You Need:

[For 3-4 servings]

• Fresh baby corn – 250 grams
• Butter – 1 tablespoon
• Soy sauce – 1 tablespoon [buy here]

The links above are amazon.com affiliate links. The Steaming Pot will earn a small commission if you buy via the links, at no additional cost to you. Note: This is NOT a brand-sponsored post! I just use the products on view in the picture as I like them.

How To Make Butter Soy Baby Corn:

Clean and trim the ends of each baby corn. Cut each into 2-3 similar sized pieces.

Bring a pot of plain water to a boil. Set heat to low. Tip the baby corn into the boiling water and let it cook for 6-7 minutes.

Dunk the boiled baby corn in cold water to prevent further cooking. Drain and set aside.

In a pan, melt a tablespoon of butter on low heat. Swirl the melted butter around the pan and transfer the baby corn into the pan.

Cook for a minute.

Pour in a tablespoon of soy sauce into the pan.

Stir/toss and cook for another minute, till the soy has coated each baby corn well.

That’s it! Butter soy baby corn is ready to eat.

Serve as a standalone snack or on the side with noodles or fried rice.

Notes:

If you liked this recipe, you might also like:

Try other recipes that use soy sauce as key ingredient:

The post Butter Soy Baby Corn – Three Ingredients Only! appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

Masoor dal (red lentil) is among the most malleable of legumes – once it reaches a boil, it doesn’t take long for it to mush up. Plus it has a mild taste that makes eminently suitable for playing host to assorted vegetables. These qualities of masoor make it work beautifully as a base for soup.

You Need:

• Masoor dal (red lentil) – 1 cup [buy here]
• Potato – 1 medium
• Carrot – 2 medium (~150 grams)
• Spinach – 3-4 leaves
• Onion – 1 medium
• Green chili – 1 (more if you want it hotter)
• Pepper corns – 6-7
• Salt – 1/3 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder – 1/3 teaspoon
• Fresh coriander leaves – a few sprigs for garnishing
• Ghee or butter – 1/2 tablespoon

For the tadka:

• Amchoor powder* (raw mango powder) – 1/3 teaspoon
• Red chili flakes/paprika powder – 1/3 teaspoon
• Garlic – 4 small cloves (~1 teaspoon when chopped)
• Ghee or butter – 1/2 tablespoon
• Salt – a tiny pinch

*If you don’t have amchoor powder, substitute with a squeeze of half a lime in the end.

How To Make Vegetable Red Lentil Soup:

1. Prep the ingredients

Wash red lentil in 3-4 changes of water or till the water runs clear. Soak it in two cups of plain water for an hour.

Peel the onion. Scrape the carrot. Chop both into 1-cm cubes.

Peel the potato. Chop it into similar small pieces.

2. Cook

Heat half a tablespoon of ghee or butter in a thick-bottomed pan or pressure cooker. Add to the pan the chopped onion, carrots, potatoes, pepper corns and green chili. Sauté for five minutes or till the onions are translucent.

Mix 1/3 teaspoon of turmeric powder with the vegetables. Drain the soaking red lentil and transfer it to the pan.

Cook together for a minute, then add three cups of hot water along with salt to taste. Tear the spinach leaf into small pieces and plop them too into the pan.

If using an Indian-style pressure cooker, lock its lid and keep the heat on high till you hear a whistle. Then set the heat to low and cook till the second whistle. Switch off the heat and let the cooker release steam naturally.

If not using a pressure cooker, let the dal and vegetables simmer till they are soft and give way when pressed.

Crush vegetable pieces slightly so that they blend into the dal – you could do this in a food processor or using a hand blender or potato masher.

We are now ready for the final touch – the tadka.

3. Do the tadka

Heat half a tablespoon of butter or ghee in a tadka ladle. When it melts, add to it finely chopped garlic. Keep stirring/swirling to prevent burning. Toast the garlic till they are gold-rimmed. Switch off the heat and add to the sizzling garlic a pinch of salt and half a teaspoon each of red chili powder + amchoor powder.

Ladle the dal into serving bowls and sprinkle freshly chopped coriander leaves. Drizzle the chili-garlic tadka all over. And that’s it – vegetable red lentil soup is ready – dig in! Serve hot as a soup or on the side with a bigger Indian meal.

Meal below: vegetable red lentil soup, methi gobhi, kachumber, potato fries, chapatis.

Notes:

Variation: experiment with other vegetables in this soup: cauliflower and sweet potato, for example.

Like the idea of combining vegetables with dal? Then you should check out these recipes:

The post Vegetable Masoor Dal: Red Lentil Soup appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

This recipe uses the French bean or haricot vert. You could substitute with another variety of fresh beans if you wish; adjust the cooking time according to the toughness of the bean.

