A steel thali of dal, curries, raita and sides beside a bowl of rice and a banana leaf

How an Indian dish comes together

Tadka, masala, simmer

Most everyday Indian dishes follow the same three beats. First, whole spices such as cumin and mustard seeds go into hot ghee or oil until they crackle; this is the tadka (also called tarka or chhonk), and it carries flavor through the whole pot. Second, onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes cook down with ground spices into a masala, a thick base that is ready when the oil starts to pool at the edges. Third, the main ingredient (lentils, chickpeas, potatoes, vegetables, meat) simmers in that base. A dal often flips the order and adds the tadka at the end, poured sizzling over the cooked lentils. Once you can do those three things, recipes stop being lists to follow and start being variations you can read at a glance.

Two ways to start

Open a path to see what to cook first. Dal and rice need only the base kit; the Curry making button adds chickpeas, ground coriander and ginger-garlic paste to your shelf.

Everyday dal and riceLentils, rice and a tadka, the daily food of much of India. It uses only the base kit, is cheap, and teaches spice timing faster than anything else.

Start here

Cook the masoor dal recipe twice this week with plain basmati rice, changing only one thing the second time (more garlic in the tadka, or a squeeze more lemon).

Masoor dal with tadka

Curry makingDishes built on a slow-cooked onion-tomato masala, such as chana masala. It adds a few pantry items and teaches you patience with the base, which is where most curry flavor comes from.

Start here

Make chana masala with canned chickpeas, and give the onions their full time to brown before any tomato goes in.

Chana masala with canned chickpeas

Mustard seeds, fennel seeds, a bay leaf, cinnamon and ground spice in a dark pan

Your first week

Your first dal, step by step

Tested first recipes

What you can cook in your first month

Masoor dal with tadka

Red lentils simmered soft and finished with spices sizzled in ghee, the dish everything else builds on.

Jeera rice

Basmati cooked with cumin seeds toasted in ghee, the easiest way to practice rinsing, soaking and steaming rice.

Jeera aloo

Potatoes pan-fried with cumin, turmeric and chili, a quick dry side that teaches you to cook spices without burning them.

Chana masala

A chickpea curry in an onion-tomato masala, your first real curry once you add the Curry making kit.

Five skills worth practicing

Reading the tadka

Mustard seeds should pop and cumin should darken a shade and smell nutty within about 30 seconds. Black seeds or acrid smoke mean start again; it costs pennies.

Cooking ground spices without scorching

They burn in seconds in bare hot oil, so add them off the heat or with the tomatoes, or splash in a spoonful of water.

Browning onions properly

Medium heat, regular stirring, 12 to 20 minutes until deep golden. Underbrowned onions are the most common reason a curry tastes flat.

Knowing when a masala is done

It darkens, turns jammy, and the oil separates and glistens at the edges.

Seasoning at the end

Taste, then adjust salt first, sourness (lemon) second and heat last. Garam masala and kasuri methi go in near the end so their aroma survives.

Hot oil, chiles and pressure cookers

Tempering oil spits. Dry the pan before adding fat, keep a lid within reach, and lean back when seeds start popping. Add wet garlic or chiles a few at a time.
Never let the oil smoke. If fat catches fire, slide a lid over the pan and turn off the heat; never throw water on it or carry the pan to the sink.
Pour a finished tadka slowly and away from your face; hot ghee hitting a wet dal splatters hard.
Wash your hands with soap right after cutting fresh green chiles, or wear disposable gloves, and keep chile-handling fingers away from eyes and contact lenses.
Chili powder hitting very hot oil can throw harsh fumes that make you cough. Run the hood fan and add it off the heat.
Red lentils cook soft in a plain pot, so you do not need a pressure cooker. If you use one, fill it no more than halfway for lentils and beans (they foam and can clog the vent), check the gasket and valve before each use, and never force the lid; let the pressure drop on its own.

A pile of whole dried red chiles — Dried red chiles: break them with dry hands

What trips beginners up

Your first few dals will taste a little different each time. Spice timing takes a couple of weeks of regular cooking to feel natural.
Recipes disagree with each other, and that is fine. Indian cooking is regional and family-specific, so there is no single correct dal.
Curries take longer than recipes admit, because the onion-tomato base cannot be rushed. Plan an hour for your first one.
Buying a dozen spices at once is a common waste. Ground spices fade within a few months, so add new ones only when a recipe needs them.
Chili powders vary widely in heat between brands. Use half the amount the first time and add more at the end.
A dal that tastes dull usually needs salt or lemon, not more spice.

Where to keep learning

Two free recipe sites written by Indian home cooks are good places to keep going. Both give stovetop methods and explain why each step matters, which helps when you start changing recipes yourself. Pick one and cook through its dal and everyday vegetable recipes before branching out.

Free recipe sites

Chana masala in a steel kadai, ringed with cardamom pods and star anise — Chana masala, the Curry making recipe

About this kit

The base kit is mostly pantry food: lentils, rice, ghee and the spices the first dal calls for, sized so you can cook it many times. Buying spices from an Indian grocery brand gets you fresher, cheaper bags than supermarket jars. The spice box keeps the everyday spices next to the stove, which is what makes a tadka fast and calm. The Curry making add-on covers the extra pantry items for chana masala; fresh produce (onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, green chiles, cilantro, lemons) comes from your usual store.

A round steel masala dabba holding turmeric, chili, coriander, salt and cumin and mustard seeds

Stock the masala shelf

Pantry, spices and one spice box

The first eleven lines are the base kit: lentils, rice, ghee and the eight spices the first dal calls for. The spice box is recommended, the Curry making lines join when you add that add-on, and the kadai is for later. Clicking a card selects it in the kit, and clicking the selected card again takes that line out.

Split red lentils (masoor dal)

Essential · Pantry staples

Red lentils cook soft in about 25 minutes without soaking, which makes them the easiest way to learn dal.

budget

Laxmi Masoor Dal Split Red Lentils, Premium Protein with Fiber, 2 lb

4.4(26)

$8.99

Indian Cooking

How an Indian dish comes together

Two ways to start

Your first week

Five skills worth practicing

Hot oil, chiles and pressure cookers

What trips beginners up

Where to keep learning

About this kit

Stock the masala shelf

Split red lentils (masoor dal)

Basmati rice

Ghee

Whole cumin seeds

Black mustard seeds

Ground turmeric

Kashmiri red chili powder

Garam masala

Asafoetida (hing)

Dried red chiles

Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Masala dabba (spice box)

Canned chickpeas

Ground coriander

Ginger-garlic paste

Stainless steel kadai