The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Sookhe bharwan baingan is a delicious side dish of spice-stuffed baby eggplants. It uses few ingredients – no onion, garlic or tomatoes – and can be put together easily with basic Indian spices.

(more…)

Dhansak – in which legumes, vegetables and aromatic spices come together in a celebration of Persian and Gujarati flavors. The name tells us as much: “dhansak” comes from dhan (Persian for “seed” – legumes) and sak (Gujarati “shaak” – vegetables).

This recipe is a meatless take on the dhansak template, with plenty of vegetables and a freshly prepared dhansak masala.

(more…)

The onset of winter brings with it fresh white radish (mooli) topped with lush green leaves. Here’s a curry that puts those radish greens to excellent use: baingan mooli patta sabzi.

(more…)

Baingan masala – an easy and delicious curry to make with baby eggplant. Unlike the more intricate recipes that involve stuffing the eggplant or dry-roasting the spices, this baingan masala recipe is beginner-friendly and relies on accessible ingredients. Try it!

(more…)

Dress up the slender green eggplant with the heat of green chilies, the spice of coriander and the sweetness of golden onions.

(more…)

For a really good baingan bharta, getting the eggplant perfectly roasted is half the battle won. And for a perfectly roasted eggplant, the ingredients you need most are patience and balance – patience in cooking the eggplant on a low, open flame through till the core, balancing the heat all around without charring, leaving no spot raw or burnt.

The proportion of other ingredients and spices, the duration of post-roasting sautéing, can vary, but if the heart of the dish – the mashed eggplant – is nicely done, baingan bharta turns out delicious.

With that thought, on to my baingan bharta recipe in all its smoky splendor…

(more…)

When you have really fresh long green eggplant on hand, capitalize on the goodness of its insides. Cook it in a way that retains its juices. Ditch chopping and cubing, go for slitting and spicing. This recipe of spice-lined long green eggplant curry shows how.

(more…)