Indian 101 – some delicious Diwali recipes! 

We’re sharing three gorgeous dishes as featured in Karan Gokani’s Classic Indian Recipes Made Simple  

Bombay Sandwich

The Bombay sandwich, or cheese toastie, is a testament to the ingenious spirit of Indian street food culture, where street vendors take something foreign and transform it into a uniquely Indian creation, packed with spices and local flair, in such a way that you’d never imagine it existed in any other form previously. 

Every street corner boasts a hawker grilling these sandwiches in camping toastie-makers over coal-fired stoves, each with their signature chutney or filling. One bite of these and you’ll never settle for a plain cheese toastie again. 

You can swap the boiled potatoes for a tablespoon of Potato Masala (page 162) or Mustard Mashed Potatoes (page 165). This is a great way to use up leftovers of those dishes and gives the sandwich an added layer of flavour. Serve with ketchup or Tangy Tamarind Chutney (page 188) for dipping. 

Serves 1 

2 slices of white bread
1 tbsp salted butter, softened
1 tbsp Simple Green Chutney (page 186) 
2–3 thin slices of ripe tomato 
2–3 thin slices of potato, boiled and peeled 
2–3 thin slices of green pepper 
2–3 thin slices of red onion 
1 slice of cheese (Cheddar or similar) 
a large pinch of chaat masala (see page 266 for homemade) 
sev, to garnish (optional) 

Method

1. Trim the crusts off the bread and butter each slice on both sides. You can use fancy bread, if you like, but the traditional version and the one I enjoy the most often uses simple, cheap, white sliced bread. 

2. Build a sandwich in the following order, with a sprinkling of chaat masala every now and then to season the vegetables: bread – chutney – tomato – potato – green pepper – red onion – cheese – chutney – bread. 

3. Toast in an electric or camping-style toastie-maker. If you’re using a camping toastie-maker over an open flame, make sure you use a medium to low flame, and keep flipping the sandwich to ensure that the vegetables are fully cooked through and piping hot while the buttery toast turns a beautiful crisp golden brown. 

4. Once toasted, spread some more chutney over both sides of the sandwich, scatter over some sev and serve. 

Lemon rice

This south Indian recipe is a great way to use up leftover rice. You can make up a big batch of the lemon mix and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Mix it with some cooked rice whenever you like and serve hot or cold. 

This refreshing dish needs little more than a light curry or a Pachadi (page 169) to go with it. 

Makes about 500g 

400–500g cooked basmati rice (see page 270) 

For the lemon mix 

2 tablespoons neutral oil 
6 tbsp skin-on peanuts, or raw cashews (optional) 
1 tsp black mustard seeds 
1 tsp split white lentils 
1 tbsp grated ginger 
3 dried red chillies, stems removed but left whole 
¼ tsp asafoetida (optional) 
1½ tsp ground turmeric 
10–12 curry leaves 
60ml freshly squeezed lemon juice 
1 tsp salt 

Method

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan set over a medium heat. If using nuts, add them to the pan and fry until they turn a shade darker, about 2 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a plate lined with kitchen paper. 

2. Add the remaining oil to the pan and, once hot, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds start to crackle, add the split white lentils and cook for a minute. When the mustard seeds stop crackling and the lentils turn light brown, reduce the heat to low and add the ginger, chillies, asafoetida, turmeric and curry leaves. Cook for a minute, then remove from the heat. 

Allow to cool for 5 minutes. 

3. Stir in the lemon juice, fried nuts (if using) and salt. Mix thoroughly and rest for 5–10 minutes. The lemon mix is now ready and can be used immediately or refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week. 

4. To make lemon rice, simply mix the lemon mix with some freshly cooked or reheated basmati rice. The entire batch of lemon mix is good for about 500g of cooked rice, but you can adjust the quantity proportionately, as needed. 

Palak Paneer

Outside of India, any green, mostly spinach-based Indian sauce is naively referred to as ‘saag’. This is like calling any type of pie just a ‘pie’, despite the differences between a shepherd’s pie and a steak and ale pie. In India, saag refers to a variety of leafy greens, used in numerous dishes ranging from mustard greens (sarson) to fenugreek (methi) and beyond. This recipe from north India uses spinach (palak) as the main ingredient and is the version I grew up eating at home the most. It’s one of the simplest recipes in the book, very healthy, and a family favourite, so it’s ideal to batch cook. 

Serves 4 as a main 

250g paneer, cut into batons 
1½ tbsp ghee 
1 tsp cumin seeds 
120g red onions, finely chopped 
1½ tsp salt, to taste 
1 tsp grated ginger 
½ tsp grated garlic 
100g fresh ripe tomatoes, finely chopped (or 80g tinned chopped tomatoes) 
½ tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) (optional) 
250g spinach leaves 
1 green chilli, slit in half lengthways 
1 tbsp fresh cream, to garnish 
5cm ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks, to garnish 

Method

1. If you’re using store-bought paneer you can cut and soak it in a bowl of boiling water while you prepare the gravy. Soaking the paneer helps to make it a lot softer when cooked. If you’re using homemade paneer you can pan-fry it until golden brown before adding it to the curry, especially if it is quite crumbly. 

2. Heat the ghee in a pan over a medium heat and add the cumin seeds. Once they crackle, tip in the red onions along with ½ teaspoon of salt. When the onions have softened, after about 3 minutes, add the ginger and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. 

3. Now add the tomatoes and kasoori methi (if using) and cook for about 3–4 minutes, until the tomatoes have reduced by a third, adding a splash of water if required. 

4. Wash and add the spinach, then cover the pan. Some cooks boil the spinach and then add it, but I prefer adding it fresh and preserving all the juices and nutrients. Cook the spinach until it just wilts in its own steam and juices, about 3 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and blitz everything, along with 1 teaspoon of salt, the green chilli and 100ml of water. 

5. Once you have a smooth sauce, return it to the pan. Bring it back to a simmer and check the seasoning and consistency, adding water if you like it thinner. 

6. Add the paneer and cook for 3–4 minutes, until fully warmed through. Garnish with a drizzle of cream and the ginger before serving.