The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Corn on the cob is so good boiled, I mostly have it without taking it through any elaborate "treatment" routine. A little salt, a little chilli powder, a dash of lime juice – rub it on and bite directly off the cob – that’s my usual mode of having boiled corn.

Then again, there is something to be said for the occasional exoticization.

Presenting for you my recipe of corn with spinach and cheese. Serve it with garlic bread for a sumptuous weekend brunch.

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For a very quick and delicious dinner, I turn to zucchini. It takes no effort at all – easy to chop (compare it to its cousin the ridge gourd – all that peeling!), cooks really fast. Not easily available with my neighborhood vegetable vendor, but worth getting back from a bigger store and keeping in the fridge for a late work night when there’s no time for an elaborate meal. This easy ‘cheesy zucchini’ is a savior on a busy workday.

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This recipe teeters dangerously close to the limit of "healthy" but when you crave cheese, far wiser to club it with wheat flour bolstered with kasoori methi and carom seeds than ordinary white bread, right?

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There was a time when I lived next to a dairy that sold really fresh, soft paneer (cottage cheese). Now the only paneer I can lay hands on is the store-bought variety. Fridge life of three weeks says the wrapper, but within three days it starts to feel rubbery and sour.

Homemade paneer has acquired irresistible charm. Pre-packaged paneer will do no more  – the taste buds crave the real deal.

Fortunately, this is an easily satiated craving. It is surprisingly easy to make paneer at home.

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When onions and dried fenugreek get together, the result is magical. Try making paneer kasoori methi with these two ingredients that give the gravy its unique, layered flavor.

You Need:

• Paneer – 250 grams
• Kasoori methi – 2 tablespoons
• Onions – 3
• Ginger – 1-inch piece
• Garlic – 4 pods
• Cloves – 2
• Cardamom – 1
• Cinnamon stick – 1/2 inch piece
• Pepper corns – 5
• Cumin powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
• Chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 2 teaspoons

How To:

Slice one onion into thin strips. Blend the other two onions along with ginger and garlic to a paste.

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Cauliflower has a lovely flavor of its own and doesn’t need many add-ons to taste great. This is a recipe that lets the cauliflower’s taste stand out.  The conventional cheese-cauliflower recipe uses a cheese sauce; but this one uses just a hint of cheese – enough to get your taste buds feel it but not so much that it overshadows the cauliflower.

You Need:

• Cauliflower – 1 small
• Oil – 1 teaspoon
• Cream – 1 tablespoon
• Cream cheese – 1tablespoon (I used Britannia cream cheese)
• Salt and pepper to taste

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I love spinach no less than Popeye and cook it in a variety of ways. You’ve read some of my Indian recipes with spinach so far; now presenting a healthy pasta sauce with spinach as its prime ingredient. This dish should make spinach-haters too have a change of heart :).

You Need:

• Pasta – 2 cups (I used fusili pasta)
• Onion – 1, finely chopped
• Spinach leaves – 2 bunches, cleaned and stems removed
• Cream – 1 tablespoon
• Milk – 1 tablespoon
• Cream cheese – 1 tablespoon (I used Britannia pepper-cheese spread)
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 2 teaspoons 

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