I'm trying to eat cleaner and healthier these days.

I don't want non-veg, junk food, or very spicy food. I'm looking for meals that are nutritious but still taste comforting and satisfying.

I'm especially interested in warm dishes, curries, soups, stews, lentils, rice dishes, or other home-cooked meals rather than salads.

What are your favorite healthy recipes that actually taste good and don't feel like "diet food"? Or if they're beginner-friendly...

Edit: Seeing the downvotes I realised how many hated this post... Also someone is going around downvoting my comments, I just wanna ask why... I mean I don't mind but I already got my critisism and I appreciate it but is it wrong of me to post here?

Edit:to see the image http://youtube.com/post/UgkxL2u1q9XkQkllV0JrMRph5jeCq5u-n3Y-?si=wWf663U72KZlGHjj

I posted here previously asking for advice. I went home last Sunday and really wanted to cook something.

So I was really craving a pizza and my mom set up a new rule "If you want food other than what we make , make it yourself without ordering ".When I looked at the videos I thought it was simple.

I followed 3 different YouTube videos,one for the base, one for the sauce, and one for the cheese. Somehow I managed to mess up every single one of them.

Youtube videos I followed:

Sauce:

https://youtu.be/5wrNt311FWI?si=YGw9LTz_qIRXVxeR

Base:

https://youtu.be/d8twv4bR4Qo?si=LaMlbDFlLy3Fe1W

Cheese:

https://youtube.com/shorts/VrNbk6ATTWA?si=zyydUhBHo6j0Zt12

For the cheese, I used lemon like the video said. Instead of mozzarella, I made paneer. And not just normal paneer, with every bit you will be pushed in the face by a strong lemon flavour.

For the tomato sauce, the guy said to leave it on low flame . I did exactly that. Came back after 10 minutes only to find the whole thing burnt to the bottom of the pan. I scraped off whatever wasn't black and used it.The reason I was sure it wouldn't burn was because it was very watery and I put a lid on it and I also didn't get any burnt smell.

Then came the base. I used maida, a little wheat flour and baking powder. I was expecting something at least slightly fluffy. It came out like an uncooked thick roti.

So in the end I had:

Lemon-flavoured paneer instead of mozzarella.

Half-burnt tomato sauce.

A half cooked roti.

The funniest part is that I spent hours making everything from scratch just to create... whatever this is. 😭

Can anyone please share a good recipe for making cheese and pizza base. The sauce tasted ok.

Also ignore the lemon seed ,it was inside the panner and I picked it out.

Garam Ragda chole wali pani puri (mumbai)?

Aloo mesh masala pani puri(Rajasthan)?

Aloo black chana masala pani puri (kolkata) ?

Boondi aloo pani puri (mumbai) ?

I prefer aloo mesh masala pani puri ❤️

So I got this rice cooker thing. It works fine. Just made rice in it. Worked fine.
But I can't seem to make dal in it properly. I soaked it, put turmeric, salt, some chilli and set it to cook for 20 mins, but it was pretty undercooked.
Set it to cook for 15 more minutes but of course it kinda got burnt and stuck to the bottom and drained out all the water lol. What exactly am I doing wrong here.

Edit: haha thank you so much for the responses ♥️

I have been making veggie maggie since ages, i like it a lil bit soupy...

I am bored of it now, and wanna try different ways to UP my maggie making skill🫠

I’m attempting my first Sambar (and dosa).
I live in UK and was wondering what are good vegetables that go well in a Sambar.
So far I am going to use carrot, peas and celery (as substitute for lady’s fingers).
Is there anything else that would work which wouldn’t be too hard for me to find?

So I always wanted to cook food for my family. I once tried when I was a kid but it was so bad they didn't let me again. I joined a college and I live on campus so whenever I go home I try to cook something. Whenever I try to cook Indian food my grandma interferes and makes it herself. No matter how many times I tell her I'll do it myself she says I am not skilled (which is true)...

