Beverages

October 18, 2009, 3:44 p.m.

In an Italian meal, risotto is generally served on its own as a first course, like pasta or soup. Less commonly, it is served alongside simply cooked meats. It sometimes makes a well-flavored main dish, preceded or followed by a salad.

October 18, 2009, 3:06 p.m.

Pappadams are thin, crisp, round wafers made from lentils and other legumes, often served in Indian restaurants as a complimentary nibble, much like the tortilla chips and salsa in Mexican places.

October 18, 2009, 3:06 p.m.

The typical Spanish method of cooking rice, used for the many varieties of paella as well as for this more prosaic chicken and rice dish, is in a shallow pan that maximizes the exposure of the rice grains to flavorful stock and spices.

October 18, 2009, 2:32 p.m.

This is one of the easiest of beef stews: Minimal cutting, no browning, just put everything together in the pot and bake. What gives it its Provençal flavor, in addition to tomatoes and olive oil, is dried orange peel.

October 18, 2009, 2:30 p.m.

These beans make a great accompaniment to lamb, roast chicken, roast beef and a whole lot of other meat dishes.

October 18, 2009, 2:29 p.m.

Try this along with other dishes in an Indian meal or as a side dish with a Western-style entrée.

October 18, 2009, 2:29 p.m.

These tender flatbreads are typically baked right on the walls of the clay tandoor oven in an Indian restaurant, but you can make them on a griddle at home.

October 18, 2009, 2:29 p.m.

In a Moroccan banquet, the couscous comes last, with its own accompaniment of broth, vegetables, and meat, and there is often another fragrant stew (called a tajine) served earlier in the meal.

October 18, 2009, 2:29 p.m.

Cuisines all along the spice route have a tradition of molding meatball-like kofta mixtures of seasoned ground lamb onto metal skewers for grilling.

October 18, 2009, 2:29 p.m.

Other bright green seasonal vegetables will also work, visually as well as in terms of flavor: Try blanched and peeled fava beans, sliced asparagus, or quarter or half slices of slender zucchini.

October 18, 2009, 2:29 p.m.

This is more or less based on the Moghul korma style of rich, creamy curries from northern India, thickened and enriched with ground cashews.

October 18, 2009, 2:29 p.m.

This isn’t an Indian dish, just an example of how Indian spices have worked their way into the world’s cooking.