Madhur Jaffrey's Easy, Healthy Indian Recipes

We have a proposition for anyone seeking an exciting way to eat more vegetables: Try adding these classic Indian dishes to your repertoire. Each vibrant recipe comes courtesy of Delhi-born cookbook author and culinary legend Madhur Jaffrey. Our takeaway? If you have the right spices, and know how to chop, simmer, and stir-fry, Indian food doesn’t have to be labor-intensive or complicated. These recipes, some of which take less than 30 minutes, are the healthy, flavor-packed proof.

Chicken with Roasted Coriander in Coconut-Curry Sauce

Flavored with roasted fenugreek and coriander seeds and coconut milk, this rich, succulent South Indian-style chicken dish is ideal for entertaining.

Spooned over rice, this brothy dal is a classic home-cooked dish among the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins, on India’s southwestern coast.

Jaffrey cooks the beans until they are very tender, so they’ll better absorb the spices.

This light dish can be served at room temperature as a side or dip.

Jaffrey recommends serving these cumin-spiked potatoes with roasted meat.

Roasted urad dal gives the carrots a subtle, nutty flavor.

Jaffrey takes the guesswork out of cooking basmati rice with her super simple (and reliable!) method.

Toast and grind your own cumin seeds to give this cooling cucumber raita a major flavor boost.