The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Corn on the cob is so good boiled, I mostly have it without taking it through any elaborate "treatment" routine. A little salt, a little chili powder, a dash of lime juice – rub it on and bite directly off the cob – that’s my usual mode of having boiled corn.

Then again, there is something to be said for the occasional exoticization.

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I cook with spinach quite a lot – in curries, as a base for green pasta sauce, in spinach dal and spinach rice. Here is yet another use of this lovely green vegetable. Spinach parathas or palak parathas.

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Do you realize that if you stack round parathas in a square lunchbox, then even with the largest paratha size your lunchbox can accommodate you leave more than 20% of its surface space unused?^[1]

Does this er…criminal wastage bother you?

You can’t beat geometry. But you can pack parathas in your square lunchbox without an inch of space going waste. Let me show you how.

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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!

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The very versatile spinach goes into this very green one-pot rice meal, making it a wholesome Sunday lunch option.

I normally keep coriander pesto handy in the fridge for a quick addition to salads or sandwich spread. Putting some pesto into spinach rice, along with the garnish of fried cashew nuts, worked wonders with the otherwise simple meal.

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Moong dal and spinach complement each other perfectly. One comes packed with protein, the other boasts of high vitamin-mineral content; one is known for its digestive ease, the other for its roughage. And the colors – the pale yellow of moong playing off the rich green of spinach – are an added invitation to dig into this delicately flavored sautéed spinach moong dal.

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Spinach generously spiked with garlic cloves and dry red chilies, cooked with mustard oil – I fell in love with this simple, deliciously flavored saag from the word go. Only five ingredients and little cooking time, Kashmiri saag is also easy on the one cooking.

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