The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Inspired by the minestrone, sabziwale rajma combines a host of flavors, colors and nutrients to give you a tasty filling meal.

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Spinach and coconut milk are partners made in heaven – the creaminess of coconut plays off the mild bitterness of spinach beautifully. With a bowl of plain rice on the side, spinach in spiced coconut milk makes for an immensely satisfying meal.

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Autumn begins, which means goodbye mangoes. Fruit vendors in India no longer stock those mounds of sweet-smelling heaven. Chia mango pudding is filed for use during the next mango season. Meanwhile I switch loyalties to this lovely dried cranberry banana chia pudding. (more…)

A snack or side dish made of chana dal (Bengal gram) that capitalizes on this dal’s nutty taste. Sookhi chana dal needs very few ingredients and is easy enough to be put together by a kitchen newbie. Those who rely on instant noodles or packaged bhujiya for snack-time with the excuse "I don’t know how to cook" – prepare to shed that line!

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You can play "guess the secret ingredient" with this mooli chutney (white radish chutney) recipe. When cooked and blended with other ingredients, white radish sheds its sharp sting, taking on a gentle pungency instead. The end result is an exotically flavorful chutney.

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Fenugreek seeds (methi) are packed with nutrients and healing properties – no surprise that Ayurveda swears by them. But as it happens with most things are good for you, fenugreek seeds are hard to like. In Indian cooking, fenugreek seeds are usually added in tadka and then picked out by most people (self included), never to be eaten.

I have recently discovered a trick to make these bitter brown devils palatable. This methi dahi (fenugreek flavored yogurt) recipe uses a generous amount of fenugreek seeds without rendering the final dish overly bitter. Here’s how.

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When the crop gives you carrots, make aloo gajar ki sabzi. This filling vegetable curry of potatoes and carrots, with its hint of sweetness, pairs perfectly with Indian breads, raita and pickle on the side.

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