most can be converted to vegetarian if you're planning on having a vegetarian dinner!

The reason why Indian food can be so intimidating is that it incorporates a world full of flavors and techniques from other cuisines. Within many Indian recipes, you'll encounter spice, sweetness, sour and heat all in one dish! How do all of those flavors get into your pallet? Well, there are traditionally 20-30 basic Indian spices that can be used in many recipes. Talk about intimidating!

Indian Appetizer Recipes

The options are endless when it comes to Indian starters and appetizers. The recipes below are full of flavor, that will kick-start any dinner and satisfy anyone enjoying them.

Stir-Fry Green Beans with Coconut

This simple Indian inspired dish is sure to keep all the coconut lovers happy. The coconut adds the perfect about of flavor without adding too much richness to the dish. Even though you'll get a full coconut flavor, this dish still contains the Indian spices you crave with the addition of curry leaves, cumin seeds, asafoetida powder, and sambar powder. One great part of this stir-fry is that you can easily add rice and make a straightforward main course! When it comes to easy recipes, this is a good bet!

Papadums with Whipped Dal

Don't let the name intimidate you. Papadums with Whipped Dal is a classic that everyone can enjoy. Chips and Dip! This can be used to start any meal, especially if you're entertaining at home. Papadums is a traditional thin, and crispy lentil cracker and Whipped Dal is creamy stewed beans and lentils. The dal should be made very light and creamy as the papadums are thin!

Ground Coriander and Fresh Cilantro Flatbreads

Another east Indian inspired starter dish is Ground Coriander and Cilantro Flatbreads. You'll impress everyone with your Indian bread making skills! Once you make the dough, you fry up the circular dough balls to create your flatbreads. You can dip these flatbreads in raita, which is a traditional Indian condiment made from yogurt, cucumber, cilantro, green onions, coriander, and cumin.

Indian Main Dish Recipes

It can be tough to work up the courage to experiment with Indian food at home. While the ingredient lists can be long

Indian Butter Chicken

There are many recipes out there for Indian Butter Chicken, that can be very intimidating. But don't fret, this recipe takes out the complexity without sacrificing the authentic taste. One of the best parts? It can be made in one pot, and there's no overnight prep.

A traditional favorite, Chicken Tikka Masala is a tender chicken recipe with a marinade used to infuse the chicken with flavor. Chicken Tikka Masala requires the chicken to be marinated and chilled for 4-6 hours before starting the cooking process, so this dish is best prepared with some advanced planning. You'll have to chill the chicken marinade mixture for 4-6 hours which allows the marinade to infuse the chicken with flavor. Once the chicken is cooked, it can be stored for two days, and reheated before serving to help save time!

Indian Mulligatawny Soup

If you haven't started to get used to the long ingredient lists, you should soon! This Mulligatawny Soup recipe is no exception. But, just like the others, the cooking process isn't as intimidating as the ingredient list. This is another recipe that can be made as a double batch and frozen to enjoy later!

Mulligatawny Soup is a traditional hearty Indian soup made with red lentils, carrots, apples, coconut milk and spiced with curry. If that wasn't enough of a kick for you, there are also some jalapenos for a little extra bite. This is a great vegetarian curry recipe for those vegetarians out there. This dish goes great with the Ground Coriander and Cilantro Flatbreads we mentioned above or some naan bread.

Coconut Chicken Curry

Are you a fan of coconut? If so, then this Coconut Chicken Curry recipe is for you. This recipe can also be made in under 25 minutes which is the perfect amount of time for a weeknight dinner. To begin, you'll toss your chicken in curry powder, salt, and pepper to coat it evenly before cooking. You'll create a sauce by pureeing coconut milk, ginger, and garlic which you'll then cook with the chicken for about 10 minutes. This chicken curry recipe is best paired with rice or homemade naan bread.

Indian Dessert Recipes

No meal is complete without dessert. Below are a few traditional Indian desserts that will satisfy sweet and savory dessert lovers alike.

Goan Coconut Cake

Also known as Baath in Indian culture, Goan Coconut Cake combines a few unique ingredients to produce a moist and dense cake that bursts with coconut flavor. This recipe uses four different kinds of coconut; coconut oil, coconut milk, cream of coconut and shredded coconut. This is a cake that will satisfy even the largest coconut lovers!

Shahi Tukra

Shahi Tukra or Royal Toast is cooked toast coated with reduced saffron flavored milk. The ingredient list for this dessert is short, making for a quick dessert in less than 20 minutes.

Tamil-Style Sweet Rice Pudding

This full-bodied rice pudding is combined with cashews and raisins and sweetened with the unique ingredient of jaggery. If that's not available, you can substitute brown sugar. This dessert was originally created in India and boiled in a clay pot. If the dessert was boiled evenly on all sides, it was a sign that the country would prosper.