The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

A no-cook style of eating raw mangoes that’s lip-smacking delicious and what’s more – so easy a "no cook" can make it. Just get yourself a good quality knife/peeler and you are all set for preparing this…well, I call it raw mango salsa, though I hesitate to title the post so considering it might not be a purist’s idea of "salsa".

No matter what it’s called – it tastes wonderful!

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Chayote was an untried, untasted vegetable for me until an article in The Awl piqued me enough to cook with it.

Since then, it is as if Destiny has been conspiring to make me eat the chayote. Every few days I get a sign that points me towards this modest squash. The latest was this scene from the film Chef:

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This recipe pays homage to parval, a gourd popular in the eastern states of India. Whenever we make a trip to Bihar, we come back loaded with parval ^[1] by the bagful – we could buy this elsewhere too, sure, but the quality we find in Bihar is unmatched.

If you do get hold of parval glistening green on the outside, seeds and flesh tender and firm – count yourself blessed and make parval ki bhujiya this way. This recipe lets the gourd take the spotlight – no dousing in spices, no other vegetables added to the mix.

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This recipe of kairi khatti-meethi chutney (sweet and sour raw mango chutney) is so elementary, even Watson wouldn’t need a Holmes to explain it to him. Or so I thought till a friend asked me what I had put in the amazing accompaniment I served with the meal.

Ginger? Lime? Some Far Eastern condiment you brought back from the travels?

It turns out that what we believe is too obvious for words may not be so.

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Not too long ago, the mention of sundal outside of south India would be met with quizzical stares. Times are changing – this simple boiled legume dish is gaining traction far and wide for its health benefits, compatibility with special diets (vegan, Jain), and ease of making.

Sundal can be made with various types of legumes – chickpeas or peanuts for example. This recipe uses a very light and easily digested legume: yellow moong dal.

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Start-of-season green grapes tend to be tart and work best when combined with other ingredients – a few grapes in fruit rabri, for example, or in fresh juice. A recent addition to my list of go-to recipes for sour grapes is this green grape chutney, flavored with Bengali panch phoron spice and fennel powder.

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Have boiled rice in your fridge ? Congratulations – you can have your dinner ready in seven minutes flat, with this lemon rice recipe. Tangy, tasty, superquick – it’s a blessing on days when there is just no time to cook.

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