Both the lassies and the laddies will enjoy this refreshing drink. You decide if you should spike with rum, or enjoy as a non-alcoholic beverage — it's good either way. It does look festive when served with candied fennel!

Serves 6

Pop the mango, yogurt, salt and rum (if using) into a blender and whiz until smooth. If its a particularly hot day, you can blend with some ice.

Top with sparkling water, and mix until just combined.  Garnish with a sprinkle of garam masala before serving.

Papadums are a delightful snack and quick and easy to prepare. You can cook directly over an open flame (as we do at Hipcooks) or you can fry them in a skillet with hot grapeseed oil: they'll poof up and fry in seconds. Made of chickpea flour and spices, they're a healthy and crunchy bite — and a perfect vehicle for our 3 sauces:

What's fun about the 3 sauces we prepare is that one is sweet and sour, the second is spicy and the third is cooling. The sweetness of the mango, paired with the acid of the vinegar gives this chutney its personality, and the warming spices give it depth.

Serves 6

Place the mango and vinegar in a heavy-bottomed pot, and simmer slowly until the mango softens, about 5 to 10 minutes on low heat. Stir in about half of the brown sugar, garlic and ginger, salt, and the spices. Continue to simmer on low heat — you want the cider vinegar to reduce out, and the mango to become quite jammy (about another 10 minutes). If the pan begins to get dry before the mango completely softens, you can always add a bit of water. Allow to cool slightly, and (carefully) taste. You can fish out the whole spices and adjust the balance of flavors, adding more sweetness or sour if necessary.

 Allow the chutney to cool completely before serving. 

We often call this vibrant and spicy sauce  "The Green Machine." It's delicious with the papadums,  but also a great side spice, to mix into whatever, whenever you need a bright little kick in the pants.

Pop the herbs and chilies into a food processor and blend all of the ingredients until smooth. (A blender will also work in a pinch). Scrape the sides and bottom with a spatula and add the lime juice and salt. Blend again, and give it a taste. If needed, you can add more serrano chili. Adding the coconut will tame the spices, and lend an element of richness and body to the sauce.  You can add a little water, if necessary, to get the right consistency of the sauce.

When spicy food sets your mouth afire, gulping water won't cool you down. Dairy will! This cooling raita will come to the rescue and is way more delicious than pounding a glass of milk.

Grate the cucumber (we use a box grater) and, using your hands, squeeze out the excess water.

Mix together the cucumber, tomato, yogurt, and lemon. Stir in the cumin and salt, to taste.

Here's a great way to become better acquainted with Indian spices! Mild potatoes are the perfect vehicle that let you sample as you go. When making these potatoes, grab a cooked potato, sprinkle it with just one of the spices you're thinking about adding to the dish, and give it a try.

As far as the potatoes go, you've got a couple of options: skin-on new or baby potatoes (cut in half or quarters depending on the size), skin-on medium potatoes, like Yukon gold, or Russet potatoes, that must be peeled. At Hipcooks, we prefer potatoes with the skin on (ask us the four reasons why). Also, a larger potato will allow for multi-faceted cutting, so the potatoes can grab a lot of dressing. (You see? "Pot-AY-to" and  "po-TAH-to" are not the same thing!)

serves 6, as a side

Pre-heat your oven to 375°F, convection

Par-boil the potatoes in a large pot, along with a teaspoon of salt, turmeric, and enough water to cover the potatoes by an inch. Once the water is boiling, you can reduce the heat and cook the potatoes for just a few minutes, and then drain. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl, toss with about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and transfer to a large parchment-lined baking sheet. To the oven with them!

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the dressing. Toast both the coriander and cumin seeds, and then grind in the mortar and pestle. As you do this, the reason for fresh toasting and grinding becomes most obvious.

Using the same pan, toast the mustard seeds next, until they begin to dance in the pan.

Remove the potaotes from the oven when they're looking beautifully crisp. Return them to the large bowl. Add the ground seeds from the mortar and pestle, the mustard seeds, and the ground spices (cayenne and garam masala) to the potatoes. Add slowly, and taste as you go! They'll need a swirl of olive oil and perhaps a pinch of salt, before you place them on a serving platter, adorned with cilantro.

Please don't be intimidated by the sheer length of this recipe and ingredients. As you saw in class, it's a real snap to prepare. Roasting the cauliflower and tofu ensure its crispness and depth of flavor (plus, you can do that step in advance). The rest of the work is playing with spices, how fun!

Serves 6

Roast the cauliflower:

Pre-heat your oven to 375°F, convection

Pat the tofu dry with a paper towel, and cube or crumble into small bits in a large mixing bowl. Add the cauliflower florets and give it a swirl of coconut or other neutral oil. Mix the cornstarch and spices in a small bowl and then sprinkle over the cauliflower mixture. Spread onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, until it is nicely browned.