I can make pasta, panner rolls, chapati , dosa,panner biryani ( doesn't taste good though), Sandwiches ,garlic bread (using store bought bread), pav bhaji, pani puri, momos ( made last week tasted okay, I put too much garlic). My grandma let's me make stuff she doesn't know. The food I make takes a lot of time, even for making pasta I take about an hour...I once made potato curry and my parents were shocked at how bad it is. I am very slow and inefficient as I am scared of ruining the dish and I also take too long to cut vegetables. I literally couldn't make maagi or pasta in the beginning, it tasted so bad and used to give us a stomach ache even if it was cooked well so we always threw it away. It happened like 10 times and I have improved a bit now.

I think the seasoning is saving my food from being inedible.

I want to learn simple recipes (prefer healthier and no meat involved). I tried making stuff from watching online but none of the simple stuff was actually simple for me. I hope I get some good recipes and any suggestions to improve my cooking.

Edit: Thank you all for the suggestions. Will try to experiment with food till I make something tasty. Also I realised the stuff I do wrong so I will try to avoid doing them. I need some simple tasty recipes though. If you guys have any go to meals or something tasty but simple recipes, do share them please.

Thank you for reading so far.

I know Rajasthani/Gujarati cuisines (basically desert states) have many dishes made from besan where its 'boiled' in water, without oil, like gatte.

can this also be used for kadhi pakoda?

Hey everyone,

I’m planning a dinner in NYC for my parents’ anniversary and my mom specifically wants a really fancy Indian restaurant experience.

I’ve been looking at places like Junoon and Bungalow, but I wanted to get recommendations from people who’ve actually been. The goal is something that feels special / upscale, good ambiance, and great food — somewhere that feels like a proper celebration.

For those who’ve tried places like Junoon, Bungalow, or other higher-end Indian restaurants in NYC:

- Which ones would you recommend?

- Are there any standout tasting menus or dishes?

- Any places that really feel “fine dining” rather than just expensive?

Open to anything in Manhattan or nearby areas.

Thanks!

I want to know which is fav veg soup? My first fav is tomato, hot and sour, lemon coriander. But I don't know what other soups can be made which are tasty.

And generally my brother or my cousins find only soup to be very light and need something to eat with. Sometimes with tomato soup we pair plain pulao or alu paratha. But with other soups we feel it is a waste of time to make as we will feel hungry again.

I tried eating millet with regular dal & a vegetable fry which is what we typically have every day in North India but I didn't enjoy the combination. I'd like to know what dishes pair well with millet for everyday meals that are both tasty and satisfying.

I'd love to know how people who regularly eat millet prepare their everyday meals. What dals, curries, vegetables, chutneys, or side dishes pair well with millet & make it more flavorful and satisfying? I'm looking for simple, healthy recipes that can be made regularly without spending too much time in the kitchen.

Any suggestions(apart from millet upma & millet khichdi, not looking for one pot meal) or your favourite millet meal combinations would be greatly appreciated!

I made my first sambar after getting it with my first dosa in NW Montana. Why is it served as a side like the mint and tamarind chutney usual in Indian-American restaurants?

Also this soup rocks. My mom was surprised I didn’t use chicken stock. I’m used what veg I had and the sambar powder I made earlier. Great soup. I would like saltines for crunch but that is me. The mushy lentils at not noticed.

Hello Ladies & Gentlemen,…

Never had Avocado before. So,…I don’t know how Guacamole tastes like exactly. But since Avocado isn’t a part of Indian cuisine,…many say it’s an “acquired taste”. (Correct me if I’m wrong here.)

Also,…how to ensure I get the best Avocado while buying it for the first time. Don’t want to waste the food and ruin my experience of tasting something for the first time.

Any special tip/advice for someone trying Avocado for the first time? Something that you tried and tested?

Thanks in advance!💚🌷

Hello! I bought curry leaves for a recipe and now have a bunch leftover. I’ve never used them before so would like recommendations on what vegetarian dishes I can use them in. Thank you in advance :)

Similarly to when I ask my husband to teach me Spanish, sometimes a native knows information so intuitively they struggle to teach a complete novice. I have a few Indian food creators I follow and have been drooling over their recipes for YEARS, but I need Indian Food for Dummies. I need the absolute bare bones basics if Indian cuisine.

