Indian dinner recipes | Indian food recipes for bachelors & beginners

Indian dinner recipes or Indian food recipes for Bachelors, novice cooks & beginners. I have compiled 30 simple & top easy Indian food recipes that you can make for dinner. This collection includes restaurant and home style recipes which you can plan for your weekend and weeknight dinners.

Here are the different sections of this collection. Restaurant style side dishes, Rice dishes, Indian soups, home style veggie sides, popular fusion dishes & Instant recipes.

I have included 8 rice dishes in this post. For more varieties you can check this link on rice recipes. You can also check dal recipes here.

Indians typically eat rice, veggies (curries), roti (chapati), dal or soups for dinner. Many people even love to eat only breakfast for their dinner as it is easier to prepare. I have included only some Instant recipes here. For more you can check this link on breakfast recipes.

You can also check these links for more choice
Sandwich Recipes
Pasta Recipes
Recipes using bread
Oats recipes
Ragi Recipes

30 Indian dinner recipes

Restaurant style side dishes

Restaurant style dishes that can be served with paratha, roti, naan, jeera rice or ghee rice. These are great to make for special dinners like on the weekends, parties, celebrations etc. These dishes will need about an hour to prepare the curry and the rice.

1. Paneer butter masala is a delicious & creamy Indian dish made with Indian cheese aka paneer, butter, spices & herbs. This recipe will help you to make the best butter paneer at home with minimal effort. This butter masala or makhani sauce can also be made ahead and refrigerated. For more similar recipes check this collection of paneer recipes.

2. Chana masala is a popular dish made by simmering chickpeas in a onion tomato gravy. Chana masala is made almost in every region of India with so many variations. This recipe will give an unique, flavorful and one of the most delicious curries.You can also check this Punjabi chole for variation. Both these dishes can be eaten with bhatura, paratha or poori.

3. Kadai paneer is yet another amazingly flavorful dish made with fresh ground spice powder known as kadai masala. This post shares 2 recipes. First one to make a gravy version and the second to make a semi dry kadai paneer. Similar recipe made with kadai masala is this kadai mushroom.

4. Palak paneer needs no introduction as it is hugely popular among the Indians. This dish is prepared by adding Indian cheese or paneer to palak or spinach gravy. This recipe will give you one of the best delicious and creamy palak paneer you can make at home.

5. Rajma masala is a North Indian curry made by simmering red kidney beans in a spicy onion tomato gravy. Jeera rice goes very well with this.

Indian dinner recipes

Rice dishes

Rice dishes that are great to prepare for the weeknight dinners. Most of these are quick and can be made under 30 mins except for the bisi bele bath.

6. Veg biryani is a one pot simple, flavorful & delicious dish that can be made in just 30 mins. This is not a dum style biryani so it saves a lot of time and effort without having to spend much time in the kitchen. This goes well with a raita or plain curd. You can make this in a regular pot, pressure cooker or Instant pot.  

If you are keen to make a dum biryani, then you can check this veg dum biriyani.

7. Khichdi is similar to the south Indian ven Pongal. It is a one pot healthy, wholesome & quick dish made with rice, dal, veggies, ginger and minimal spices. This 30 mins khichdi is only not nourishing but also comforts the tummy.

You can also make this with any whole grains like millets, quinoa, steel cut oats etc. Please use the search box to find – dalia khichdi, oats khichdi and steel cut oats. Serve khichdi alone or with some pickle or chutney and papads.

8. Bisi bele bath is hugely popular in Karnataka. It is made with rice, lentils, bisi bele bath powder and veggies. It is a spicy version of the khichdi. It takes about 50 to 60 mins including the preparation. You can just serve it with some papads.

Recipes that are popular on the same lines are these sambar rice, vangi bath & rava bath.

9. Fried rice is a classic dish made in Indo Chinese restaurant style. This post will teach you how to make the best veg fried rice using simple ingredients like rice, veggies and garlic. This can be made just under 15 mins if you have the precooked rice and some frozen or chopped veggies.

If you eat eggs then you can also check this – egg fried rice.

