The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

“If you don’t know what to do with it, boil it” is a mantra that serves me well with unfamiliar vegetables. Chayote (or chow chow as they call it where I live) has long moved out of the *unfamiliar* category for me, and yet, the decision to boil the chayote brought with it an unexpected benefit – it simplified the task of peeling its creased, curvy skin.

This chayote / chow chow raita recipe leverages on that goodness of boiling. Fresh seasoning and a spice-infused tempering give the raita a robust kick of flavors.

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Jhatpat aloo dry sabzi with lime and spices – a side dish that can be put together in just a few minutes if you have boiled potatoes on hand. The dish gets its distinctive flavor from a homemade spice blend, which you can make ahead and store for use over time.

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While wolfing down gobi manchurian, I wondered what to do next with my pack of wolfberries. That’s when sudden inspiration struck me. Allow me to present goji berry dal tadka, a happy marriage of Indian dal tadka with the Chinese “superfruit” goji.

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A Bihari meal typically carries small servings of side dishes next to rice/roti and curry: chutney, bhujiya (fried stuff), chokha (mashed stuff). Parval chokha is one such popular side, in which parval (pointed gourd) is boiled and mashed with seasoning.

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A no-cook style of eating raw mangoes that’s lip-smacking delicious and what’s more – so easy a "no cook" can make it. Just get yourself a good quality knife or peeler and you are all set for preparing this…well, I call it raw mango salsa, though it might not be a purist’s idea of "salsa".

No matter what it’s called – it tastes wonderful!

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Funny thing about moringa leaves : where available, they grow like weeds – falling off their trees onto the pavements, attractively stacked in enormous bundles on vegetable vendors’ carts. Otherwise, they are an exotic rarity, mostly to be found as capsuled supplements. I am lucky to find fresh moringa leaves (also called drumstick leaves or sahjan ki patti in Hindi) off and on in my neighborhood – this is a simple stir fry I usually make with them.

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