The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

While surfing Afghani food channels, I paused when I saw this layered, brilliantly colored thumbnail: “kaddu borani“, said its label. I hit play and by the end of it, had my mouth salivating and my heart saluting the beauty of this dish.

Kaddu borani takes a set of independently prepared ingredients (pumpkin + tomato sauce + yogurt sauce) and meshes them into something so exquisite, the end product is nothing short of a work of art.

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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.

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It’s pumpkin season! Time to bring out all the pumpkin recipes for your meals. Today’s main course – pumpkin za’atar with butter garlic sauce – came about by sheer serendipity. I had a pumpkin, I had some za’atar, and I realize this is starting to sound like PPAP so I will pause here to tackle first things first: “What’s za’atar?”

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Kaddu poi (pumpkin basale leaves curry) is a Bengali/Oriya signature style of cooking these two nutrient-packed, vividly colored vegetables together: pumpkin (kaddu) and basale leaves (poi).

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Potato pumpkin masala is a testament to the power of "slow and steady". Potato and pumpkin cubes simmer gently with tomatoes and aromatic spices to produce this winner of a dish.

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The orange and pink of pumpkin and red lentil, steeped in the gold of turmeric: happy-hued pumpkin masoor dal is just what you need for warmth and cheer this season.

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A pumpkin kala chana (black chickpea) preparation infused with the Bengali flavors of panch phoron and mustard oil. Dried bay leaves lend a subtle aromatic base to the curry, jaggery brings out the pumpkin’s sweetness, raw mango powder gives it tang. (more…)