Although not native to the region, melons are a refreshing and delicious complement to this dressing, together making a perfect summertime side dish.

Once you taste our batter-fried onion dippers, those blooming onions and onion rings you’ve always loved will seem so yesterday.

I grew up on green beans thoren, and while I’ll never tire of its crunchy deliciousness, I think adding corn makes it even better. And even though people don’t often associate stir-fries with Indian cooking, this dish is a favorite in Kerala. It’s a combination of diced vegetables and coconut, but the key is moistening the coconut so it can soak up the ground spices first. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast....

In North India these legume wafers are called papad and are dry-roasted over a flame, but in the South they are deep-fried until they form lots of air bubbles and become light and puffy. They are sold in many flavors, but plain is preferred in Kerala. Pappadams are always part of a Sadhya: You crush one up and mix it together with rice, dhal, and ghee. The pappadam helps to bind all the ingredients together so you can form balls when eating with your hand. Store-bought wafers are used almost exclusively by Indian cooks because the traditional recipes are labor-intensive and require days of drying in the hot sun. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast....

This variation on a traditional crisp potato pancake is enhanced with the addition of carrots, which add a hit of earthy sweetness.

This California classic pairs meaty mahi mahi with avocado and a citrus crema

This coconut curry adds a tangy note to a South Indian menu. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast.

Grilling the hot dogs first lends them a deeper, smokier flavor, and the buttermilk-cornmeal coating fries up to a thick, fluffy shell.

For those with a fear of frying, this oven method produces moist, flavorful meat and all of the requisite crunch.