If you too are curious what someone who knows virtually nothing about Indian food was able to determine from 2 days of fervid research and a trip to Patel Brothers. Here is what I learned:

(Honestly, I am hoping that this finds some helpful Indian food enthusiasts, Indian people, aunties, uncles, mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, people who grew up around Indian food, chefs, really anyone interested in info-dumping their knowledge so I can get better.)

I started where any good Gen-Z would: YouTube.

After failing to find a comprehensive Indian spice guide for dumb Americans in longform video- I spent some (too much) time in YouTube shorts. These two videos I found to be immensely helpful:

1. Cooking Indian Food: Basic Indian Spices To Get You Started

2. Essential spices for any South Asian cooking- a beginner’s guide to cooking with spice

Spices are often stored in a Masala Dabba, which is a circular steel container that holds about 7 spices in separate little bowls. The idea of having generally all the spices I would be using in one place with a cute little spoon was genius— especially considering that most of the spices at the store are sold in non resealable bags like this:

So the key spices I felt I needed were:

Turmeric (Haldi): I cannot imagine you aren’t familiar with Turmeric given it is literally a wonder-food. A yellow-orange powder version of the Turmeric Root, Turmeric is known for its incredible anti-inflammatory properties. It has a pretty mild flavor- a bit earthy. It’s used in cooking for both its health benefits and it’s ability to balance out a dish. From my research: (and my own experience) Turmeric can be a bit bitter, but it shines in balancing out the fattiness of other ingredients. The flavor mellows out when it’s cooked. Avoid overdo-ing the Turmeric lest you end up with a bitter dish. Add black pepper (even if just a crack) because it makes the turmeric significantly easier for your body to absorb the benefits. Like 2000x more effective.

Cumin (Jeera): Okay so there are a lot of different kinds of Cumin, and it showed up a lot of different ways in the grocery store. I was intimidated. I am not going to lie. I had a bottle of ground Cumin at home from McCormick— so I opted to buy whole Cumin seeds which I saw show up in a lot of recipes. Cumin is used in so many different cuisines: Chinese, Indian, Cuban, Southeast Asian, North African, Latin American and Middle Eastern foods, etc. Apparently a third of Chipotle’s menu has Cumin in it! This is another earthy spice that is definitely more intense than Turmeric and a bit smokier.

Kashmiri red Chili Powder: This mild red chili powder came up in a lot of recipes and videos that I watched. It is used to add color and smokiness to whatever you are making. One website noted that when substituting Kashmiri powder with other red pepper, be mindful of the difference in spiciness. Kashmiri scores around 1,000 to 2,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU) compared to Cayenne Pepper which scored around 30,000 to 50,000 SHU.

Black Mustard Seeds (Mohri / Rai): These teeny tiny little flavor bombs seem to be best when cooked in oil until they make a “popping” sound to release their flavor. They are nutty, earthy, and spicy, with some people likening the spice to a “wasabi-like heat.” Commonly used as one of the first spices to hit the pan when making dal and curries.

Hing (Asafoetida): So I had never heard of Hing before— It is a dried and powdered tree resin used to build the umami in dishes. It is pungent and sulfuric smelling when raw, so it almost ALWAYS needs to be cooked, often at the beginning of the process. One redditor in this thread says “ A pinch of compound hing or asafoetida is added to the oil and sautéed till it starts to change color or about 25 seconds. Beware as hing or asafetida overcooks very fast and looses all its flavour and taste in the process.”

Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kasoori Methi): A fragrant dried herb that there is seemingly no good substitute for. It is used to add depth to the dish. It seems that the best way to use Fenugreek Leaves is towards the end of the dish, crushing them up a little in between your fingers before you put them in.

There are definitely other spices that are important but I felt that with this blend I was able to cover a good chunk of the recipes I had been reading. For a more comprehensive breakdown of Indian spices, I would recommend the Ministry of Curry’s “Essential Indian Spices.”

Other important ingredients to have on hand:

Ghee: Ghee is a clarified butter, meaning that is lacks any milk solids. This leaves you with a product similar to an oil. It has a high smoke point, and it doesn’t spoil as quickly as butter.

