I wanted to simplify a cauliflower dish that I love, where I fry the cauliflower until it is lightly browned and then sauté it with spices such as ginger, coriander, and cumin. After many tries, here is the beautiful result. I marinate the cauliflower florets with all...
Here, the cabbage is finely shredded and barely cooked. It is delightfully light—part salad and part vegetable dish. It may be served hot, warm, at room temperature, or cold. You could put it on a plate with stuffed Indian pancakes or omelets, or serve it as part of...
This simple carrot dish can be served with most Indian meals. Leftovers may be added to salads. For more on South Indian poriyals, see the note. SERVES 3–4 • 5 medium carrots (about 12 oz) • 1 tablespoon olive or peanut oil • ½ teaspoon urad dal • ½ teaspoon whole...
A simple meal in North India might well consist of freshly made chapatis, a dal, these carrots and peas, and perhaps a second vegetable, as well as the usual complement of pickles, chutneys, and raita. SERVES 4 From Mehreen Khosla • 1½ tablespoons olive or peanut oil...
For more information about this dish, see the Note on Poriyals. SERVES 3–4 • 1 tablespoon olive or peanut oil • ¼ teaspoon whole brown mustard seeds • ¼ teaspoon urad dal • ¼ teaspoon chana dal (if you do not have this, double the urad dal) • 2 dried hot red...
Baghara baigan is one of Hyderabad’s most famous and luscious sweet-and-sour vegetarian dishes. It calls for small eggplants that are partially quartered lengthwise, stuffed, fried, and then put in a sauce filled with roasted and ground sesame seeds and nuts, along...
Here is a wonderfully delicious southern poriyal. (For more on the subject, see the note.) This is a dry stir-fry, so it does not have a sauce. It is eaten with rather flowing dishes, such as a sambar (see South Indian Dal with Vegetables), rice, and yogurt relishes....
When an Indian child fighting with another Indian child says, “I am going to make a bharta out of you,” he or she means that the intention is to make a mash out of the other child. This is my way of explaining that bhartas are mashed vegetables, seasoned in a variety...
Chokah is eaten all over Bihar. In the villages there, it could be the only dish of the day, eaten with simple whole-grain flatbreads, such as chapatis, or rice. (Similar dishes, known as “bharta,” exist all across North India.) It can also be served as part of a meal...
Whenever I am looking for a snack that is not too fattening, I turn to these cucumber spears. We used to eat a simpler version as children, cucumber halves or quarters just sprinkled with lime juice and dusted with spices, but now I have started giving the dish a...
