The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Mid-April each year, the harvest festival (or the start of the regional New Year) is celebrated round the country in diverse ways. Punjab has its Baisakhi, Kerala its Vishu. Bihar welcomes the season with Satuaan (सतुआन), also called Satuaa Sankranti (सतुआ संक्रांति).

The prefix satuaa- comes from sattu (roasted Bengal gram flour), a staple food in Bihar. For Satuaan, it is customary to eat a meal with sattu as its star item. The festival ushers in the summer season, so associating sattu-eating with it follows sound logic: sattu’s cooling properties are an effective antidote to heat.

We keep up with tradition by having sattu in some form on the occasion. This year, we had sattu chokha.

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The microwave in my kitchen is usually relegated to the role of reheater – rarely is it called upon to participate in the *making* of a dish. This microwaved tomato salsa recipe dodges the norm!

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Like hot spicy food? Green chili fry (bhuni hari mirch) is just the thing for you. Coated with spices, quickly cooked in mustard oil, green chili fry on the side with an Indian meal will give your taste buds a delightful fiery kick.

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Zucchini and tomatoes, in their miniature avatars, are really quick cooking (not to mention, really pretty looking!). This recipe of microwaved baby zucchini with cherry tomatoes and feta cheese is just right for days when you are ravenous and want to spend no time at all preparing your meal, or when you have had a heavy lunch and want to go light for dinner.

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Nutty, sweet flavors complement beans very well – I had taken to this idea when I first made string beans with peanuts and jaggery. This time I had green beans (French beans) on hand, which meant a milder flavor and more crunch. This felt like a good opportunity to up the experimental quotient on "nutty, sweet flavors".

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Among the many advantages of making peanut butter at home is the advantage of adaptability. Texture, fluidity, add-on ingredients – all in your hands.

In this Indian-style homemade peanut butter, we make the most of this advantage. With spices and tamarind, and the flavor of sesame, the classic peanut butter gets an unusual styling.

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Ridge gourd onion chutney spiced with pepper and tamarind. Add a spark to a simple Indian meal with this chutney on the side.

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