Indian food has become more and more popular over the years, and a lot of that has to do with the aromatic spices that people use in Indian cuisine. There is much more to Indian food than just curry (although we certainly love curry!). You can try all types of Indian recipes.
If you’re bored with your current dinner rotation, adding some Indian dinner ideas to the mix can really make dinner fun and exciting again.
The best Indian dishes are all about creamy sauces, savory and aromatic spices, and bright colorful entrees.
Indian cuisine is a vibrant, diverse, and delicious journey through various regions, cultures, and traditions. Each region boasts its own unique style, flavor profiles, and cooking techniques that create a mouth-watering plethora of dishes for food enthusiasts to enjoy. From rich and flavorful curries to tangy and spicy street food, Indian recipes offer an incredible variety of tastes and textures, making it difficult for anyone to resist its allure.
Essential concepts in Indian cooking include the balanced use of spices, understanding the regional influences, and blending various flavors to create dishes that cater to all palates. Indian food, though often associated with spice and heat, is in fact a carefully crafted amalgamation of sweet, sour, spicy, and sometimes bitter flavors. With a vast array of ingredients that include fresh vegetables, grains, herbs, and spices, there is no shortage of options for those looking to embark on a culinary adventure through Indian cuisine.
Whether you are a beginner in the realm of Indian food or a seasoned cook looking to expand your repertoire, there are countless resources to guide you on your journey. From cookbooks and online platforms to classes and restaurant experiences, the world of Indian cuisine is yours to explore and savor. So, roll up your sleeves, gather your ingredients, and let the fragrant aromas and delectable flavors transport you to a world of culinary delight.
Key Takeaways
Indian cuisine offers a diverse, flavorful journey of regional dishes
A balance of spices, flavors, and cooking techniques is essential in Indian cooking
Resources such as cookbooks and online platforms aid in exploring Indian recipes
While cooking an Indian dinner or other Indian meals can seem intimidating, there are actually lots of easy Indian dinner recipes on the internet and we found 25 Indian food recipes that we think you’re going to love.
Easy Indian recipes can be anything from vegan korma made in the Instant Pot to savory chicken biryani.
Korma is one of the most beloved Indian dishes, and usually, we see chicken korma. However, this recipe shows you how to make a vegan korma that is also gluten free.
Another thing that makes this recipe a winner is that you can make it in your Instant Pot.
To make this korma, you need cashews, ginger, garlic, coconut milk, fresh lime juice, and cilantro.
The spices in this easy Indian food recipe are cumin, black pepper, cardamom (Elaichi), a bay leaf (tej patta), cloves (laung), garam masala, turmeric, red chili powder, and cinnamon.
This dish is loaded with veggies, including potato, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, and green peas.
Serve your vegan korma with naan, fluffy basmati rice, or brown rice.
A Kadai is a wok that’s used to cook food in India, but if you don’t have a Kadai, you can use any deep frying pan or wok that you already have in your kitchen.
The chicken is cooked with red onion, garlic, and tomato. Seasonings include garlic, ginger garlic paste, Kashmiri red chilli powder, fresh lemon juice, and ginger.
There are loads of spices in this dish, including bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon, capsicum, turmeric, garam masala, fennel seeds, and Kasuri methi.
Heavy cream and yogurt make this Indian dish super creamy. Serve with basmati rice for a complete meal.
If you’re wanting hearty vegan or vegetarian dishes that are Indian recipes, or just an excellent veggie side dish, vegetable jalfrezi can be your new go-to recipe.
What is vegetable jalfrezi? This popular dish is a beloved Indian recipe that calls for green beans, carrots, corn, bell pepper, onion, green peas, and tomato.
The spices used to season this medley of veggies are garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, chili pepper, coriander, fenugreek leaves, and garam masala.
The result is a flavorful vegetable dish that is a surefire winner and a one pot recipe.
Even better, this recipe for vegetable jalfrezi is super easy to cook.
Tandoori chicken consists of roasted chicken that has soaked up tons of flavor from a marinade made with yogurt, garam masala, and cayenne pepper.
What is garam masala? This beloved Indian spice is actually a spice blend of pepper, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, and cardamom.
Tandoori chicken got its name from the traditional oven used to cook this delicious chicken dish. A tandoor is a clay oven with a cylindrical shape. However, you can get the wonderful flavors of authentic tandoori chicken right in your own oven.
In Indian cuisine, dal (lentil) is a timeless staple and favorite, as well as one of the most beloved Indian recipes. There are numerous dal recipes because every region in the country of India has its own dal version.
But what is dal? Traditionally, dal is a simple lentil recipe that uses a variety of different spices and herbs.
Dal Makhani is a version of dal that is commonly served in restaurants. This particular recipe will be familiar to people who have come to enjoy authentic food from the Northern Punjabi region of India.
Perhaps one of the most popular Indian cuisine dishes, chicken biryani is a juicy and tender chicken dish that has a spicy and buttery sauce served over basmati rice.
What makes this chicken recipe, which is usually found in an Indian restaurant, really stand out is the spices, herbs, and seasonings used to make it.
