The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

One of the joys of winter is getting to cook with in-season fresh fenugreek leaves. Lush green and fragrant, fenugreek leaves lend their distinct character to any dish they are part of (case in point: methi chhole). In aloo methi (potato fenugreek stir-fry), fenugreek leaves find a happy companion: the creamy earthiness of aloo makes a welcoming base for bitter green methi.

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Chayote is commonly used in south Indian cuisine (here’s a nice kootu recipe), not so much in the north. It is not a vegetable I grew up eating and, even as I saw it everywhere in vegetable markets, I wasn’t enticed enough to try it.

Not until I read this about the taste of chayote in The Awl:

…sort of like a jicama: mildly sweet, incredibly crisp and juicy, somewhere between a potato and an apple, or a crisp pear.

That article called Eat the Chayote did, in fact, make me eat the chayote.

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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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This garlic chili chutney uses just a few ingredients to make a flavorful lunch and snack accompaniment. It’s easy to make and very versatile in its pairings.

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Do you use ajwain in your cooking? My long-standing ritual has been to include ajwain in parathas – I put in a few seeds while kneading the dough and let it work its magic in the finished flatbread. Nowadays I’m feeling an extra fondness for this thyme-like spice and am exploring more ways of incorporating it in my food. I’m happy to report on a few super-successful experiments – sahjan ajwaini is one of them.

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Grated white radish seasoned and stuffed in flat-bread, pan fried with ghee. Mooli paratha is a delicious wholesome meal, perfect for brunch.

There are two schools of thought on how the filling for mooli paratha should be prepared: the first camp sautés the grated radish before using it for stuffing, the second camp keeps it raw. This recipe gives you my preferred method – the raw.

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Moong dal pairs well with gourds: my much-clicked recipe of ridge gourd moong dal is ample proof of that. This recipe combines moong dal with another similar gourd – the zucchini – with some green leafy goodness added to the mix. It’s homey, light and lemony, the kind that inspires coinages such as “comfort food”.
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