You Need:

[For 2-3 servings]

• Fresh green beans – 250 grams
• Garlic – 6 small cloves (~1 teaspoon, finely chopped)
• Butter – 1/2 tablespoon
• Salt – 1 teaspoon for parboiling + to taste for seasoning
• Pepper corns – 7-8 (adjust to heat preference)
• Olive oil – 1 teaspoon

How To Make Butter Garlic Green Beans:

1. Chop and parboil

Wash green beans.

Chop the beans into 1-cm pieces.

Bring three cups of water to a boil. Stir in a teaspoon of salt, add the chopped green beans to the boiling water. Simmer for two minutes, then drain out the water and immediately transfer the beans into a bowl of cold water. [This hot-and-cold shock treatment softens the beans and brings out their green color.]

Don’t be alarmed by quantity of salt in the boiling water. It will all get drained out!

Strain the beans and set aside.

2. Prep the seasonings

Peel and finely chop garlic cloves.

Crush pepper corns.

3. Cook!

Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add garlic to the hot oil.

When the garlic turns golden, transfer parboiled green beans to the pan. Saute on medium heat, stirring or tossing off and on, for 4-5 minutes. Add pepper and salt to taste.

Add a dollop of butter to the beans.

Stir and mix. Cook another minute, then take the pan off the heat.

Butter garlic green beans is ready to serve.

Notes:

You’ll notice that I did not use butter as a cooking medium in this recipe; instead, I added butter as the beans were almost done. You’ll find this helps to give this dish an aromatic buttery flavor without using too much butter!

Like this recipe? Then you will also like:

The post Butter Garlic Green Beans appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

This dish is really easy to put together when you have boiled rice handy. It’s as convenient to carry around as it is to cook: pack grape and walnut fried rice into a lunchbox for work, school or picnic.

You Need:

[Serves 2]

• Boiled white rice – 2 packed cups
• Black grapes – 1 cup
• Walnuts – 1/3 cup, shelled and broken
• Onions – 1 large or 2 medium
• Fennel powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Sugar – 1/3 teaspoon (optional)
• Salt – to taste
• Pepper – to taste
• Olive oil – 2 teaspoons
• Butter – 1 teaspoon

How To Make Grape and Walnut Fried Rice:

1. Roast the walnuts

Dry roast the broken walnuts on low heat, till aromatic.

Take the roasted walnuts off the heat and keep aside.

2. Brown the onions

Peel and slice the onions thinly.

Heat a teaspoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of butter in a wide pan. Spread the onions in a thin layer on the pan.

Let the onions turn golden-brown leisurely on low-medium heat. The trick to doing this well is to not stir around too much – let the onions heat side down turn a dark hue, then stir before they char.

This process would take around 20 minutes.

Remove the onions from the pan.

3. Saute the grapes

Slice the grapes into halves or quarters if they are large.

Deseed the grape halves if required.

In the same pan used for frying onions, heat another teaspoon of olive oil. Add to it the grape halves.

Sauté the grapes on medium-high heat along with a pinch of salt and sugar (if using – adjust the quantity depending on the tartness of the grapes).

Continue to cook for 4-5 minutes, or till the grapes take on a shiny-brown hue and ooze out their juices.

4. Put it all together

Once the grapes are ready, add to the pan 1/3 teaspoon of fennel powder, 2 cups of cool boiled rice and salt to taste.

Mix gently, making sure the delicate rice grains do not crumble.

Continue to sauté for 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat, or till the rice has taken on the flavors from the grape and fennel.

Add pepper to taste, the fried onions and roasted walnuts.

Mix well and take the pan off the heat.

Grape and walnut fried rice is ready.

Enjoy hot….

…or pack it in the lunchbox for later.

Notes:

Looking for other interesting walnut recipes? Check out adzuki bean salad with walnuts and pears, brown rice with basil walnut pesto, eggless coffee pudding.

You might also like these rice dishes: mint rice, beetroot rice, coconut rice, and a roundup of one-pot rice meals.

The post Grape and Walnut Fried Rice appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

Pronounced "zah-tar", za’atar is a spice blend used in Middle Eastern cuisine. Za’atar’s key ingredients are toasted sesame seeds and ground dried thyme, marjoram and sumac. The basic blend may have variations, with cumin, fennel, caraway seeds added to the mix. Za’atar is popularly consumed as a condiment with pita and olive oil.

The trickiest part in this recipe might be getting your hands on za’atar. In case you are not able to find it, try a DIY approximation – here’s a recipe. In the absence of sumac, I would use anardana (powdered dried pomegranate seeds) or amchoor (powdered dried raw mango) – these are easily available in Indian stores.

