The Spice Box

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.

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.

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