Oven-Baked Crispy Naan

Oven-Baked Crispy Naan (and Other Delicious Indian Recipes I'm Making at Home)

The other day I saw a tweet asking people about their best (restaurant) dining experience *ever*. My first thought was, "impossible." That's like asking people what their favorite food, song, or movie is. There are too many factors to consider, and I need specifics. "Favorite late night snack," "best sad girl song," "scariest nightmares-for-days horror film." Those are conversations I want to have.

I did love the question for a couple of reasons, though. The responses gave me tons of new restaurants from all over the world to yearn for and dream about. And the question itself made me reminisce over some incredible meals I've had — some with people who are no longer in my life, but whom I still have very wonderful feelings about. I love those kinds of memories, ones so firmly bound to place and time: a year, a season, a particular time in my life.

I still don't have a real answer to the question. But I have been thinking a lot about one particular meal since that day, a meal I had at Vij's, an Indian restaurant, in Vancouver, towards the end of a road trip in 2019. Two of my best friends (at the time) and I drove there from Los Angeles, stopping at national parks and big cities with loud bars and restaurants we had been anticipating for months. The trip was an especially healing, revelatory one for us, because it came at a fraught time in all of our lives.

That glorious meal felt like the culmination of that entire week, what it was all leading up to. We had amazing drinks (probably too many) and essentially ordered one of everything on the menu, which consisted of traditional Indian recipes with a focus on locally-sourced produce. We had chicken kabab, lentils, lots of vegetable sides, a super spicy goat curry, the best chutney I've ever had, and a dessert we should not have had room for. There was not a single miss. Every bite from beginning to end was nothing short of divine. For those couple of hours, everything in my life felt like it was exactly where it needed to be.

What to Make This Week

Spicy Red Lentil Dahl

A thick red lentil stew recipe that uses pantry staples and a single pot.

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Chole Chickpea Curry

This Punjabi-style recipe comes from one of our writer's mother's kitchen.

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Bund Gobhi: Stir Fry Cabbage

Cabbage, tomatoes, and green chiles come together for a stir fry dish that packs incredible flavor.

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Spice Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower's mild taste makes it the perfect canvas for traditional Indian spice blends like garam masala.

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The Spruce Eats on YouTube

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