Basmati, Gobindavog, South Indian Red

Preparing Indian food, at least in our house, is an entirely different process from cooking Thai, Chinese, or Japanese food. For one thing, we end up eating a lot more Indian food in the winter, when the days are short, when by early afternoon we are already thinking about what to make for dinner. Many of our favorite Indian dishes require slow cooking, with a depth of flavor developing over time. As opposed to many East Asian dishes where flavors are often simply assembled and blended, in Indian cooking there is a greater emphasis on cooking and transforming. (Maybe this accounts for why an Indian curry or dal makes for such great leftovers.)