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Amid the Flock
EnlargeCredit: James Fisher Harvest season had begun in Rajasthan. Mustard, chickpeas, and okra were ripening in fields beside the Aravalli mountains. Bullock carts trundled wheat sheaves to a...
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The Love of Tea
EnlargeCredit: James Roper Wherever you are in India, you're never far from a tea vendor peddling chai, a sweet, milky tea, from trays of steaming glasses. India is the top consumer of tea on the...
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Besan Curry (Chickpea Fritters in Curry)
EnlargeCredit: Ingalls Photography SERVES 4–6 Ingredients Canola oil, for frying 1¼ cups besan (chickpea flour) 1 tsp. cumin seeds½ tsp. asafoetida½ tsp. black mustard seeds½ tsp. fenugreek seeds½...
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Bhindi Masala (North Indian Okra Stir-Fry)
EnlargeCredit: Ariana Lindquist SERVES 4–6 Ingredients½ cup canola oil 12 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 4 chiles de árbol, chopped 1 small red onion, sliced 1 lb. okra, sliced ⅓" thick 1½ tbsp. garam...
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Shami Kebabs (Spiced Ground Beef Patties)
EnlargeCredit: Ingalls Photography MAKES 28 PATTIES Ingredients 3 tbsp. canola oil 1 tsp. cumin seeds 1 large red onion, ⅓ minced, ⅓ thinly sliced½ cup chana dal (yellow split peas), rinsed, soaked 30...
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Hot Stuff: Indian Chiles
India, the world's foremost consumer of chiles, uses hundreds of varieties representing a huge range of tastes and heat. The spicy peppers find their way into nearly every dish: chutneys and pickles,...
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Eating in Tea Country
EnlargeCredit: James Roper I have lived in Assam my whole life. It may be best known for its tea, but its food is also exquisite. Central to Assamese identity is tenga aanja, sour fish curry (bottom...
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Joining The Tribe
EnlargeCredit: James Roper In the city of Guwahati, on the banks of the Brahmaputra River in Assam, my Hindu family's home was a farm in itself. We had our own pond, where we caught fish that we...
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Baanhgajor Lagot Gahori (Pork Belly with Fermented Bamboo)
EnlargeCredit: James Roper SERVES 4 Ingredients 2 tbsp. mustard or canola oil 1 (1½) lb. piece boneless, skinless pork belly, cut into 1" strips, about ½" thick 10 small green Thai chiles or 5...
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Koldilere Rondha Paro Manxo (Assamese Pigeon with Banana Flower)
EnlargeCredit: James Roper SERVES 4 Ingredients 2 tsp. cumin seeds 2 tsp. fennel seeds 1½ tsp. black peppercorns 8 cloves garlic, peeled 1 (2") piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced Kosher salt, to...
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Travel Tips: India
EnlargeCredit: Ariana Lindquist BEFORE YOU GOGet a Visa: You’ll need a tourist visa to visit India, which you can apply for online through the Indian Consulate’s subcontractor, Cox & King Global...
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Scenes from India: South
On India's southern peninsula, the Deccan plateau separates the coast of Andhra Pradesh on the Bay of Bengal from that of Karnataka and Kerala on the Arabian Sea. On the high plains, chiles, legumes,...
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Scenes from India: East
The eastern Indian states are home to fruitful plains riddled with waterways. After monsoon season, fields are blanketed with mustard flowers, whose seeds yield pungent cooking oil; gardens burst with...
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Scenes from India: North
Even four millennia ago, inhabitants of the north's fertile Indus Valley enjoyed ingredients that characterize the cooking of the region now: cereals and basmati rice, pulses, dairy, spices like...
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Scenes from India: Northeast
The northeastern states are a world apart from the rest of India. Connected to the subcontinent by a mere thread of land, most of the population traces its ancestry back to bordering Bhutan, China, and...
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Scenes from India: West
From barren swaths of desert to a verdant coast, west India is a tale of opposites. In the state of Gujarat it is the thali—a meal of various dishes composed in a compartmentalized tray—that holds...
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The Rewards of the Road
EnlargeCredit: Ariana Lindquist We are hot, tired, and hungry when we spot a dhaba, one of the ubiquitous truck-stop eateries found along India’s highways, at half past noon. I have been navigating...
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The Scent of Zanzibar
EnlargeCredit: Ingalls Photography Taking a stroll one afternoon in a posh area of my native city, Cuttack, my nose picked up a maddening smell in the air. After walking around frantically I zeroed in...
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The Month of Kartik in my Mother’s Kitchen
EnlargeCredit: Demetria Provatas I remember my mother wiping her sweaty face with the ends of her sari, her gold and colorful glass bangles clinking against each other as she ran to and fro from that...
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Planning an Authentic Trip to India
EnlargeCredit: James Roper The idea of traveling spontaneously—showing up somewhere and winging it—is quite romantic, but in reality there is no substitute for local expertise. So when it comes to...
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