Spring is about to get a little spicy.

For May's Dinner Party, we turned to India. After all, the cast of such familiar springtime players as spinach, rhubarb, lamb and yogurt are plenty delicious on their own. But a little spice transforms.

To begin, spike your guests' cocktails with Assam tea and ginger. Then, for snacking, try a spinach salad enlivened with butter-fried cashews and mango-chutney vinaigrette.

Dinner's centerpiece is a refreshingly simple coriander- and cumin-dressed leg of lamb, which takes only 20 minutes to cook. To accompany the lamb, yogurt is topped with pan-fried okra and a spunky spice blend, and cauliflower is roasted with a quintet of intoxicating spices. (Bonus: Make a spiced rhubarb chutney for a sweet-tart contrast.)

Finally, dessert: a quivering panna cotta gilded with cardamom-sugared rose petals.

Your spice cabinet—and your guests—will feel duly appreciated.