The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

New to cooking millets? Here’s a primer to get you started with an easy one: foxtail millet (kangni in Hindi).

Before the how-to-cook instructions, an introduction to foxtail millet.

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Dhansak – in which legumes, vegetables and aromatic spices come together in a celebration of Persian and Gujarati flavors. The name tells us as much: “dhansak” comes from dhan (Persian for “seed” – legumes) and sak (Gujarati “shaak” – vegetables).

This recipe is a meatless take on the dhansak template, with plenty of vegetables and a freshly prepared dhansak masala.

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No fuss no spill – coconut rice is great in the lunchbox. Keep boiled and cooled rice handy to put this together easily on time-pressed mornings. Add a side of crispy spiced plantain or quick potato dry sabzi for some kick.

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Four ingredients – each in equal measure – roasted and ground: and lo, there you have a delicious sookhi sabzi masala! Sprinkle the masala over dry sautéed veggies with some salt – you need no other seasoning.

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I love cooking greens with toor dal – my go-to combination is spinach toor dal, mostly because spinach is easier to procure than other greens. When I do get my hands on poi saag (basale leaves/Malabar spinach), I alternate between cooking them in Bengali style or Andhra style – this poi saag toor dal recipe closely follows the Andhra style as in Sailu’s excellent blog.

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When the sharp juiciness of shimla mirch (green bell pepper/capsicum) is coupled with the delicate nuttiness of til (sesame seeds), something magical happens! Try tilwale shimla mirch (sesame bell pepper) to witness it yourself.

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