The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

A combination of plantain (raw banana) with fresh fenugreek leaves brings out the best in both vegetables. Plantain has the wonderful ability to take the edge off sharp flavors, while fenugreek’s green bitterness adds some interesting notes to the simple plantain.

(more…)

Kundru (tindora/tendli or ivy gourd) hasn’t always been a vegetable I was fond of. For long years I thought kundru was an unsophisticated version of parval (pointed gourd)^[1]. It is only recently that a slow appreciation of this gourd has grown on me. True, kundru resembles parval on the outside, but its inside is fleshier and tangier, making its taste stand apart on its own.

(more…)

Here’s a way to sneak in some leafy goodness into your meals: make cabbage paratha (patta gobhi paratha). This recipe fortifies the traditional paratha dough with a generous spiking of cabbage and spices.

With chutney, raita and pickle on the side, cabbage paratha is awesome for a no-fuss, wholesome weekend brunch or a lunchbox treat.

(more…)

Do you realize that if you stack round parathas in a square lunchbox, then even with the largest paratha size your lunchbox can accommodate you leave more than 20% of its surface space unused?

Does this “criminal wastage” bother you?

You can’t beat geometry. But you can pack parathas in your square lunchbox without an inch of space going waste. Let me show you how.

(more…)

I often do a dry stir fry of cabbage, peas and onions with Indian spices, to accompany plain parathas in my office lunch box. This time I looked towards pan-Asian cuisine for inspiration, putting in a honey soy dressing in place of cumin and coriander.

(more…)