The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Masoor dal – the salmon-pink, hulled lentil – is a quick-cooking dal that needs neither prior soaking nor laborious cooking. My masoor dal tadka recipe rides on the pliability of masoor and has the dish ready to serve in a matter of minutes.

In case you’re wondering, tadka is the process of tempering spices in hot oil and pouring them along with the oil into a dish. I use ghee for tadka in this recipe, I love  the body and aroma that ghee adds to the earthy flavor of masoor dal. (more…)

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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What can one do with atta, onion, tomatoes, ginger and a pack of kasoori methi? 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 to the grocer’s and replenish my fridge. Sometimes, necessity and laziness can produce wondrous results :)

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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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Have you had those triangle-shaped parathas with layers inside them and wondered how they got made? Wonder no more: in this post, I’ll show you how to make triangular parathas with step-by-step pictures.

The word "paratha" comes from the words parat (layer) and atta (flour). So parathas are literally layers of cooked flour.

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I was planning to make a simple dry mushroom dish today when sudden inspiration struck me and I added some kasoori methi to it.

What a difference one surprise ingredient can make. This recipe is the kind your guests will take a mouthful of and exclaim: "Amazing! What masala have you put in it?"

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