OUR VEGETARIAN BLOG
PANEER BUTTER MASALA
Hindus consider cows and all their milky produce—cream, butter, and cheese—sacred. I can’t argue with that. Traditionally, this dish would be made with a few large slabs of golden butter, but for the sake of decency I’ve toned things down a bit. It’s still an…
PANEER STUFFED ROMANO PEPPERS
I’m a child of the eighties—no one can stop me from stuffing peppers. These make for a beautiful starter alongside simply dressed leaves, and you can, if you want, stuff the peppers and refrigerate them, then roast them when you want to eat them. Serves 4 as a starter…
STICKY MANGO PANEER SKEWERS
Jim Pizer is more Indian than a lot of Indians I know. While growing up he was in and out of his Indian friends’ houses in Birmingham, eating their mums’ home cooking, and was so disappointed with the state of Indian food in restaurants in the UK that he decided to…
PANEER KEBABS WITH MINT + CILANTRO
Paneer is often in need of something to sharpen up its smooth creaminess and give it a kick in the right direction. In this case, the mint and cilantro marinade does a fabulous job. NOTE: You will need a blender for this recipe. Makes 6 to 8 skewers (enough for 4…
EGG HOPPERS WITH ONION SAMBOL
This is Sri Lanka’s favorite breakfast: lacy rice crêpes fashioned into bowls, with an egg nestling in the middle, topped with sweet spicy onion sambol and zingy lime juice. It’s a heavenly combination of flavors. Traditionally, in Sri Lanka, hoppers are made by…
PARK STREET KATI ROLLS
Kolkata is a magical city. The Hooghly River surges through the middle, and tropical birds fly in and out of beautiful crumbling buildings and among the banyan trees. Men in velvet jackets discuss politics in underground bars, while hundreds of boys fling cricket…
BENGALI-IN-THE-CUPBOARD EGG CURRY
I’d love to tell you a story about how I once found a man from Bengal hiding in a cupboard, but sadly that isn’t true. This is a classic Bengali curry, and rather happily this dish can probably be made using ingredients from your pantry. NOTE: The bay leaves in this…
AKOORI
Everyone has their own way of doing scrambled eggs. Akoori is the Parsi way. The Parsis are Iranians who, fleeing persecution, arrived in India in AD 936. Their mantra is “good thoughts, good words, and good deeds,” but they might as well tag on “good eggs” because…
EGGS KEJRIWAL
This is a bona fide Mumbai classic, named after the Mr. Kejriwal who used to order it every day for breakfast at the Willingdon Club, thirty years ago. After years of persistence, they finally put it on the menu and millions of Mumbaikers have enjoyed it ever since….
HILL STATION SALAD
In the heat of summer, the Darjeeling hills are a great shelter from the blistering temperatures of Kolkata. But the journey from Kolkata to Darjeeling is turbulent and long, and all I ever want when I arrive (aside from a medicinal gin and tonic) is a bath and the…
LEAVES, HERBS, + CURDS
Serves 4 as a side ½-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped½ an Indian green chile3 tablespoons canola oil2 tablespoons lemon juice1/3 teaspoon ground cumin1/3 teaspoon salt¼ teaspoon ground black pepper2/3 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped1 cup loosely packed…
SPROUTING KACHUMBAR
Turning dull, hard seeds into crunchy, fresh food using just water feels like nothing short of a miracle in a “Jack and the Beanstalk” way. Of course, you don’t need to sprout your own, as supermarkets, health food shops, and Asian supermarkets have already done that…