As has been the case for many years, when I am looking for inspiration I often turn to 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer. All of the essentials of Indian cooking are covered in this book and there are some wonderful fusion-stye dishes included too, as Mr. Iyer grew up in India but has lived in the US for over 20 years — you get the best of both worlds. It truly is a masterpiece and well suited for both those who are new to Indian cuisine and experienced cooks alike. The book is not vegetarian, but there are loads of recipes for vegetarians and vegans.

My latest exploration was this rice dish with chickpea flour dumplings. It's perfectly balanced and you only need to serve up a vegetable dish for a simple meal that is nonetheless packed full of flavor. Only half of the dumplings are needed for the rice, but it's worth making the whole batch because they are relatively easy to make and they freeze well. I found they also made for a nice spicy snack, in addition to adding flair and texture to the rice, so the remainder never did make it into the freezer.

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Falafel is a traditional Middle Eastern street food that has become popular in the West too. They are made with chickpeas, onion, garlic and spices and usually served with sauces such as hot sauce or tahini-based sauces, pickles and vegetables. They are commonly stuffed into or wrapped in pita breads to make a sandwich.

I've long been a fan of falafel and have made them before at home on a few occasions, but not since I started this chronicle of my cooking adventures. In the past, I have deep fried them, but frying is messy and oily. An alternative solution is to bake them, as I have done here. My recipe is also not traditional as usually the chickpeas aren't cooked but instead are soaked for at least 12 hours and then ground up and formed into patties or balls before frying.

I was more than satisfied with the results. While they were not as crispy as the fried version, I dare say they were even better and reminded me very much of one of favorite recipes for Indian baked koftas.

I found the sauce was an essential accompaniment for a more authentic falafel taste experience. That said, to make the meal suitable for vegans, omit the yogurt sauce and serve with other accompaniments and/or come up with your own tahini sauce.

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I've been making an effort to incorporate more vegetables into my meals. An easy solution when you don't have a lot of time is to add them to rice. It's also a good way to use up vegetables before their expiry date. Despite the ease of preparation, this dish is packed full of flavor and certainly elegant. It made for a fine accompaniment to paneer rajma.

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Black-eyed peas are often the legume I go to when I want an easy weeknight meal solution employing staples that I am likely to have on hand. This was another winning dish that went well with a bed of steaming hot buttered basmati rice. The sweet corn adds a nice textural and flavor contrast to the earthy black-eyed peas. The curried tomato base brings the whole dish together in one great big group hug.

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