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…
You can grill the zucchini outdoors in the summer, but I usually fry them indoors in a heavy frying pan. SERVES 6 AS A FIRST COURSE AND 4 AS A MAIN MEAL • About 2 tablespoons olive or peanut oil • 2 medium zucchinis (about 6 oz in all), trimmed and cut into long…
India is the second-largest producer of peanuts in the world, after China, and vegetarians make ample use of the protein-rich product by adding it to their meals, either cooking it along with vegetables and legumes (peanuts are a legume too, of course), or by adding…
Gojjus, beloved by the Madhwa Brahmin community of Karnataka, are hot, sweet, and sour relishes, usually eaten with rice. This gojju, a kind of chutney, may be served as such with most Indian meals, but I love it as a dip with crackers or oatcakes, or, better yet,…
During the four-month rainy season in the hills of Coorg (southern Karnataka), most people get their food by foraging in the dense forests that surround the rice fields and the massive coffee plantations. It is an age-old tradition followed by the rich and poor alike….
Crisply fried okra is eaten all over India. I remember that in our family we cut the okra into thin rings, fried them until very crisp, then ate them with a sprinkling of salt, amchoor (sour green mango powder), and some chili powder. In Tamil Nadu, where crisp foods,…
PREP: 25 minutes BAKE: 8 minutes CHILL: 2 to 4 hours OVEN: 375°F MAKES 6 servings 1 8-ounce package (8) refrigerated crescent rolls 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 1⁄3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion (1) 1⁄2 teaspoon…
PREP: 25 minutes BAKE: 50 minutes OVEN: 325°F MAKES 12 servings 2 cups fresh corn kernels (4 ears) or frozen whole kernel corn 1 cup chopped green sweet pepper 1⁄2 cup chopped onion (1 medium) 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 16-ounce tubes…