pureed in the end. The addition of aromatic cardamom to the base balanced the garlic, and a pop of mustard seeds and kari leaves was the final flourish. If you can find Spanish Marcona almonds, the soup will be even more delicious.

Once balanced and tempered with other seasonings, bitter melon transforms into a thing of beauty.

Composed salads lend themselves to so many possibilities — they have become my go-to salad. For breakfast I’ll sauté mushrooms with a cumin seed pop, spread them on a plate, tuck in a few slices of tomato, throw some microgreens on top, sprinkle salt and red chile powder and a drizzle of olive oil and lime juice. In the evening, mustard seed roasted carrots plated with diced mango or peaches and mint leaves can be the start of a light dinner salad. Given how short the treasured local heirloom tomato season is here in Texas, I find many ways to enjoy them, from raw in a salad to cooked into a masala or a chutney. Here is a truly local salad made with heirloom tomatoes from a small farm in Alvin, local blackberries and blueberries and cashew butter dressing.

When heirloom tomatoes are in full bloom, this chilled raw soup is the delicious epitome of a hot summer. I’ve omitted the onion, switched out garlic for ginger; the soup takes minutes to make. The color of the tomatoes will deeply affect the color of the soup, so pick the reddest ripe tomatoes you can.

Like broccoli, Romanesco begs for added flavor. And as I walked by these little beauties at the organic Animal Farm table stand this past Saturday, I began to salivate imagining them with a masala made with garlic, local cherry tomatoes, and a fragrant punch of Sichuan peppercorns. The Sichuan pepper, also known as prickly ash, belongs to the citrus family. It produces a unique but delicious numbing, tingling effect on the tongue and can overpower other flavors — so use with caution. While the Romanesco roasted in the oven, I made the masala on the stovetop; within 30 minutes, we had a delicious dish to eat on its own or as a side.

Just like most dishes in India, there are dozens of variations on haleem, some are made with goat, some with beef, different kinds of lentils or grains but here is a recipe that reminds me of the haleem my two older brothers would sneak into the house at night for late night treats.

This is as simple as a salad goes but it will stay crunchy in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 hours.

Vegetables are our past, present and future — and incorporating them into doughs and batters has begun to define the way I cook.

Sabzi simply means cooked vegetable – this cauliflower sabzi is punctuated with mustard seeds and amchur, a dry green mango powder that adds a deeply flavorful sour flavor.

Hummus is central to many Mediterranean cuisines — but it does not need to be made with chickpeas. Medieval cookbooks mainly mention only two ingredients in hummus_ chickpeas and ground sesame, but today, we add garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Instead of chickpeas, one can use simple yellow or red lentils, red beans or black beans for a different flavor. This recipe uses micro-nutrient dense black beans combined with black sesame seeds, which I have resolved to eat more of due to their high calcium content.

Here is a simple way to coat a masala, spice blend, on the pecans for added flavor.

After many attempts, I landed on a seafood stew that had all the elements of a gumbo but used deeply flavorful chickpea flour for the roux instead of white flour. This stew quickly became a family favorite, and it can be enjoyed with rice, bread or even noodles.

Originally from Maharashtra, a state in the western and central peninsula region of India, poha is now enjoyed across the country in different iterations. In southern India, it is often prepared with cashews and coconut. In Gujarat, the state I was born and raised in, poha is usually cooked with onions, ginger, peanuts and fresh herbs. A bowl of steaming fragrant poha with leftover vegetables made for many a memorable breakfast during my childhood. Even though poha is made from rice, somehow it has a lighter texture but deeper flavor than cooked rice. I always keep a jar of poha tucked away in my pantry to turn into a quick, delicious meal.

Now that my restaurant is almost entirely vegan on Mondays, plant-based cooking has become one of the most creative new forays into my cooking. A cake or cookie with no eggs and butter? No problem. Boiled mashed sweet potato makes an excellent substitute for eggs, but be careful not to use too much or it will add a gummy flavor. I have been pleasantly surprised to see how many recipes I’ve been able to substitute the green gold of olive oil for butter. Here is a simple olive oil cake that showcases fresh berries and can be enjoyed for breakfast or with tea in the afternoon.

Usually relegated to crudité plates or a salad add-on, radishes get little respect in the western cooking world. But one just has to look over at the vast and varied culture of Asia, where they first grew in the wild, to see the umpteen ways to enjoy these pungent cruciferous little globes. From quick pickles in a Vietnamese banh mi to brightening up a Thai cucumber salad to making the north Indian Punjabi “mooli” paratha, radishes are used all over Asia. Seeing the vast array of brightly colored radishes at the farmer’s markets these days makes me want to find more ways to enjoy them — particularly the large, purple heirloom Japanese radishes that appear perfect for roasting. Roasting radishes diminishes their pungent flavor and adds an interesting sweetness. The hardest part of this recipe may just be deciding how best to arrange the vegetables on the platter — it’s a visual feast.

Butter from pasture-raised, grass-fed cows makes wonderful ghee. A visiting Indian guru even told me there is a new term going around — “veghan,” or vegan with ghee. Here is a recipe for lightly mashed potatoes inspired by South Indian cuisine — feel free to replace the ghee with coconut oil for a plant-based version.

A bean salad tucked away in the refrigerator has made for a wonderful late-night snack after busy nights at the restaurant, especially during the holiday season. Over the last few months, I’ve experimented with umpteen combinations, none of which I have stuck to. I always start with soaking one cup of beans overnight (this cuts the cooking time in half), cooking them to softness the next day and adding a changing assortment of vegetables, herbs, nuts, or dry fruits. I’ve embellished some with roasted carrots, others with steamed asparagus, peanuts, walnuts, cilantro, mint and much more. In the last few weeks, I finally arrived at a combination that I have made for three 3 weeks straight and one I am excited to share with you. Raw purple cabbage, celery and beans make the base of this salad, and one can go in so many directions with it. It makes a great light lunch on its own or pairs it with a sandwich or soup. The best part is that cabbage and celery taste better wilted and after they’ve marinated in the juices for an hour or two. The salad tastes delicious for up to three days so use it for a healthy late-night snack.

Nothing satisfies in cooler weather quite like dal, the quintessential aromatic spice-laden lentil stew of India.

Try this simple salad for a light respite from holiday indulgences.

This is a no-brainer crowd pleaser recipe.

Try this stew using chestnut mushrooms and serve it with warm toasted sourdough bread. If you do not have garam masala — an aromatic finishing spice blend native to Indian cuisine — add a varying combination of ground cinnamon, cardamom, clove and nutmeg or mace.

This smooth and creamy soup is supremely simple to make as we drift into the autumn season. If you do not have asafetida, which is a natural spice that mimics the flavor of onions and garlic, slice a few cloves of garlic instead.