The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

When you have run out of vegetables, make jhunka.

This piece of wisdom that I received from my Punekar friend was worth its weight in gold during the pandemic lockdown. With just besan and my backlog of onions, the barebones jhunka recipe gave me several filling, comforting meals.

So, what exactly is jhunka? Wikipedia defines it as:

…a vegetarian traditional Indian dish prepared in Maharashtra, Goa and North Karnataka. It is essentially a chickpea flour porridge.

Hmmm. Calling it a “porridge” is rather a stretch! Do they mean pithle? I’ll let the matter rest with a Shakespearean reference and point you to the blog becauseanyonecancook, which describes pithle and jhunka with more nuance.

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A super flavorful kadhi spiced with mustard (sarson) and fenugreek (methi). This recipe’s highlight is its use of methi in as many as three forms: methi seeds roasted and ground, methi seeds soaked overnight, and fresh methi leaves fried.

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Besan ki sabzi is a curry we make for festive occasions: gram flour batter is cooked, cooled, cut and fried, then simmered in curry. It takes time, it takes skill – but the result is worth every bit of the effort.

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Bhindi bhujiya besanwali, with its crunch and bite, appeals even to those who turn their noses up at okra in other forms. Perfect on the side with rice and dal.

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Saag – an Indian dish of leafy greens, eaten along with rotis or rice. A variety of leaves can be used in saag: spinach and mustard greens are popular choices, while chaulai (amaranth leaves) is used often in Bihar. Chaulai saag is a simple, dry preparation with amaranth leaves and a hint of spices.

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Like hot spicy food? Green chili fry (bhuni hari mirch) is just the thing for you. Coated with spices, quickly cooked in mustard oil, green chili fry on the side with an Indian meal will give your taste buds a delightful fiery kick.

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Kundru (tindora/tendli or ivy gourd) hasn’t always been a vegetable I was fond of. For long years I thought it was an unsophisticated version of parval (pointed gourd)^[1]. It is only recently that a slow appreciation of this gourd grew on me. True, kundru resembles parval on the outside, but its inside is fleshier and tangier, making its taste stand apart on its own. This recipe combines kundru with besan (gram flour) – the addition of besan tames the natural tartness of kundru and gives it a delicious aromatic coating.

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