This dish cooks quick, is newbie-friendly, and what’s more – tastes fabulous. Pumpkin lovers, you’ve got to try it!

Ingredients:

• Red pumpkin* – 300 grams (Use an earthy, non-stringy variety of pumpkin, such as butternut squash. I use here the “disco pumpkin”.)
• Za’atar – 1 tablespoon [buy here]
• Paprika powder – 1/4 teaspoon [buy here]
• Sea salt – to taste [buy here]
• Olive oil – 2 teaspoons [buy here]
• Garlic – ~2 teaspoons of small cloves
• Butter – 1 tablespoon

The links above are amazon.com affiliate links. The Steaming Pot will earn a small commission if you buy via the links, at no additional cost to you.

In the picture above (clockwise from left): butter, garlic cloves, disco pumpkin, sea salt, sweet paprika powder, za’atar.

How To Make Pumpkin Za’atar with Butter Garlic Sauce:

1. Cook the pumpkin

Peel the skin of the pumpkin. Chop into large cubes.

In a wide non-stick pan, heat two teaspoons of olive oil. Place the pumpkin cubes in a single layer on the pan.

Cook on medium-high heat, till the surface facing the pan starts to turn golden and give off a toasted aroma.

Flip the pumpkin cubes over.

Move the cubes around for even cooking.

Continue to cook the pumpkin on medium-high heat till golden-brown on all sides. This should take about 12-14 minutes.

When almost done, sprinkle the spices: za’atar, paprika powder and sea salt.

Mix and wait for the butter garlic sauce to get ready.

2. Make the butter garlic sauce

When the pumpkin is nearly done, start making the butter garlic sauce: in a tadka ladle or small pan, heat a tablespoon of butter with the garlic cloves.

Bring the butter a bubbling boil on low heat, stirring regularly.

Control the heat/position of the pan to ensure the butter garlic sauce does not burn, but turns a rich deep hue slowly instead.

Watch as the butter bubbles and browns. Take the sauce off the heat when the garlic is golden.

3. Put it all together

Pour the hot butter garlic sauce over the pan of pumpkin.

Stir. Adjust salt as needed.

Pumpkin za’atar with butter garlic sauce is ready.

Serve immediately, as a one-pot meal or with chapatis/bread.

Notes:

Want to try more recipes with butter? Check out tomato carrot soup, buttered moong dal, corn spinach and cheese.

For pumpkin combos with leafy greens, try kaddu poi, pumpkin spinach adzuki bean curry.

The post Pumpkin Za’atar with Butter Garlic Sauce appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

Ingredients:

[for 2-3 servings]

Some links below are amazon.com affiliate links. The Steaming Pot will earn a small commission if you buy via the links, at no additional cost to you.

• Chana dal (Bengal gram) – 3/4 cup [buy here]
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Green chili – 1
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon [buy here]
• Asafoetida powder / hing (optional) – a pinch [buy here]
• Oil – 2 teaspoons
• Salt – 1/2 teaspoon (adjust to taste)

For garnishing:

[quantities to taste]

• Ghee/butter
• Fresh coriander leaves
• Freshly squeezed lime juice

Equipment: pressure cooker, tadka ladle

How To Make Sookhi Chana Dal:

Two broad steps: soak and pressure-cook the dal, then top with a tadka.

1. Soak and pressure-cook the dal

Wash and soak chana dal in 3 cups of water for 3 hours or longer.

Drain.

In a pressure cooker, place the soaked dal and add only enough water to submerge the dal. Stir in a pinch of turmeric powder.

Pressure cook the dal till it is soft to bite but not mushy. [In a traditional Indian-style pressure cooker, a guideline is to cook on high heat till you hear a whistle, then on low heat till another 3 whistles.]

Once done, take the cooker off the heat and let it release pressure naturally. When you unlock the lid, you should find inside pearly chana dal grains – and no water.

2. Do the tadka

Chop green chili finely.

In a tadka ladle, heat 2 teaspoons of oil. To the hot oil, add cumin seeds and asafoetida powder. As soon as the cumin seeds splutter, add finely chopped green chilies and let them fry for a couple of seconds.

Pour the tadka over the chana dal. Mix it in, along with salt to taste.

Sookhi chana dal is ready to serve.

How To Serve:

Garnish sookhi chana dal with ghee/butter, freshly squeezed lime juice and finely chopped coriander leaves.

Enjoy sookhi chana dal as a snack:

Or as part of a meal. Below: chapatis served with sookhi chana dal, methi dahi and mooli chutney.

Sookhi chana dal is a very convenient Indian lunchbox dish – “dal” without its conventional potential runniness. You can pack and carry this dry dal along with a colorful bell pepper rice, or pooris and aloo pyaz bhujiya.

