Awesome thread! I happen to be vegetarian and Indian food is my specialty even though I'm non-Desi. However, I know the cuisine can be really daunting for many. Here's an easy version of Haldi Chawal (turmeric rice).
1 cup basmati rice
1 tbsp oil or ghee
1 tbsp cumin seed
1 tsp hing (optional. It's the dried gum resin of the asafoetida plant and can be found in all Indian grocery stores and some natural food stores)
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
1 bay leaf (optional)
1 tsp turmeric
1 & 1/4 cups of water or veggie broth (I use 1 tbsp "Better Than Boullion Vegetable Base" dissolved in water)
Salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste
Fry cumin seeds (and hing, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf if you have them) in oil/ghee over medium heat. Once things get fragrant, usually within a minute, add dry rice. Coat the rice well with the oil and fry for 1/2 a minute. Add veggie broth (watch out, this will bubble quite a lot at the start), turmeric, salt, and pepper, stir really well (to avoid spice clumps*) then turn heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 min. After 15 min, turn the heat off, but let the rice sit for 5 minutes with the cover on before serving.
Here's a photo of a batch I made along with channa masala (chickpea curry) and saag aloo (spinach and potatoes). However, I most often turn haldi chawal into Indian-inspired black beans and rice with the addition of 1/2 a can of black beans mixed in.
* Another method to avoid clumps is to stir in the turmeric, pepper, and cayenne to the rice before adding the liquid. I actually prefer the taste of this method, but it's easy to burn the spices and turn them super-bitter if you're not careful.