Tag Archives: vegan

Capsicum Tomato Saute

8 Feb

Capsicum Tomato Sauté

Most Indian curries involve a little extra cooking of the vegetables. We like to keep the crunch for salads – curries are soft to the bite. With capsicum tomato sauté I make a departure from that general rule: here the tomato slices retain their shape, the capsicum remains a bright green.

This is a frequent weekday dinner dish for me, and not just for its ease of chopping and cooking. Nothing perks one up at the end of a stress-filled workday as a vibrantly colored dinner!

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Sweet and Sour Ginger Chutney

6 Feb

Sweet and Sour Ginger Chutney

Ginger lovers: this one is for you.

A spicy sweet and sour chutney, with ginger as its star.

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Green Eggplant in Mustard-Fenugreek Masala

17 Jan

Green eggplant in mustard-fenugreek masala is not for the faint-hearted. The spices in this are heavier and headier than, say, in bittersweet baingan. Try it if you dare!

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…)

Khatta Meetha Papeeta: Sweet and Sour Green Papaya

2 Jan

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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Nenua Chana: Sponge Gourd with Chana Dal

21 Nov

Nenua Chana: Sponge Gourd with Chana Dal

Confession time: I had to Google "nenua in English" for this post. I learnt that the vegetable is called sponge gourd: the name comes from the fact that the fibrous core of the gourd is dried and used as a sponge/loofah. Not surprisingly, the Latin name of sponge gourd is Luffa cylindra.

Be that as it may, it feels stilted to call the very Bihari nenua "sponge gourd" especially since I’m blogging about a very Bihari recipe. I’ll continue calling it nenua in this post.

Gourds pair well with dal, as in the lovely ridge gourd moong dal. Nenua chana is another case in point. This is a very uncomplicated recipe with few ingredients, the perfect kind for a new cook to test their skills on.

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Aloo Sem: Potato and Broad Beans Curry

9 Nov

Aloo Sem: Potato Broad Beans Curry

Sem is Hindi for broad beans, a variety of beans with a distinct robust flavor. This recipe for aloo sem – i.e. potato and broad beans curry – is the typical way the curry is made in a "pure" vegetarian (no onion or garlic) household in Bihar.

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Masala-Coated Eggplant Fry

1 Nov

This eggplant fry recipe makes a great side dish, especially when the rest of your meal is low on spices. It’s often on my menu for a quick weekday dinner, with boiled rice, raita and simple pressure-cooked yellow dal. Which is not to say that it does not work well with a lavish party meal but yes, it does add a special je ne sais quoi to otherwise masala-free fare.

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