The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Aloo posto is a popular Bengali dish – potatoes cooked in poppy seed paste, served with pooris or plain boiled rice. This delicately flavored curry gets its spice kick from two other trademark Bengali ingredients: mustard oil and panch phoron.

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A multi-spiced dish with chickpeas, channa masala is a great favorite in north India. This is also a wise dish to have on the menu when you’re cooking an Indian meal for a big gathering – it is easy to prepare in large quantities since there isn’t much chopping or watching over involved.

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Carrot onion raita (yogurt dip) – this cool, tangy accompaniment with its hint of sweetness, give the perfect balance to spicy Indian gravies.

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Khichdi isn’t exactly the height of culinary sophistication – but sometimes we don’t want culinary sophistication. Hands up all men and women living away from family who, after a series of spice-laden oily meals outdoors and countless packets of instant noodles, crave simple home-cooked khichdi?

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What can one do with wheat flour, onion and tomatoes? Make stuffed parathas of course. This filling came to be simply because I was out of other vegetables and it was raining too heavily for me to venture out and restock. Sometimes, necessity and laziness can produce wondrous results. Onion tomato parathas are proof!

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It is no hyperbole to say that dahi aloo is the quickest vegetable curry ever. Ideal for days when you have no time to cook a full meal. Ditch those ready-to-eat boxes- just keep boiled potatoes and yogurt handy and in minutes you can make dahi aloo. This curry goes well with chapatis, or even toast if you’re in a time-saving mode.

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I try to include a variety of grains/flours and cooking oils in my diet. Whole wheat flour, gram flour, brown rice have been regulars in the pantry. One grain I haven’t taken to easily is finger millet (ragi in Karnataka / marua in Bihar). One reason is that I am not a big fan of this millet – too much of it in a dish turns its taste to what I can only describe as ‘dusty’.

Ragi’s health benefits are multifold – nutrition sites tell me it is a rich source of amino acids methionine and tryptophan, and minerals such as calcium and iron. One HAS to eat it, ‘dusty’ taste notwithstanding! The most palatable way I’ve found is to add a portion of ragi flour to chapati flour and make it into ragi roti.

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