The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Baby potatoes look so adorable they make me want to pop them into my mouth whole. When I can resist that urge, this is one way I like to cook them.

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A one-pot rich rice meal bulging with flavors – whole garam masala, the heat and crunch of peppercorns, peas and cashew nuts, fried onions and ghee. Peas and cashew fried rice on a lazy Sunday afternoon at home, what more could one ask for?

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Cheese parathas teeter dangerously close to the limit of "healthy" but when you crave cheese, far wiser to club it with wheat flour bolstered with fenugreek leaves and carom seeds than ordinary white bread, right?

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There was a time when I lived next to a dairy that sold really fresh, soft paneer (cottage cheese). Now the only paneer I can lay hands on is the store-bought variety. Fridge life of three weeks says the wrapper, but within three days it starts to feel rubbery and sour.

Homemade paneer has acquired irresistible charm. Pre-packaged paneer will do no more – the taste buds crave the real deal.

Fortunately, this is an easily satiated craving. It is surprisingly easy to make paneer at home.

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Carrot onion raita (yogurt dip) – this cool, tangy accompaniment with its hint of sweetness, give the perfect balance to spicy Indian gravies.

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Khichdi isn’t exactly the height of culinary sophistication – but sometimes we don’t want culinary sophistication. Hands up all men and women living away from family who, after a series of spice-laden oily meals outdoors and countless packets of instant noodles, crave simple home-cooked khichdi?

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It is no hyperbole to say that dahi aloo is the quickest vegetable curry ever. Ideal for days when you have no time to cook a full meal. Ditch those ready-to-eat boxes- just keep boiled potatoes and yogurt handy and in minutes you can make dahi aloo. This curry goes well with chapatis, or even toast if you’re in a time-saving mode.

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