OUR VEGETARIAN BLOG
GUJARATI CORN ON THE COB CURRY
At the age of eighty-three, my grandma has somewhat unreliable hips, but I’ve never seen her move so quickly to the dinner table as when this curry is on the menu. It’s not just one of her favorites, it’s also on the A-list of curries for a lot of Gujaratis. There are…
WILD MUSHROOMS WITH CRACKED WHEAT + CILANTRO CHUTNEY
Wild mushoom textures and flavors vary so dramatically, it’s really worth experimenting to see what you enjoy. My favorite is the ridiculously elegant chanterelle, the Chanel of the mushroom world, followed closely by the big, bulbous cep, which is meaty and looks…
MUSHROOM AND PEA KHEEMA
My father lives just on the edge of what we consider to be normal. He prefers confectioners’ sugar in his tea, has the buttons of his back pockets removed (for fear of damaging his car upholstery), and keeps a logbook of when he waters the plants. One time, he…
PICKLED CAULIFLOWER WITH GINGER + LIME
Achari means “pickled.” As with most pickled foods, this cauliflower dish helps to sharpen the edges of other, more comforting dishes at the table. It’s lip-smackingly delicious, and the flavor will improve over time, so it’s a good thing to make in advance. It works…
WHOLE ROASTED CAULIFLOWER MUSSALAM
This dish comes from the royal court kitchens of Uttar Pradesh, where it was a favorite of state banquets, high society, and Mughal emperors. At that time, food wasn’t just food, it was a way of showing off. It is still a great dinner-party dish today: a head-turner…
CAULIFLOWER KORMA WITH BLACKENED RAISINS
This is a really great dish to make when people come round, as it’s a crowd-pleaser and easy to cook. Normally, the sauce comes together at the same time as the roasted cauliflower, leaving you more time to tell your best jokes or play the spoons to your guests. A lot…
GOAN BUTTERNUT SQUASH CAFREAL
Cafreal is an enchanting Goan Portuguese dish traditionally made by cooking chicken in a tangy marinade of cilantro, garlic, green chiles, and spices. I’ve replaced the chicken with roasted squash, which works well with cafreal’s fierce little kick. The sauce can be…
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SEEKH KEBABS
These are lovely sweet and smoky squash lollipops. Don’t worry if they brown or blacken while cooking: this is where the good flavors lurk. These are great served in chapatis (see here) with salad, and cucumber and mint raita (here). To make proper seekh kebabs you’ll…
SMASHED JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES WITH BUTTER, PEPPER, + GARLIC
I wrote this recipe at the same time as writing my wedding invites and accidentally burned the artichokes at the bottom of the pan. It tasted so delicious with the charred, crispy bits nestled in among the buttery soft ones that I rewrote the recipe to give the…
PUNJABI POTATO CURRY
Every state in India has its own potato curry. We Gujaratis have our own “batata nu shaak,” but I’ll happily move it to one side to make room for a plate of Punjabi “dum aloo.” In this dish, baby new potatoes are fried until they color, then mixed with a happy…
ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLE MADRAS
You don’t have to use baby vegetables for this dish. I use them because they’re sweet and beautiful, but you could use larger roots and cut them down to size. Serves 4 2¼ pounds mix of baby carrots, parsnips, turnips, and potatoes canola oil 2 teaspoons ground cumin…
SWEET POTATO VINDALOO
In England, the vindaloo is an ear-tinglingly hot curry, but it wasn’t always that way. It started life as vinho e alhos, a popular Portuguese dish that made its way over to Goa with Portuguese explorers in the 1500s. Traditionally a wine and garlic stew, it was…