Some of the spices and herbs include red chili powder (or smoked paprika), turmeric, garam masala, fresh mint leaves, cardamom, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, anise, caraway seeds (or cumin), and mace.
The marinade for chicken biryani is made from ginger garlic paste, plain yogurt, fresh lemon juice, garam masala, turmeric, and red chili powder.
There are a lot of ingredients required to make chicken biryani, but don’t let that intimidate you. This is a fairly easy dish to make.
In Indian cooking, matar paneer is often called mutter paneer, and this dish is made with green peas and Indian cottage cheese (paneer).
The rich and creamy gravy is full of tomatoes and onions, so this dish is a thick and savory stew that pairs wonderfully with basmati rice, Indian flatbread, other Indian bread, or butter naan.
You can use either cashews or almonds to make this vegetarian recipe, and the nuts add tons of protein to this delicious dish.
The spices in this Northern Indian recipe include bay leaf, turmeric, Kashmiri red chili powder, garam masala, coriander powder, sugar, and dried fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi).
Heavy cream is optional, but it makes this savory stew extra creamy.
Are you a fan of fried okra or boiled okra? Well, if you are, this may be one of your favorite Indian dishes.
Okra masala is known as bhindi masala in India, and this Indian dish is made with okra, tomatoes, onion, and Indian spices.
Some of the spices in this Indian dish are turmeric, amchur, red chili powder, coriander, garam masala, and ginger.
One problem with okra is that it can be slimy, and that’s the case with bhindi masala, too. To control this, you can wash and pat the okra dry before you chop it.
Enjoy your bhindi masala with fluffy basmati rice or warm rotis.
So you want “quick dinner ideas Indian,” right? This delicious chili chicken recipe can be something you can cook on a busy weeknight or an elegant entree to serve to guests.
This chicken chili recipe is a world-famous dish and it makes excellent use of sweet, savory, and spicy flavors.
The chicken is fried until crispy, and the bell peppers add tons of flavor and some color.
The flavoring for chicken chili comes from soy sauce, chili powder, black pepper, ginger, onion, and garlic. Honey provides delightful sweetness.
You can serve chicken chili as an appetizer or as a main dish over rice.
Lamb vindaloo is a wonderfully spicy Indian curry dish that uses tender chunks of lamb that are cooked in a fiery vindaloo sauce.
Vindaloo sauce is loaded with delicious flavors such as garlic, vinegar, red chilis, and spices.
The spices in lamb vindaloo are garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, cumin, cloves, green cardamom, black pepper, and turmeric.
Other ingredients include tamarind pulp and apple cider vinegar.
The curry sauce is made with extra virgin olive oil, onion, curry leaves, and chopped cilantro.
We love this recipe because it has instructions for cooking lamb vindaloo in three different ways: in the Instant Pot, in a slow cooker, and in a stove-top pressure cooker.
To make this vindaloo recipe, you can also use mutton if you prefer.
Palak paneer is made with Indian cottage cheese (paneer cubes) blended into a smooth and creamy spinach sauce.
We love this particular recipe because it shows you how to make a palak paneer in two different ways: 1) a restaurant-style recipe that involves a charcoal smoking method and 2) a homestyle recipe for palak paneer.
Like many authentic Indian dishes, palak paneer has a lot of ingredients. The veggies are green chilis, spinach, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, chopped garlic, and ginger.
Spices used to make palak paneer are red chili powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida, garam masala, and dry fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi leaves).
This recipe for palak paneer is garnished with julienned ginger, lemon wedges or lime wedges, and heavy cream.
If you love fish and seafood, you’re going to enjoy fish tikka. This Indian seafood dish is salmon or another fish (such as tilapia) that’s flavored with spices and yogurt, then baked until it’s perfect and flaky.
When you think about Indian comfort food, you probably think of curry. This lamb curry recipe, known in India as lamb bhuna, is just what you may be dreaming of.
To make lamb bhuna, you brown the spices in oil over high heat, a process that brings out the most aroma and flavor from the spices.
Spices used to make lamb bhuna are cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves, coriander, turmeric, cloves, and black pepper.
To make this dish, you also need onion, bell pepper, garlic, birds-eye chilies, tomato puree (or tomato sauce), and tomatoes.
Serve lamb bhuna over basmati rice, naan, or pilau rice.
If you want to cook a hugely popular street food snack from India, a great recipe to try is aloo chat.
Aloo chat consists of potatoes that are first fried then roasted in clarified butter or ghee. Last, the potatoes are seasoned with tamarind chutney (or tomato chutney) and spices.
The outside of the potatoes is crispy and golden, while the inside of the potatoes is fluffy and tender.
Lots of ingredients give aloo chat its legendary flavor, including red chilli powder, chaat masala powder, cumin, a green chili, ginger, coriander leaves, nylon sev, fresh lemon juice, mint leaves, fried gram, and pomegranate arils.
Curry is a great Indian food for beginners, and it’s also one of the best Indian dishes.
This recipe for chickpea curry is easier than many of the Indian food dishes on this list, and it’s a great one to try if you’re just getting started cooking curry and Indian cuisine.
