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Aubergines char directly on a gas flame or under a hot grill until the skin is uniformly black and the flesh is collapsed inside. Steamed briefly under foil; peeled. Flesh chops, then mashes (don't blend, the texture is the point) with tahini, lemon, garlic, salt. Plate; pool olive oil; scatter pomegranate seeds and parsley.
Potato cubes par-boil for 6 minutes to set the inside, drain, dry. Fried in olive oil at medium-high until deeply golden all sides (15 minutes). Off heat, garlic, coriander, chilli flakes, salt, lemon juice toss through. A handful of fresh coriander leaves on top.
Bombay Potatoes is comfort food at its finest. Small potatoes are partially cooked, then coated in a richly spiced oil infused with seeds and aromatics. Some potatoes are mashed to create a creamy base, while others remain whole for texture. The result is a warm, golden, deeply spiced side dish that's utterly satisfying. This is a vegetarian staple of Indian home cooking.
Beetroots roast in foil until tender (or boil for the quicker route), then peel and grate coarsely. The grated beetroot warms gently in butter with finely chopped onion, a splash of vinegar or lemon juice, sugar and a generous spoon of horseradish. Tastes of earth and warmth. Eaten warm in winter, room temperature in summer.
The Ashkenazi version, simplest and most common in northern Europe and the United States: tart apples chopped fine, walnuts crushed coarse, cinnamon, a little brown sugar, and sweet kosher red wine to bind. Stirred together and left for the flavours to meld. Some households add a pinch of ground ginger or a squeeze of lemon. There are dozens of regional variants (Sephardi versions use dates and figs); this one is the most familiar at a North American seder.
Coriander and parsley leaves blitz briefly in a food processor with garlic, cumin, paprika, saffron, salt and lemon juice. Olive oil drizzles in slowly to emulsify. Tasted; adjusted with more lemon, salt or cayenne. Used straight, or rested for 30 minutes for the flavours to settle. Keeps a week in a jar in the fridge.
The Azerbaijani version of the shepherd's salad that turns up in some form on every table from the Balkans to Persia, the bright herby counter to anything rich coming out of the kitchen. You dice tomatoes, cucumber and red onion to five-millimetre cubes (smaller than a typical chopped salad, almost a relish) and chop the herbs fine: dill, mint and tarragon, the tarragon being the move that distinguishes the Azeri version from its neighbours. Everything tosses together with olive oil, lemon juice and salt about fifteen minutes before serving, so the salt draws the tomato juice out and the salad relaxes into itself. Best the same day; the salad weeps if held overnight. Eat with grilled meat, with plov, with lavash, with whatever the main is.
Trimmed green beans blanch in heavily salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes until just tender (still bright green and slightly crisp). Drained but not refreshed if serving immediately, the residual heat is wanted; if making ahead, refresh in ice water to stop cooking. Butter melts in a wide pan; flaked almonds toast in the butter until both go gold-amber together (the butter browns to beurre noisette / hazelnut butter). The blanched beans toss in the butter-almond pan over high heat for 1 minute; finished with a squeeze of lemon, a grind of pepper, optional Dijon mustard or garlic, and chopped parsley.
Herb salsa is uniquely French despite the Spanish name: it's essentially a warm salsa based on creamy, newly cooked potato and fine herbs. Unlike the fresh salsas of Mexico and Mediterranean regions, this version relies on cooked potato for texture and structure, with sherry vinegar providing acid, and a combination of mustard and lemon juice offering complexity. The blend of fines herbes (parsley, chives, tarragon, chervil) creates aromatic brightness without the intensity of larger basil-based sauces. This is best served warm or at room temperature, never chilled; cold dulls the delicate herb character.
Vegetables are diced into uniform 5 mm cubes, knife work matters. Lemon juice, olive oil and salt are the only dressing; sometimes a teaspoon of sumac or a clove of crushed garlic. Eaten freshly made; doesn't keep, the cucumbers weep.
Vegetables dice into 5 mm cubes, uniform size matters for both look and dressing. Lime juice, salt, chaat masala and a finely-chopped chilli toss through. Coriander on top. Eat within an hour or the salad goes watery.
Aubergines roast or pan-fry until soft and silky. The flesh mashes with caramelised onion and garlic into a soft paste. Kashk thins with a splash of water and folds through. The dish plates in a wide bowl, scored with the back of a spoon. Topped with crispy fried shallots, dried mint sizzled in oil, swirls of kashk, and chopped toasted walnut.*
A bunch of mint and a bunch of coriander are blended with green chilli, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, cumin and a small handful of roasted gram (for body). Thick natural yogurt is folded in at the end. The chutney finishes bright green, sharp and cool; designed to cut through the richness of chargha, boti and chapli kebabs.
Red onion is sliced as thin as possible (mandoline is ideal). The slices are soaked in iced water with a small splash of vinegar for 15 minutes, which kills the raw sulphurous bite and crisps them up. Drained and patted dry, the slices are tossed with lemon juice, chaat masala, salt, a pinch of sugar and a small handful of finely chopped fresh coriander or mint. Pickled green chillies on the side complete it.
Split yellow moong dal (or chana dal, or a mix) is rinsed and pressure-cooked or simmered with turmeric until completely soft. The dal is mashed lightly to a porridge consistency. A second pan fries ghee with whole cumin, garlic, sliced green chilli, dried red chilli and curry leaves until the garlic just turns golden. The hot tarka is poured over the dal with a dramatic sizzle; coriander and lemon finish.
Cucumber slices very thin, salts for 20 minutes to draw out water, then squeezes dry. The squeeze is the technique, without it, the dressing ends up a watery puddle. The drained cucumber tosses with sour cream, lemon juice or white vinegar, plenty of fresh dill, a little sugar and pepper. Eats cold, on the day.