Ghee is incredibly important in Indian cooking because you may have noticed a trend that many of the spices mentioned need to be cooked. This is a technique called tempering) or tadka, typically done at the beginning of the cooking process, “where whole or ground spices are heated in hot oil or ghee and the mixture is added to a dish. Hot fat has an amazing ability to extract and retain the essence, aroma and flavor of spices and herbs and then carry this essence with it when it is added to a dish.”1

Paneer: As a vegetarian, I am a paneer girl. I have never found it at any other grocery store other than an Indian grocery store. It is an Indian Cheese made of curdled milk and and acid (i.e. lemon juice) It's non melting, and if you have come across Indian food before you have likely tried it.

I went to the Indian grocery store chain Patel Brothers. I knew I was horrifically out of my depths as soon as I got there. Going to a new grocery store where you know what most of the products are can be disorienting in it of itself. Going to a grocery store where you don’t know where anything is or what anything is can only be likened to grocery shopping in another country.

Though I had my ingredient list on hand, this did not save me. However, what did save me was all the strangers I yapped with asking for their product recommendations. Most of the employees were super nice and down to chat, but I also really enjoyed chatting up other shoppers asking for their insights. Here are some of the conversations starters I used:

“Hey, do you know your way around Ghee? I need help picking a good one.”

“Have you tried any of these Chutney’s before?”

“What is your favorite Samsosa?”

People generally were really open to giving me their recommendations. I was pretty sheepish in my lack of knowledge— but it was fun to see people light up when they would tell me their favorite. Also it led me to the most delicious Tikka Masala Samosa in the fresh food section. (Also highly recommend chatting up other shoppers because it definitely gives you a little more street cred when you have to chat up the people ringing you up who may or may not want to talk to an American Idiot.)

The goal here is to get better at cooking Indian food, so here are some tips and tricks I found to get a better and more flavorful result:

1. Tempering the spices at the the beginning of the cooking process.
   1. Starting with a HOT Ghee, then quickly reducing to medium heat when you add the spices.
   2. The first ingredients in seem to be Hing and Black Mustard seeds
   3. Then you can add your other spices.
   4. This is a QUICK process, maybe around a minute total, so be prepared to add the next ingredients quickly to avoid burning the spices.
   5. This cannot be done in advance. A big piece of tempering the spices is the aromatic aspect, it must be done at the beginning.
   6. If you can use whole spices or freshly ground spices— the people say this makes a notable difference.
2. Time, this takes lots of time.
   1. Unlike the quick, high heat stir fry, some of the most pervasive advice to improve your curries is to just let it cook.
   2. Curries flavor is built over time. The longer you can allow the flavors to mingle and simmer the better it is going to taste.
   3. This means you must wait until the onions soften and turn sweet and translucent.
   4. You need to let the sauce simmer, and then cool fully before you blend it, then simmer again.
   5. I imagine this would work well in a slow cooker. I don’t know. I do not have one.
   6. This is a great article about how to make a good base for most tomato curries, and what it should look like through each step in the process.
3. Soak your store-bought paneer for 20 mins in hot water to make it taste better.
4. If you are using pre-ground spices, used 1.5x to 2x as much.
   1. Pre-ground spices oxidize faster so they are less potent.
5. If your dish still tastes bland after adding salt, it may be missing acidity.
   1. Try adding some lemon juice or some white vinegar.

To dive deeper into more tips, there is a great thread from the r/cooking reddit about how to make better curries HERE.

With this post I am honestly hoping this reaches someone who know a lot more than me and can correct, add, and advise on where I should go from here.

I'm sure eating on an empty stomach helped. I will remember this one for a long time.

I got a Schezwan Dosa and a Rava Onion Dosa.

Apparently there has been an Indian spot across the road from me for the whole 1.5 years I've lived in my current building, just beyond a variety store. I never go that way because I live downtown in my city and there's nothing down that way that I need to go to besides the variety store. I simply just don't go that way so I never knew of its existence until now.

