Life-Changing Madhur Jaffrey Recipes From Boti Kebabs and Chicken Biryani to Fresh Paneer and Chickpea Pizza (2024)

Madhur Jaffrey and the Trap of Perfection

Chicken Biryani

This South Asian dish is perhaps one of the world's most elegant rice dishes, and is perfect for a dinner party or celebration meal.

Boti Kebabs

Freshly ground warm spices form a flavorful crust around these juicy grilled lamb kebabs, while the lactic acid in the yogurt marinade tenderizes the meat.

Shrimp Cooked With Coconut Milk

Jaffrey tempers curry leaves, along with fenugreek, mustard, and coriander seeds, as well as tamarind paste, garlic, chiles, fresh ginger, and a host of flavorful spices and aromatics to balance beautifully with thick coconut milk and shrimp in this South Indian curry.

Green Lentil Curry

Madhur Jaffrey infuses green lentils with garlic, ginger, coriander, and cumin and serves the curry over rice or with a piece of warm naan.

Caribbean Seasoning Sauce

Jaffrey says to try spreading this herb-filled sauce thickly on fish fillets such as salmon or sea bass and letting them marinate for 30 minutes before grilling.

Tandoori Chicken

This Indian chicken dish is popular throughout the world for the deep flavor that comes from cooking chicken in a tandoor, the deep, urn-shaped clay oven. Jaffrey adapted the recipe for a charcoal grill to make it accessible to home cooks.

Lemon Rice

Tempered fresh curry leaves and mustard seeds bring fragrance and flavor to a lemon juice and zest-kissed rice.

Seasoned Radishes

Jaffrey is known for her passion for radishes. She often serves them with drinks at dinner parties. They're easy to make and don't ruin anyone's appetite.

Indian-Style Grilled Vegetables with Paneer

Pair seasonal vegetables with Jaffrey's easy Homemade Paneer with Indian Flavors, and you'll find yourself putting this recipe in rotation year-round with whatever's on hand.

Swiss Chard with Ginger and Cumin

“I often use just one or two spices, such as the ginger and cumin in this Swiss chard,” saysJaffrey. “It’s a very northern Indian approach.”

Village-Style Carrots and Peas with Tofu

This vegetarian dish from the villages of the Punjab in northwestern India is normally made withpaneer, but sometimes Jaffrey takes a shortcut and uses tofu.

Chickpea Flour Pizza with Tomato and Parmesan

Calledsoccain Nice andfarinatain Genoa, this workingman's morning snack is traditionally baked in brick ovens in pizza pans. Jaffrey's method calls for using a skillet on the stovetop, then moving the pizza to the broiler.

Persian Pilaf with Lime and Green Beans

This is one of the best vegetarian pilafs Jaffrey has ever eaten. It looks like a slightly collapsed cake with a crust of reddish-gold sliced potatoes. Underneath are layers of rice and green beans and tomatoes.

Lime and Ginger Syrup

Many people in India have a particular passion forsherbets(pronouncedshar-bats), or fruit-syrup drinks. For each drink, pour about a half inch of the syrup into a tall glass, add ice cubes, fill the glass with water or seltzer and garnish with a sprig of mint or a lime slice.

Sour Cherry Syrup

Jaffrey likes to pour about a half inch of syrup into a tall glass, add lots of ice cubes and then pour in seltzer. You might prefer water instead.

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