The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Today’s post is about a much-loved breakfast dish in India – besan ka cheela. For the uninitiated, besan is flour made from Bengal gram (chana dal), used in Indian cuisine in a variety of dishes such as kadhi, jhunka and pakoras.

In cheela, batter is made out of besan and other ingredients, shallow-fried like pancakes on an skillet/tava and served hot.

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Doesn’t food acquire an exotic sheen when described in language alien to its roots? Mangodi sounds like something grandmas from my native place would add to curries simmering in earthen pots. Sundried lentil dumplings? That’s like stuff my hostel-residing cousins in Bangalore would cook on a rare Sunday, as they do pasta and bruschetta.

But there you have it. Mangodi = sundried lentil dumplings. Choose the name you like. Made of ground moong dal with a hint of salt and spices, mangodi globules are sun-dried for 2-3 days before they are ready to use in curries.

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Every time my mom makes spinach raita when guests are over, she is asked what went into the dish and how she made it. Sure to be followed by incredulous expressions when she lists out a mere five ingredients and two steps. Nothing that tastes this good can be so easy!

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Colorful vegetable poha for a hearty, healthy kickstart to the day.

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In methi chhole, the bitter notes of methi (fresh fenugreek) are tamed by the rich nuttiness of chickpeas and the interesting spice blend in the gravy. An offbeat recipe that I warmly recommend for fenugreek lovers.

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I never knew what Brussels sprouts were in my growing up years. My first sight of this vegetable was during a work assignment in UK. They were served at a party steamed whole, and their appearance had me entranced. If Gulliver’s Lilliput land cultivated cabbages, this is how they would look.

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In the post on coriander parsley pesto, I had promised to share recipe ideas using pesto.

And so, here I am, delivering on that promise.

Three recipe ideas using pesto as key ingredient: mushroom and cherry tomato sauté with pesto, spaghetti with pesto, pesto on toast.

1. Mushroom and Cherry Tomato Saute with Pesto

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