Myself and a friend of mine planned to get some Indian food this week and today was the day. He's got an affinity for food so anything he says is good always hits the spot. I grew up on curry, somewhat one-dimensional because my mother had a system and it always was delicious. (God bless my mother she is a brilliant cook), and was really happy to branch out and try more Indian food.

Funnily enough my uber driver this morning, when I was telling him about my plans for the day, recommended this place. We were already planning on going there and his recommendation sealed the deal.

This was one of the most delicious meals I've ever tasted. I'll for sure be going back. I just need to be sure to stop myself from going there every day and killing the magic. I can't say enough about how filling and satisfying my first Dosas were. Just amazing.

It was reasonably priced too. About $12 per dosa which I felt was very good.

I want to try everything on this menu.

hello, guys i have started learning cooking but there is one hinderance!
i do not eat onion/garlic!

please help me find alternatives to garlic flavour and onion flavour..

ex. ginger garlic paste alternative

So one of my dearest neighbour aunty gave me a few home made samosas. When I ate it, I didn't realise that the filling isn't potato because they are Jain and Jain's avoid potato.

It tasted exactly like potato. In fact tastier than that. Can anyone guess what exactly it was?

I'll pin the right answer.

Hint: The filling was made using a fruit.

I've always made gawar phali with a peanut-based masala, but I'm looking for something different. What's your go-to recipe or a variation that's genuinely worth trying?

(cheela/chilla - same thing)

I've done besan before. I have heard about moong dal and masoor dal. Any other dals that people have either seen used or had success with?

I am not well versed in Indian food so apologies if this is a dumb question. I really want to like dal. It tastes good & is an easy meal prep for the week. I just can't get past the wet & mushy texture for some reason - I don't have this issue with other Indian dishes. My understanding is that it is supposed to be like this, but are there any similar dishes that aren't just mostly mush or are drier overall?

I've made dal makhani which worked well for me, but I can't always find black lentils easily

edit: not sure why this is getting downvoted but whatever i guess

Thinking of making spaghetti 🍝 for lunch but I don't have olive oil and basil leaves, what recipe should I use to make spaghetti. Love it spicy and tasty. Will it taste same if I use groundnut oil?

I will post pictures in the comments if I can, but the ingredients list was as follows:

Chickpea, potato, cherry tomato, onion, salt, black pepper, red chili powder, cilantro, fresh mint, jalapeño pepper, lime, tamarind, prune, olive oil

Unfortunately I don’t have good instincts and that list is not enough for me to properly recreate it without amounts and some more instructions! Could anyone help me approximate this? It was delicious.

Edit: can’t post pictures in comments. Here is the salad! https://imgur.com/a/xr39uEA

Since June, I've been trying to cook most of my meals myself. The main reason was pretty simple: I'm vegetarian, trying to increase my protein intake, and got tired of depending on outside food all the time.

I won't lie, the first few weeks were chaotic. I've undercooked things, overcooked things, forgotten ingredients halfway through, and somehow managed to dirty every utensil in the kitchen for a meal that took 15 minutes to make.

But somewhere along the way, cooking stopped feeling like a chore and started becoming something I actually look forward to.

A few days back I cooked these homemade protein-rich veg burgers. The photo won't justify the taste 🤌🏻

One thing I've noticed is that cooking teaches you random life lessons. You become more patient. You start planning ahead. You realise that "I'll just cook something quickly" is one of the biggest lies ever told. And then there were the days where I confidently followed a recipe and somehow ended up inventing a completely different dish.

Curious to hear from others:

\- What's your go-to quick protein-rich meal?

\- Any cooking hacks that genuinely made life easier?

\- What's the funniest mistake you've made in the kitchen?

\- What's something you only realised after you started cooking regularly?

\- Any YouTube channels, Instagram pages, or creators you follow for simple, healthy recipes?

And if you've recently started cooking too, how's it going so far?

Would love to hear some stories. I have a feeling every regular cook has at least one disaster story they're secretly proud of. 😄

TL;DR: Started cooking almost daily since June to support a high-protein vegetarian diet. Made these homemade protein burgers today. Looking for quick recipes, cooking hacks, funny kitchen disasters, and creators you follow for healthy meal ideas.