Make the green sauce:

Use your food processor to make the green sauce: add the cilantro, spinach, garlic, ginger, serrano & lemon juice to the bowl and whizz away. Just like the green sauce recipe above, you may need a bit of water to thin out the mixture: start with about ¼ cup of water for a pesto-like consistency.

Finish the curry:

Heat the coconut oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sautee the aromatics (finely chopped onion, ginger, and garlic) until the onions are translucent.  Add cumin, garam masala, and turmeric. They'll bloom and start to smell amazing. Next, add the green sauce and coconut cream and cook for a minute or so, stirring until everything is well-combined.  Now is a great time to taste and to make refinements. Surely you'll need some salt, but you may want to up the heat with some chili powder or cayenne. If it seems too spicy for you, counteracting with a bit of acid may give you the right balance. 

Add the cauliflower and tofu, stirring until just combined. Serve adored with cilantro.

These are so quick and easy to make, how can you resist when they're faster to make at home and so delicious when right out of the pan.

In India, there is a special flour that you can buy for chapati, called atta, that is very finely milled. If you've got a great Indian market near you look for this flour —your chapati will puff up more easily with a finer grain of flour.

Makes 6 large chapati, or 10 small

Mix the flours and salt in a large bowl. Using your fingertips, work in the olive oil.

Stir in the hot water (it will most likely be too hot to handle with your hands, initially.) Using hot water instead of cold will encourage the gluten to relax. Mix until you have a smooth dough.

Knead the dough by doubling the dough over and pressing down repeatedly, until the dough is smooth and elastic, at least 10 minutes. Here's where you can recruit your family or friends to participate.  The longer you can knead the dough, the better the result.  

Put the dough back into the mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let the dough rest at least 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 6 portions. Roll each portion on a floured surface as thin as you can, working from the center to the sides.

Get a skillet or cast-iron pan nice and hot, and cook the chapati on one side until you see tiny light-colored bubbles appear on the surface.  This will take about a minute. Flip the chapati to cook on the other side, or hold over an open flame (using metal tongs) to cook the other side. You should see some great poofing-action!

Brush each chapati on both sides with melted butter. You can sprinkle these with Maldon salt and chopped scallions to enjoy right away, or serve with the meal. 

We love this dairy-free ice cream! It's a healthy and refreshing finisher to a spicy meal. It also has no sugar — we sweeten with honey. It doesn't need much since coconut is naturally sweet-tasting. 

serves 6

Pour all but  ½ cup of the coconut milk into a saucepan. Add the honey and salt and heat gently until all is combined and the mixture is warm.

Combine the cornstarch and the remaining cup coconut milk and pour it into the saucepan, whisking to combine. Over medium heat, stir this mixture and until it has thickened enough to coat the back of your spoon. Add the vanilla bean paste.

Cool the custard over an ice bath (if you are in a hurry), or in the fridge (if you have time) and churn in an ice-cream maker until it has the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Transfer to a container and freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes.

Serve with the toasted coconut flakes on top.

Chai is readily available to purchase, but it is way too danged sweet, don't you think? Chai tea bags are also available, but they don't pack the same flavor of homemade. We like to make a large batch of concentrate since it keeps well, and we're sipping chai all week.

serves 6, but you should double or triple this for Chai all week!

Make the concentrate by putting the spices and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and turn down the heat to a simmer. Cook until well-infused, about 15 minutes. Strain the liquid, and it is ready to use (or store).

Scald the milk and remove from the heat. Add the tea and steep for a few minutes. Remove the tea bags and stir in the concentrate. (You may need to reheat gently if the concentrate is cold.) Sweeten to taste. (At Hipcooks, we don't care for too-sweet chai, and sometimes forgo the honey for a little squeeze of vanilla bean paste — we're spoiled like that. Try it!

"Real" mojitos are fantastic: make them 1 or 2 at a time, by muddling fresh mint, sugar, fresh lime, and rum. Yum. We're not kicking these off the table, we're offering an alternative that's much easier when you have a large group since you can make this batch-style. Also, having mint leaves stuck in your teeth is funny when drinking with your beloved but at a dinner party, perhaps not.

makes a pitcher of mojito to serve 6

Make the simple syrup:
Boil 1 cup water and pour over the two tea bags. Allow tea bags to steep for about 10 minutes, you want a STRONG mint tea. Once you have the 1 cup minty tea place it in a heavy bottomed pot and add the sugar. Heat both until just before boiling and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and chill.

Make the pitcher of mojitos
Mix the rum, lime juice, and simple syrup. Taste and adjust. Before serving, add lots of ice and mint sprigs (either to the pitcher or to individual glasses. Since this cocktail packs a pretty punch, some might like it topped off with sparkling water. It dilutes the cocktail just a touch and gives a delightful effervesce.