These tasty Indian recipes are perfect for summertime! They are light dishes that won’t leave you feeling uncomfortably full, and they are also easy to make. Many of these recipes are made in an Instant Pot, so they won’t heat up the kitchen either!
Instant Pot Mango Chicken
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This sweet and savory chicken curry is so delicious! Most restaurants use sweetened canned mango to make this dish, but my recipe calls for fresh mango puree and that makes all the difference! Serve this with basmati rice and a veggie side and you’ll have a winning meal on your hands.
Kerala Ripe Mango Curry with Chickpeas
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Instant Pot Lemon Rice
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This popular South Indian rice dish is light, tangy and refreshing. The citrus flavor in the rice really comes through. You can eat this for breakfast, as a snack or as part of a meal. I enjoy eating lemon rice with a side of yogurt and Indian pickles.
Instant Pot Mint Pulao
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Instant Pot Butter Chicken Recipe
This is one of the most popular recipes on my blog! It truly is restaurant-quality, if not better. There’s one ingredient listed below that you may not have used before: dried fenugreek leaves, also known as kasoori methi. Even though this recipe only calls for a small amount, this particular ingredient gives butter chicken it’s distinct taste. I know it might take a little effort to find this ingredient, but please try! I buy dried fenugreek leaves from either amazon or my local Indian grocery store.
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2-ingredient Cheesecake (Instant Pot Indian Cheesecake)
This simple 2-ingredient Indian cheesecake is so easy to make in an Instant Pot! It’s decadent, delicious and perfect for any occasion. You can make a single cheesecake using a cheesecake pan or make multiple mini cheesecakes using ramekins!
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Instant Pot Avial (Kerala Mixed Vegetable Curry)
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I love this mixed vegetable dish because it’s so easy to make and it always seems to impress guests who aren’t used to eating a variety of Indian vegetables (such as green plantain, taro root or drumsticks). You can easily find a variety of Indian vegetables as well as grated coconut in the frozen aisle of any Indian grocery store.
Instant Pot Coconut Rice
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This is one of my favorite ways to make rice. The grated coconut makes this dish so fluffy and the curry leaves add great flavor. While freshly grated coconut would taste amazing in this dish, I always use frozen grated coconut (unsweetened), available in the frozen section of your local Indian grocery store.
Instant Pot Chicken Pulao Recipe
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Beet Raita
This cooling beet raita is the perfect accompaniment to a spicy dish! Serve it with a one pot meal like biryani or with any Indian meal.
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Instant Pot Aam Panna (Raw Mango Drink)
This green mango cooler is so refreshing! It’s the drink you’re going to want to make during a heat wave. Think of it as the Indian version of lemonade, only instead of lemons, this recipe calls for another sour fruit: unripe green mangoes.
If you are making this for kids then leave out the spices listed and add them to individual glasses to taste!
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Indian Tomato Corn Soup
This tomato and fresh corn soup makes for a perfect light meal! The yogurt adds a refreshing bright and tangy flavor to the soup. If you can’t get your hands on fresh corn, then frozen corn will work too but the kernels won’t be as crisp.
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Instant Pot Shrimp Biryani
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Instant Pot Kheer (Indian Rice Pudding)
Kheer, a creamy rice pudding, is one of my favorite desserts to make and eat. It requires just a few essential ingredients: rice, milk and sugar. I almost always have those three ingredients at my house. You can serve this dessert at any temperature and it’ll taste good. When the weather is cold, I prefer to serve warm kheer, but if it’s hot out, then I like to serve it chilled.
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3 Ingredient Mango Cheesecake (Indian Mango Dessert)
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Instant Pot Vegetable Biryani
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Instant Pot Indian Vegetable Masala Pasta
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Easy Lemon Cheesecake (Instant Pot)
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1 Minute Shrimp Curry (Instant Pot and Stovetop)
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Instant Pot Dill Lentils (Suva Dal)
This is the perfect summer-time dal! Fresh dill leaves add a tangy, refreshing flavor to this lentil soup. For a twist on this recipe, try using fresh fenugreek (methi) leaves if you can find them at your local Indian grocery store.
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Instant Pot Meethe Chawal (Zarda Pulao)
This sweetly spiced saffron and cardamom flavored rice is a well- known Punjabi dessert. While my mom makes a lot of different desserts, I always think of meethe chawal as her signature dish. She has been making this sweetly spiced pulao on special occasions for as long as I can remember and it is always a hit with guests. This dish is traditionally yellow in color and while many cooks choose to add yellow food coloring to their meethe chawal for presentation purposes, I always leave it out. Feel free to add it though if you’d like! For a variation to this dish, try topping the rice with sweet (canned) mandarins.
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Instant Pot Kerala Parippu Curry (Lentils in Coconut Curry)
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This rich and creamy Kerala-style parippu (another word for “dal”) is one of the main dishes served during Onam, a harvest festival celebrated by people of all religions in the state of Kerala. It’s a simple and flavorful recipe made with coconut milk. Serve this dal with ghee drizzled on top!
Instant Pot Carrot Kheer (Carrot Payasam)
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Instant Pot Dum Aloo
Dum aloo is a popular Kashmiri curry featuring perfectly cooked baby potatoes coated in an aromatic, rich and creamy cashew tomato sauce. It’s a delicious potato curry that’s very easy to make in an instant pot. “Dum” refers to a type of cooking method where food is cooked slowly over low heat in a sealed pot, which helps retain steam which in turn keeps the dish moist. These baby potatoes are cooked over high heat in a short amount of time, so it’s true they aren’t “dum” but the flavor of dum aloo is the same.
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Instant Pot Spinach Dal
This creamy, mildly spiced dal requires little effort and is my go-to dal on days when I’m too tired to cook. It's a comforting yet light dal, perfect overtop basmati rice.
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Sirkina Chakil says
I am sooo trying out these recipes they look super easy and everything looks delicious
My Heart Beets says
Thanks Sirkina!! Can’t wait to hear what you think 🙂
Maneesha says
I’ve made the majority of these dishes, and they’re SO DELICIOUS! Everyone must try them! I am excited to make these again! Thanks for this great summer collection, Ashley!
My Heart Beets says
Maneesha, that makes me so happy to hear 🙂 Thank you for the kind words!!