The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Lightly fried brown rice with basil walnut pesto made fresh at home. A filling and nutritious one-pot meal.

(more…)

The southern states of India excel in the art of making various types of podi: literally ‘powder’, the word is used to describe ground dry spice blends. One really smart use of podi is as a ready-to-eat mix for plain boiled rice. Within seconds, a swirl of podi transforms plain boiled rice  into a fancy one-pot meal. The traditional podis I’m familiar with use a legume such as toor dal or chana dal as the base; this very simple 3-ingredient podi uses peanuts instead.  On days when there’s no time to cook a set meal of rice-dal-curry, this podi-based peanut sesame rice is a lifesaver.

(more…)

A nutritious one-pot meal in which fenugreek leaves, peanuts and ghee add their charm to rice. Methi moongphali chawal is just the answer for you if you *want* to consume fenugreek for its health-giving properties but find its – shall we say, potent – taste unpalatable.

This recipe is really quick to put together if you have the boiled ingredients and the spice base – methi chutney – ready beforehand. Do as I do – make a big batch of methi chutney, use it as side dish on Day 1 and in fenugreek peanut rice on Day 2. Ek panth do kaaj.

(more…)

Raw unsalted shelled peanuts, when boiled, acquire a rich softness, a departure from the taste and texture of roasted peanuts. While the crunch of roasted peanuts sits well with chutneys and in jhalmuri, boiled peanuts are great in salads.

(more…)

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…)

A colorful salad bowl with an assortment of flavors and nutrients. Fresh leaves, walnuts and cheese, crunchy pear cubes, juicy cherry tomatoes give company to adzuki beans in this recipe.

(more…)

Dalia (broken wheat) porridge is a favored breakfast food in many Indian homes. The grain is made by milling raw wheat grains; it’s especially nutritious as it is unrefined. Dalia is a great source of vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre – all that at an affordable price.

There’s got to be a catch, you think? You are right.

(more…)