Mysteriously spicy, sweet, addictive, and a real crowd pleaser. Even with the glaze, these ribs are nowhere near as messy to eat as most ribs, which makes them ideal as an unexpected hors d’oeuvre at the most chichi cocktail party. I confess that I...

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....

Often the dhal served at a Sadhya is very plain, but I happen to like interesting dhals, like this recipe. Here I use small orange lentils (called “red” in stores) because they cook down into a...

Pachadis are lightly cooked South Indian salads, often involving yogurt. This was my grandmother’s recipe, and it remains a feature of my core repertoire because it’s so simple and unusual at...

South Indians don’t use ghee in cooking the way North Indians do, much preferring their coconut oil. But they always have a spoonful with their parboiled rice and dhal. The first step of a Sadhya is...

This starchy side dish gets a kick of heat from cayenne pepper, fresh chiles, and hot red pepper flakes.

Think of these as the best part of French onion soup minus the broth. Don't be surprised if these disappear before you get a chance to sample one yourself!

Kale and cauliflower get cozy in this gratin. The crisp, cheesy breadcrumbs and silky béchamel sauce are the perfect bedfellows for these vegetables.

Colcannon, a classic Irish combination of mashed potatoes with cabbage or kale, is standard winter fare. If that sounds, well, boring, trust us, this version is anything but that....