Tips:

The key to getting this recipe right is to soak and boil in a way that the dal remains neither raw nor soupy / mushy.

This may be hard to reproduce identically in each kitchen with the above set of steps – there is natural variance due to the quantity of heat, the variety of the chana dal, the type of pressure cooker.

The good news is – variance isn’t a bad thing at all with this recipe.

You can comfortably err on the side of undercooking – remember that raw chana dal, when soaked well, is perfectly edible (case in point: kosambari with uncooked chana dal) – and results can easily be rectified.

In case you follow the steps to “Soak and pressure-cook the dal” and find that all the water in the cooker has dried up but the dal is less cooked than you’d like, add some more water and cook further till the dal is done to your taste.

Or if the reverse happens – the dal is well cooked but the water has not evaporated – drain out the water (don’t throw! reserve it for kneading chapati dough or thinning out vegetable curries) and use the drained chana dal grains for the tadka step.

Quick reference recipe card:

Print

Sookhi Chana Dal Snack / Dry Recipe

Course Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Indian

Diet Vegetarian

Keyword channa, lunchbox, pressure cooker

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Soaking Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author The Steaming Pot

Equipment

• pressure cooker
• tadka ladle

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Chana dal
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 Green chili
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
• pinch Asafoetida powder (optional)
• 2 tsp Oil
• 1/2 tsp Salt (adjust to taste)

For garnishing

• Ghee/butter
• Fresh coriander leaves
• Freshly squeezed lime juice

Instructions

Soak and pressure-cook the dal

• Wash and soak chana dal in 3 cups of water for 3 hours or longer.
• Drain.
• In a pressure cooker, place the soaked dal and add only enough water to submerge the dal. Stir in a pinch of turmeric powder.
• Pressure cook the dal till it is soft to bite but not mushy. [In a traditional Indian-style pressure cooker, a guideline is to cook on high heat till you hear a whistle, then on low heat till another 3 whistles.]
• Once done, take the cooker off the heat and let it release pressure naturally. When you unlock the lid, you should find inside pearly chana dal grains - and no water.

Do the tadka

• Chop green chili finely.
• In a tadka ladle, heat 2 teaspoons of oil. To the hot oil, add cumin seeds and asafoetida powder. As soon as the cumin seeds splutter, add finely chopped green chilies and let them fry for a couple of seconds.
• Pour the tadka over the chana dal. Mix it in, along with salt to taste.
• Sookhi chana dal is ready to serve.

Serve

• Garnish sookhi chana dal with ghee/butter, freshly squeezed lime juice and finely chopped coriander leaves.
• Enjoy sookhi chana dal as a snack or meal accompaniment.

Related Recipes:

Want to try other dry dal preparations? Check out yellow moong dal sundal, chana dal kosambari, chana dal with raisins, dal stuffed paratha.

The post Sookhi Chana Dal: Snack-Time Bengal Gram appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

You Need:

(for 2 cups of soup)

• Tomatoes – 4 small
• Carrots – 2 small (or 1 large)
• Water – 2.5 cups (more for thinner soup)
• Pepper corns – 10 (adjust to taste)
• Salt – to taste
• Butter – 1 teaspoon
• Fresh herbs for garnishing (optional)

How To Make Tomato Carrot Soup:

Scrape the carrots. Cut into 2-inch pieces if the carrots are too big.

Wash the tomatoes.

Place carrots, tomatoes, pepper corns along with two cups of water in a pressure cooker.

Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook till the vegetables are soft. (In an Indian-style pressure cooker, cook on high heat till one whistle, then on medium heat till another whistle. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, cook the vegetables in any thick-bottomed pan, covered.)

Let the cooked tomatoes and carrots cool a bit. The tomatoes might have split and spilled their juice into the water. That’s fine.

Transfer the contents of the pan into a blender (or use a hand blender). Blend to a smooth puree.

Put the puree back into the cooker or pan, dilute with half a cup of water. Season with salt.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for five minutes.

Tomato carrot soup is ready. Ladle into individual serving bowls or cups. Top with butter. Serve hot.

Variations: Garnish tomato carrot soup with fresh chopped herbs like coriander, parsley or oregano.

Notes:

Using whole peppercorns gives the soup a grainier pepperiness – the peppercorns don’t fully blend with the vegetables, though they soften and turn milder when pressure-cooked. You could instead, if you wish, powder the pepper corns separately and add to the soup later along with salt.

Looking for more carrot recipes? Check out these favorites from the blog: Carrot Coriander Soup and Jhatpat Achari Gajar (Quick Carrot Pickle).

The post Tomato Carrot Soup appeared first on The Steaming Pot.