The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

All hail this riot of red! With the crunch of peanuts, the creaminess of coconut, the heat of chili and pepper, this beetroot rice recipe makes for an immensely satisfying meal.

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Till not too long ago, pancakes for me meant cheela. The flour/batter of the pancake would vary: if not besan then moong or sooji, but the template of ‘thick batter + a dash of seasoning’ was a constant.

A chance viewing of Maangchi’s vegetable pancake recipe brought about a paradigm shift* in this template.

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Not all experiments pass muster the first time. A few go through rounds of trials before they reach publicly sharable shape. A few are embarrassments best shelved forever (I’m thinking of you, curdled strawberry yogurt). Lachha gobhi paratha, I’m delighted to report, was a stupendous success from the word go.

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Thick colorful bell pepper strips and wedge-cut potatoes, shallow-fried with fragrant spices. Uses no onion, tomato, ginger or garlic. This aloo capsicum dry sabzi is just right for days when your pantry has run out of Indian curry staples.

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Chana dal paratha with dahi and achar – nothing else comes close for a filling, comforting Sunday brunch. Try it this weekend!

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Making beetroot raita is like taking a complementary course in color therapy. Boil the beets – witness the transparent water turn a purple-red. Peel, trim, grate – get your fingers prettily tinted. Fold grated beet into plain yogurt – behold swirls of white-pink so vivid, you’d be reminded of rubies and pale silk. This beetroot raita, I promise, will make the staidest meal come alive. (more…)

A simple stir fry of potatoes and cauliflower elevated by the tadka of fenugreek seeds in mustard oil. Aloo gobhi bhujiya pairs well with pooris / parathas and stacks well in the lunchbox.

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