The veggies are chopped. The spices are ground. Lets fire up the stove!
Classic Indian dishes–from the North, South or West of India. A simple dal tadka–yes, we have it. A basic keerai masiyal. It’s there. A fiery misal. This is the place.
This recipe is inspired by the Maharashtrian Ambad Goad Varan. Ambad means sour. Goad means sweet. Varan means lentil soup. My version omits the sugar, ups the heat and replaces the tuvar dal with a mixture of green and white vatana (dried peas). What emerges is a hot and sour lentil soup with the textural […]
It might take lots of cajoling and quid pro quo deals to get a 4-year old to eat baby carrots and steamed broccoli. But boil some edamame and lightly season with salt and suddenly it’s easier to break through the veggie wall of resistance. It has a buttery, slight sweet yet nutty flavor that kids […]
Any way you slice or dice it, crispy aloo (potatoes) are a treat. This recipe shares my little secret to crisper heaven–patiently cooking the potatoes in a stainless steel pan on med., then transferring to non-stick for a highly heated golden finish. The stainless steel pan crisps up the potatoes nicely while cooking the insides […]
Hakka Noodles, Manchow Soup, Chili Paneer, Gobi Manchurian–these are all classic Indo-Chinese dishes. In the late 19th century, a number of Chinese immigrants of the Hakka ancestry resided in Calcutta, India. They introduced their wonderful cooking to the Indians, who in turn, adapted these dishes to their tastes, peppering Chinese seasoning and techniques with Indian […]
Pepper-Cumin (Milagu-Jeera) Rasam is an Indian veggie lover’s version of “chicken soup for the soul.” No chicken, real or faux, but plenty of pepper and cumin in a tamarind broth to warm the tippy toes of your feet and chase the blues away. Its a soul connection. This recipe is inspired by the Milagu-Jeera Rasam […]
Tonli (Tindora) or Ivy Gourd is a crunchy, slightly sweet vegetable that is grown mostly in tropical climates. In the United States, I buy it from Indian stores. It’s a vegetable that absorbs spices very well and there are multiple variations of this dish with different masalas. This version attempts to enhance the naturally subtle […]
There is Aloo-Methi Sabzi (Potato-Fenugreek Sabzi), a classic. Then, along the same lines, there came along Aloo-Palak Sabzi (Potato-Spinach Sabzi). Evolving from the classics above, and celebrating the beautiful Swiss Chard abundantly available in California is this recipe. The Swiss Chard gives you a little bit of sweetness from the beet-like stems, a little bit […]
What is Okra? Okra is a long, slender, tube-like fruit that’s green in color. Although it’s a fruit, we treat it exactly as we would any other veggie when cooking it–frying, boiling, sauteing. Even though I know better, I still think of it as a veggie. Cuisines that use the Veggie I’ve encountered it mostly […]