I consider myself a pretty adventurous home cook, yet I’d never tried my hand at authentic Indian food—relying, shamefully, on frozen premade meals from the likes of Trader Joe’s or ho-hum takeout. Inspired by Indian for Everyone: The Home Cook’s Guide to Traditional Favorites by Anupy Singla, I spent the better half of a Sunday afternoon preparing the book’s “Punjabi Chile Chicken.” But first I went all in and made her garam masala spice mix from scratch. It required buying all kinds of whole spices—from black cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks to coriander and cumin seeds. But once roasted and ground, the result was thrillingly fragrant and heady in scent. I now have 2½ cups of it, which can be used for all sorts of Indian meals. Admittedly, the dish itself was no small feat: lots of stages of pureeing onions, garlic, and ginger separately; searing the chicken; adding more freshly roasted spices (green cardamom pods); finishing the sauce in stages; fully cooking the chicken. But, again, it was worth it. The spicy sauce had a depth of flavor that’s hard to come by, and over the next week it just kept getting richer and more complex. Now that I’ve taken the plunge, I know that Indian food will become a staple in my cooking repertoire. I hope you’ll be inspired to do the same! (For more on the cookbook, see indianasapplepie.com.)