In just 20 minutes, you can have a delicious plant-based meal on the table.
Some lovers of Indian food may find this recipe to be similar to chana masala, which is the traditional Indian recipe for curried chickpeas.
This recipe has ingredients such as yellow onion, garlic, grated ginger, extra virgin olive oil (or coconut oil), baby spinach leaves, fire-roasted tomatoes, curry powder, cumin, coriander, and coconut milk.
When someone mentions tasty Indian cuisine or “dinner recipes Indian,” butter chicken may come to mind. After all, butter chicken is one of the most well-known and popular Indian dishes.
In India, butter chicken is known as Murgh Makhani, and this addictive Indian recipe is created with juicy chicken thighs (or chicken breasts) and a creamy sauce.
Surprisingly, butter chicken is pretty simple and quick to pull together.
The sauce for butter chicken is made with yogurt, garam masala, coriander, heavy cream, crushed tomatoes, butter, turmeric, ground cumin, red chili powder, ginger, dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi), and garlic.
Serve butter chicken over brown rice, fluffy basmati rice, or even cauliflower rice or naan.
Another Indian dish made with lentils, dal tadka can be made in either the Instant Pot or on the stovetop.
This easy Indian food recipe is made with arhar dal, which is split pigeon pea lentils. You can alternatively use masoor dal, which are split red lentils.
This recipe will give you a dal that is full of smoky flavors and has an extra creamy sauce thanks to the heavy cream used.
To lighten this Indian dish up some, you can use light creamy or half and half.
Spices used to make dal tadka are garam masala, ginger, turmeric, and asafoetida (hing).
This dish is loaded with veggies, including serrano peppers (or green chiles), chopped tomatoes, onion, and tomatoes.
Garnish your finished dal tadka with cilantro leaves.
Like lamb bhuna, this dish is also prepared using the bhooning process where you cook the spices in hot oil.
For folks who love shrimp and seafood, this is a curry dish that will check off all the boxes: curry, seafood, spices, and creamy sauce.
The sauce is made with yogurt and coconut milk, so it’s both flavorful and creamy.
The Indian spices used to make this shrimp dish are bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, whole red chilis, cardamom, turmeric, red chili powder, cumin, sugar, and garam masala.
Serve your prawn curry over basmati rice or with naan.
If you’re looking for quick Indian dinner recipes, you’ve found one.
Indian beef kabobs feature a marinade of warm spices and fresh herbs. These kabobs offer an exotic and fun dining experience.
After all, food that comes on a stick is always more fun, isn’t it?
Best of all, this recipe for beef kabobs comes with a yummy yogurt and cucumber sauce that is wonderfully cool and flavorful.
The rub for the beef is made with red onion, garlic, fresh mint, fresh marjoram leaves, smoked paprika, ground ginger, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, fresh lemon juice, and olive oil.
The yogurt and cucumber sauce is made with plain yogurt, cucumber, red onion, and some of the same spices found in the rub.
Another popular Indian curry dish, Chicken Madras gets its amazingly bold flavors from coconut milk, curry, and spices such as Madras hot curry powder, cinnamon, and fenugreek.
While the majority of curry recipes are yellow, Chicken Madras is made using red chili and smoked paprika, so it has a gorgeous red color.
Also, Chicken Madras is a little spicier than some other curry dishes, so adjust your curry recipe accordingly if you don’t love super spicy foods.
This Chicken Madras recipe is made by blending together ginger, garlic, and onion so that it forms a paste.
Goan fish is a fish curry dish that originated in Goa, an area of India that is all about surf, sun, sand, and delicious seafood.
Goan fish has a wonderfully aromatic coconut and tomato based sauce that is delicious when served over brown rice or basmati rice.
Even better, this fish curry dish is done in about 20 minutes.
You need to make (or buy) a curry paste to create Goan fish. Spices include Kashmiri chili, black mustard seeds, fenugreek, turmeric, cumin, ground cloves, coriander, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, and tamarind paste.
Fresh green chilis add tons of color and flavor, and full-fat coconut milk makes this curry dish super creamy.
Curry is one of the most popular Indian dishes, and when you bring the flavor of mangoes into a creamy curry dish, you’ve got a winner.
The creamy and juicy mango is an important ingredient in Indian cuisine, and few dishes use the mango as beautifully as mango chicken curry.
To make mango chicken curry, you need juicy chicken thighs (or you can use chicken breasts). Veggies used in this dish are onions and garlic.
Other ingredients in mango chicken curry are curry powder (or red curry paste), fresh ginger, ground turmeric spice, ground cumin, coconut milk, fresh lemon juice, and cilantro leaves.
Serve mango chicken curry over basmati rice, brown rice, paratha, naan, or just by itself. Don’t forget to garnish your mango chicken curry with fresh mango cut into cubes.
Do you want a bonus Indian meal or dinner? Watch the video below to learn how to make the best Tikka Masala.
25+ Authentic Indian Food Recipes (+Indian Beef Kabob)
These recipes are sure to please. So, gather your family and friends and enjoy. Let us know your thoughts!
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
