The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Tinda gets its English name from its visual similarity to green apples. A member of the gourd family, tinda has a mild flavor, high water content and lots of vitamins/minerals. The vegetable is ubiquitous in Delhi – at arm’s reach in the local market, cooked every other day in office cafetarias. Not so in Bangalore. Here this gourd graces only in the bigger stores, cellophaned and stocked with imported veggies like yellow peppers and Chinese cabbage.

I didn’t know I’d crave for tinda till it became scarce. As with parval (pointed gourd), my love for this vegetable has been a recent change of heart. Whoever said that absence makes the heart grow fonder knew what he was talking about. 

(more…)

You’d expect the last mangoes of the season to be ripe yellow, robustly sweet and oozing juice, but nature has a way of subverting expectations. I cut open a fat Banganapalli this Sunday to have mango cubes as a post-lunch dessert. The mango’s insides turned out to be half-white and tending towards sour.

My first thought was to make sweet mango chutney but then the fresh aromatic ginger in my pantry nudged me to try something different – a chunky mango and ginger chutney.

(more…)

You know those mangoes we get this time of the year, neither ripe nor unripe but somewhere in between. Too sour to be eaten as-is or used in milkshakes, but not raw enough for panna. What to do with such mangoes?

Make sweet mango chutney, if you ask me.

(more…)

Every time my mom makes spinach raita when guests are over, she is asked what went into the dish and how she made it. Sure to be followed by incredulous expressions when she lists out a mere five ingredients and two steps. Nothing that tastes this good can be so easy!

(more…)

Fenugreek leaves and chickpea gravy – did that make you frown? Methi chhole isn’t the most fashionable way of having chickpeas in India [channa masala takes the crown for popularity], but if you’re one of those who want to do something offbeat, ‘hatke’ – you must try this recipe.

In methi chhole, fresh fenugreek and chickpeas come together like soulmates – the bitter notes of methi are tamed by the rich nuttiness of chickpeas and the interesting spice blend in the  gravy.

(more…)

A fruity raita to give company to Indian meals, specially good when you have heavy gravies like kofta curry or paneer butter masala on the menu. I love the sweet and tart taste that ripe pineapple gives to the raita.

(more…)

After a day in the hot sun or with a heavy meal, buttermilk feels like a blessing. Famed for its therapeutic, digestive properties, buttermilk is also delicious.

(more…)