Dum-style biryani: marinated chicken layered with saffron rice and slow-cooked under a sealed dough lid. The steam does the work.

Silky spinach sauce, golden-fried paneer cubes. The green is preserved by the ice-bath trick. My mother's version, not the restaurant version.

The crown jewel of Punjabi cooking. Black lentils slow-cooked overnight with butter, cream, and tomatoes. Do not rush this.

Charred marinated chicken in a silky, spiced tomato cream sauce. The tikka and the masala are two separate operations — don't skip the char.

Lamb shoulder marinated 8 hours. Slower dum cook. Deeper, richer, more complex than the chicken version.

Coarse bulgur wheat instead of rice. Nuttier, more textured, slightly lower GI. Lebanese grandmothers often make it this way.

Harissa and brown butter replace tahini. More heat, more richness, more depth. Still roasted whole.

Replace half the guanciale with 'nduja, the spreadable Calabrian pork sausage. The sauce turns orange-red and deeply spicy.

Spiced minced lamb filling instead of potato-peas. The original meat version from Lucknow. Better for non-vegetarians.

Add a separate tadka (tempering) of whole spices and dried chiles fried in ghee, poured at the table. Drama and flavor.

Add Puy lentils for protein. They absorb the wine and become outrageously good. The most filling version.

Flaky pastry shells filled with spiced potato and peas. The fold is the hard part. The eating is the reward. Makes 20.

Korean twist on gyoza: kimchi and glass noodles in the filling, no pleating required. Just fold and pinch.

Brown 200g ground lamb with ras el hanout before adding the tomato sauce. Poach eggs on top. Serve from the pan.