The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

This colorful bell pepper rice is really quick to put together, especially if you have plain boiled rice made ahead.

I have broadly followed Divine Taste’s stir fried brown rice recipe for it – I used no onion or garlic and loved the touch of almonds.

(more…)

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.

(more…)

Sattu, or roasted gram flour, was once a litttle-known staple of rural Bihar. Not anymore. With more awareness of sattu’s nutritive profile – high protein, low glycemic index, high fiber, low sodium – “poor man’s protein” sattu is now hailed as superfood.

Is there a delight greater than discovering that tasty comfort food is also extremely healthy, and that extremely healthy is also extremely affordable?

This sattu jaljeera drink combines sattu with jaljeera (cumin-based spice). It is really quick to put together and needs no cooking or fancy processing equipment. A great post-workout drink or colon cleanser on the day after a heavy meal.

(more…)

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.

(more…)

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.

(more…)

Mid-April each year, the harvest festival (or the start of the regional New Year) is celebrated round the country in diverse ways. Punjab has its Baisakhi, Kerala its Vishu. Bihar welcomes the season with Satuaan (सतुआन), also called Satuaa Sankranti (सतुआ संक्रांति).

The prefix satuaa- comes from sattu (roasted Bengal gram flour), a staple food in Bihar. For Satuaan, it is customary to eat a meal with sattu as its star item. The festival ushers in the summer season, so associating sattu-eating with it follows sound logic: sattu’s cooling properties are an effective antidote to heat.

We keep up with tradition by having sattu in some form on the occasion. This year, we had sattu chokha.

(more…)

The very versatile sabudana sits as comfortably in sweet dishes as in savory. This South East Asian inspiration – sabudana coconut milk pudding with mangoes – is a fine example of sabudana in its dessert avatar.

(more…)