The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Green eggplant in mustard-fenugreek masala is for those who turn their noses up at nuts or sugar in their curries, who say no to recipes like bittersweet baingan. The spices in this one are heavier, headier, not for the faint-hearted.

I made this dish with long green eggplant, which is the mildest-tasting variety of eggplant I know of. The eggplant’s blandness gives a nice base to the strong flavors of the spices. (more…)

What do you do when you peel a papaya and find that a lot of it is hard and green?

Try out my papaya rescue recipe – khatta-meetha papeeta, a light and flavorful accompaniment for an Indian meal. You could make khatta-meetha papeeta using green papaya or parts of a semi-ripe papaya.

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Doesn’t food acquire an exotic sheen when described in language alien to its roots? Mangodi sounds like something grandmas from my native place would add to curries simmering in earthen pots. Sundried lentil dumplings? That’s like stuff my hostel-residing cousins in Bangalore would cook on a rare Sunday, as they do pasta and bruschetta.

But there you have it. Mangodi = sundried lentil dumplings. Choose the name you like. Made of ground moong dal with a hint of salt and spices, mangodi globules are sun-dried for 2-3 days before they are ready to use in curries.

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Aloo posto is the quintessential Bengali dish – potatoes cooked in poppy seed paste, served with pooris or steamed rice. This delicately flavoured curry gets its spice kick from two other trademark Bengali ingredients – mustard oil and panch phoron.

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When onion prices skyrocket, as they have in India nowadays, what better than to switch to dishes that don’t use onions at all? Here is the recipe of a potato eggplant bharta I made today, using no onions.

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My first attempt at cooking with poppy seed paste. This ridge gourd potato curry recipe is courtesy a Bengali friend, who tells me the cuisine of that area uses poppy seeds abundantly. Given how well this curry turned out, I know this spice is going to become a regular in my pantry.

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