The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

While cucumber is great raw, a light sautéing brings out in the gourd a delicious flavor dimension. The key is to cook the cucumber just enough to let it soften, not so much that it turns limp or watery. This cucumber side dish recipe, flavored with fresh lime and mustard, shows you how.

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Chayote slow-cooked in a tomato base – simple flavors that get their kick from a tempering of mustard and asafoetida. This is one of those curries that only ask for time, not exceptional skill or effort.

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“If you don’t know what to do with it, boil it” is a mantra that serves me well with unfamiliar vegetables. Chayote (or chow chow as they call it where I live) has long moved out of the *unfamiliar* category for me, and yet, the decision to boil the chayote brought with it an unexpected benefit – it simplified the task of peeling its creased, curvy skin.

This chayote / chow chow raita recipe leverages on that goodness of boiling. Fresh seasoning and a spice-infused tempering give the raita a robust kick of flavors.

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Jhatpat aloo dry sabzi with lime and spices – a side dish that can be put together in just a few minutes if you have boiled potatoes on hand. The dish gets its distinctive flavor from a homemade spice blend, which you can make ahead and store for use over time.

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A Bihari meal typically carries small servings of side dishes next to rice/roti and curry: chutney, bhujiya (fried stuff), chokha (mashed stuff). Parval chokha is one such popular side, in which parval (pointed gourd) is boiled and mashed with seasoning.

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A no-cook style of eating raw mangoes that’s lip-smacking delicious and what’s more – so easy a "no cook" can make it. Just get yourself a good quality knife/peeler and you are all set for preparing this…well, I call it raw mango salsa, though I hesitate to title the post so considering it might not be a purist’s idea of "salsa".

No matter what it’s called – it tastes wonderful!

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Step aside, kale. Cauliflower is the new veg-lebrity. How pleasing it is to discover that one’s tastes are in keeping with the times. I am a huge fan of gobhi sarson, this Indian-style mustard cauliflower dish.

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