The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

A bright side dish to perk up your mealtimes. Cucumber and pomegranate are loaded with antioxidants, and when they come together, they make a salad that’s the very definition of healthy gorgeousness.

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Dalia (broken wheat) porridge is a favored breakfast food in many Indian homes. The grain is made by milling raw wheat grains; it’s especially nutritious as it is unrefined. Dalia is a great source of vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre – all that at an affordable price.

There’s got to be a catch, you think? You are right.

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No, this is not a recipe for silly potatoes. The anari in the title is अनारी not अनाड़ी , which implies ‘flavored with pomegranate’. I’m especially thrilled to share this recipe of anari aloo with you as it was something of a shot in the dark for me – I had no precedent or inspiration, and only followed a hunch that this way of pairing fresh pomegranate with potatoes would work.

Did it work? You bet it did!

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Prepare yourself for an onslaught of red, and a megadose of vitamins and minerals. Watermelon, pomegranate and beetroot combine to make a wonderful cooling concoction. Besides reminding you of the translucent glow of rubies.

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I came across Nigella’s recipe for Lentil Tamarind and Date Dhansak last week, which prompted an internal conversation with the self.

Dal without salt? Did the ingredient list miss that by accident or is this dish really meant to have no salt?

Well, moong dal halwa is dal without salt, and that’s the finest dessert ever.

But there’s garlic-infused oil and tamarind in this recipe – no dessert worth its er…salt…has garlic.

Who said this is a dessert?

Guesswork much? Just follow the recipe and find out for sure.

So I did follow the recipe, with a couple of tiny adaptations. I ended up with an unusual, rich and tangy dal, the taste of which grew on me with each spoonful.

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Cutting open a pomegranate (anar) can be a messy affair, enough to keep me away from the fruit much as I like its juicy sweetness. Not so today. My local foodmart had on sale tempting glossy shelled pomegranate seeds – which got promptly purchased and put to use in this refreshing pomegranate raita.

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