Craving Indian Food? 5 Starter Recipes

Around this time in the winter, dinners start to become predictable. Soup is in heavy rotation as are whole-grain casseroles or baked pasta with loads of greens. Routines set in and I start to turn to what what's easy, filling and delicious. But lately I've been craving food with a warmer kickspicy food, food that isn't always in my weekly repertoire.

Truthfully, I don't cook much Indian food at home. I love it, and there's a great little spot by our house with a pretty magical (and inexpensive) lunch buffet. But I find that when I'm inspired to actually cook something, I never have the right spices and I start to feel a touch overwhelmed by the thought of it.

But we had a dinner party recently and decided to tackle a number of Indian dishes that were new to us. I usually like to test out new recipes before serving them to friends, but this was an exception: I was craving Indian food and there simply wasn't enough time to fully test each one. So I went with recipes from a few writing friends and colleagues, and dabbled with a couple other sites that I've come to trust. The result? We had quite the successful feast; below are a few of the recipes we tackled.

Do you have any relatively basic but delicious Indian recipes you love?

5 Starter Recipes:
1. Kerala-Spiced Peas (pictured) - Leela Cyd Ross for The Kitchn
2. Saag Panner - 101 Cookbooks
3. Red Lentil Dhal - Dana Treat
4. Chana Masala - Smitten Kitchen
5. Chicken Tikka Masala - Food and Wine

Related: Make Indian Food at Home: 20 Great Recipes, from Chutney to Chapati

(Image: Leela Cyd Ross)

---

Indian Starter Recipes - Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople Top indian starter recipes and other great tasting recipes with a healthy slant from SparkRecipes.com. Pani Puri - How to make Pani Puri - Pani Puri Recipe All ... Indian street food snack, Pani Puri or Gol Gappa or Puchka, is the most popular chaat item. I am blogging Pani Puri Recipe that is easy to make at home. Sanjeev Kapoor Indian Food Recipes Articles Recipe Books ... Sanjeev Kapoor's Collection of Indian Recipes,Food & Health related Articles. Indian Food Recipes Andhra Recipes Indian Dishes Recipes ... An Indian food recipes blog with a focus on Andhra recipes, recipes of Indian dishes from North and South India both vegetarian and non vegetarian. Indian Snacks ... Art of Cooking Indian Food - A Food and Recipe Blog A weblog sharing vegetarian and non-vegetarian indian recipes and cooking tips to inspire people to cook. Indian Rice Pudding Recipe - Food.com - 130055 When I first had Indian rice pudding for dessert at an Indian restaurant, I knew I had to get a recipe for it. This one is great! It's from the Food Network's Good ... Bawarchi, Indian Food Recipes, Indian Cooking Recipes, Veg Recipes ... Bawarchi.com offers Thousands of Indian Recipes, Recipe Videos, Photos, expert Recipes. Download free Indian Cooking Recipes and share your Faourite food recipe. Indian Food Recipes, Indian Cooking, Videos, Recepies, Indian Food Indian Food Videos and Recipes by Vahchef Sanjay Thumma , These Quick and Easy Indian Cooking recipe Videos include South Indian Recipes and healthy North IndianFood ...