The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

If you a want a change from the same old yellow dal but not something as heavy as rajma and channa, sabut moong dal (greem gram) is the one to go for.

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A traditional recipe from Bihar/Bengal that revels in the heady potency of mustard. If you like the sharpness of mustard and mustard oil, you are in for a treat with sarson wale aloo (potatoes in mustard sauce).

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Add a chocolatey twist to banana milk shake. That one tweak does not just adds to the taste of banana chocolate shake, it also makes the nourishing beverage a lot more visually attractive.

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You know those mangoes we get this time of the year, neither ripe nor unripe but somewhere in between. Too sour to be eaten as-is or used in milkshakes, but not raw enough for panna. What to do with such mangoes?

Make sweet mango chutney, if you ask me.

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Today’s post is about a much-loved breakfast dish in India – besan ka cheela. For the uninitiated, besan is flour made from Bengal gram (chana dal), used in Indian cuisine in a variety of dishes such as kadhi, jhunka and pakoras.

In cheela, batter is made out of besan and other ingredients, shallow-fried like pancakes on an skillet/tava and served hot.

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Doesn’t food acquire an exotic sheen when described in language alien to its roots? Mangodi sounds like something grandmas from my native place would add to curries simmering in earthen pots. Sundried lentil dumplings? That’s like stuff my hostel-residing cousins in Bangalore would cook on a rare Sunday, as they do pasta and bruschetta.

But there you have it. Mangodi = sundried lentil dumplings. Choose the name you like. Made of ground moong dal with a hint of salt and spices, mangodi globules are sun-dried for 2-3 days before they are ready to use in curries.

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Every time my mom makes spinach raita when guests are over, she is asked what went into the dish and how she made it. Sure to be followed by incredulous expressions when she lists out a mere five ingredients and two steps. Nothing that tastes this good can be so easy!

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