10. Veg pulao is another one pot rice pilaf which is super quick to make either in a pot or cooker. It can be made under 30 mins. The recipe can be made with mixed veggies or even with a single veggie like potato, mushroom or even with only peas.

11. Curd rice is great to enjoy during summers or when you wish to have a comforting meal with less effort. I usually make lemon rice and curd rice both for the same meal. I cook the rice together and then make the seasoning different for both.

12. Lemon rice is a refreshing dish made by tempering rice with spices, curry leaves lentils and peanuts. A generous amount of lemon juice and turmeric is used for a nice color and flavor. Serve it plain or with curd. Coconut rice is another similar recipe you can check.

13. Tomato rice is quite popular in Tamilnadu and great to have when you do not have much time. All you need to prepare is an onion, few tomatoes and herbs. The recipe can be done under 30 mins. You can also check this thakkali sadam which is made with precooked rice.

Indian dinner recipes

Indian soups

Sambar & rasam are an everyday comfort foods made in south Indian homes.

14. Sambar is a popular south Indian lentil soup made with mixed veggies, spices and herbs. This is eaten with rice, idli, dosa, ven pongal or even with vada. Each state has their own way of making sambar. I have shared my mom’s own best sambar recipe which is a rough adaptation from Karnataka and Andhra cuisines.

15. Rasam is another comforting soup made with spices and herbs. We usually eat rasam along with rice and veggie stir fry on the side. Rasam is very light on the tummy & makes you feel hungry very quickly. So fill up your meal with lots of veggies.

This post shares instant rasam recipe which tastes very close to the one served in south Indian restaurant meals /thali. You can also check this Andhra style Tomato rasam.

Indian dinner recipes

Veggie sides

Homestyle veggie dishes that are healthy and delicious. Serve these with plain rice, chapati or roti.

16. Bhindi masala is a dish made with okra or ladies finger.

17. Mixed veg kurma is a south Indian dish made by simmering mixed veggies in a kurma gravy. To cut down the preparation time, you can us frozen chopped veggies like carrot, beans and peas.

18. Aloo gobi is another simple dish made by stir frying potato and cauliflower. This post shares 2 recipes. First one is a semi dry dish or sabzi and the second one is a gravy dish.

19. Mushroom masala curry is a simple dish made by simmering mushrooms in a onion tomato gravy. I have also shared another recipe made with peanut gravy.

20. Potato curry is one of the most basic curry recipes. You can also add some different veggies and make variations.

Aloo matar & Potato drumstick curry are some similar dishes.

Indian dinner dishes

Popular fusion dishes

Here are some fusion dishes which are not authentic Indian but loved by most Indians. So I have included them here.

21. Masala pasta is a super simple pasta dish made in Indian style with Indian spices. This is a kids’ friendly dish and will be loved by everyone.

22. Gobi Manchurian is another popular Indo-Chinese starter or appetizer made with gobi aka cauliflower. It can be served as a starter or as a side with noodles & fried rice. You are short of time you can also serve this with plain basmati rice. Make sure you make the manchurian a bit more saucy.

23. Hakka noodles is an Indo-chinese dish that you can make under 30 mins. This post shares the veggie version. You can also add in some eggs or even shredded chicken.

24. Chilli paneer is another popular Indo-chinese appetizer made by tossing fried paneer in chilli sauce. This can be eaten with hakka noodles or fried rice or even with plain basmati rice.

25. Garlic mushrooms is a unique and hot dish made by tossing mushrooms in a fresh made spicy chilli garlic sauce.

Indian dinner recipes

Instant recipes

These Instant recipes are of great help when you need to cook something immediately and do not have much time. All these dishes can eaten with a chutney.

26. Wheat dosa are instant dosas made with whole wheat flour and water.

27. Oats dosa are another healthy instant crepes made with oatmeal, spices and herbs.

28. Chilla are gram flour pancakes made without fermentation.

29. Rava idli are instant steamed cakes made without fermentation.

30. Akki rotti is are karnataka style flatbreads made with rice flour, curry leaves and spices.

For latest updates on this blog you can check this link on Latest Indian Recipes.