The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

A pickle that’s healthy, easy to make, and has a quick gestation time? This no-oil ginger garlic pickle says yes to all three. Not for delicate taste buds – this one’s for fans of the zingy and the zesty.

You don’t need much skill to make no-oil ginger garlic pickle. Just care, fresh ingredients, and long hours of pleasant sunlight.

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A recipe from my grandmother’s kitchen – a tangy aloo chutney laced with mustard. The original version is made with jimikand (yam) instead of potatoes, and as those of us who cook with yam know, that vegetable is tricky to handle raw. And so we switch to the friendlier, more accessible tuber. Potato chutney is just as good and is super easy to make.

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Ginger lovers: this one is for you.

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

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Okra is one of the most versatile vegetables around, isn’t it? I cook it with onions or without, deck it with Indian spices or sometimes look westwards for inspiration. Despite the same core ingredient, each of these okra dishes tastes worlds apart from each other. Dahi bhindi – okra with yogurt – is another such unique recipe. (more…)

Did you know that the cucumber originated in India? It is only fitting that this gourd gets used to add the “cool" factor to Indian cuisine. Here’s to the pitta-placating, palate-cleansing cucumber raita (yogurt dip).

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Osaman is Gujarat’s answer to rasam: a light broth with ‘dal water’ as base. It gets its kick from the high-power tempering – salt, sweet, sour and hot all at once.

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