The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Chayote slow-cooked in a tomato base – simple flavors that get their kick from a tempering of mustard and asafoetida. This is one of those curries that only ask for time, not exceptional skill or effort.

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When you have run out of vegetables, make jhunka.

This piece of wisdom that I received from my Punekar friend was worth its weight in gold during the pandemic lockdown. With just besan and my backlog of onions, the barebones jhunka recipe gave me several filling, comforting meals.

So, what exactly is jhunka? Wikipedia defines it as:

…a vegetarian traditional Indian dish prepared in Maharashtra, Goa and North Karnataka. It is essentially a chickpea flour porridge.

Hmmm. Calling it a “porridge” is rather a stretch! Do they mean pithle? I’ll let the matter rest with a Shakespearean reference and point you to the blog becauseanyonecancook, which describes pithle and jhunka with more nuance.

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One of the joys of winter is getting to cook with in-season fresh fenugreek leaves. Lush green and fragrant, fenugreek leaves lend their distinct character to any dish they are part of (case in point: methi chhole). In aloo methi (potato fenugreek stir-fry), fenugreek leaves find a happy companion: the creamy earthiness of aloo makes a welcoming base for bitter green methi.

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Sundal is a simple legume preparation from south India – a style of cooking in which boiled legumes are tempered with spiced oil and fresh coconut. The sattvic ingredient profile of sundal makes it a popular prasadam (i.e. blessed by the Gods) dish. During the nine days of Navarathri, south Indian homes traditionally offer sundal to their guests, prepared with a different legume each day.

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With each bite, dhani nimbu wali zucchini gives a delightful lemony jolt to the senses. Green and light and tangy, this veggie side dish of zucchini with coriander lemon dressing is summer exemplified.

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Zucchini is a godsend on days when you have little time to spend in the kitchen. The vegetable is as easy to chop as it is to cook. This zucchini tomato curry takes under 20 minutes from getting the vegetables out of the fridge to having it ready to gobble up. And it tastes wonderful!

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This colorful bell pepper rice is really quick to put together, especially if you have plain boiled rice made ahead.

I have broadly followed Divine Taste’s stir fried brown rice recipe for it – I used no onion or garlic and loved the touch of almonds.

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