Broad beans is a wonderful vegetable. Whenever I find it in the market, I invariably pick up about half a kilo. It can be prepared in several ways, but one of my favourites is the Kerala style thoran. You can use several other vegetables to prepare thoran too (cabbage, long beans, snake gourd, French beans…_)….
Category: Main Dishes
Masala Dal (Mildly Spiced Lentils)
I am not a great fan of dal chawal (lentils and rice). I much prefer my dals (lentils) with Indian flatbreads. And since my lunch is invariably brown rice, I rarely make dals. The concept of a dal is very non-South Indian. In South India, kootans, kuzhambus, rasams, sambar, etc. are prevalent. These are wet…
Chainsoo (Black Lentil Curry)
Chainsoo is a delicious dal from Uttarakhand. There are several ways to prepare this dish. The most traditional ones also use a local spice called jakhya. Since this spice is not freely available in most regions of the country and abroad, I have avoided its use.I first started researching Uttarakhandi dishes when a driver from…
Mathanga Erissery (Green Pumpkin Curry)
Erissery (also called Elissery) is an essential part of any celebration in Kerala. It is difficult to imagine an Onam sadya without this very popular dish. It is not spicy, but has a distinct taste that is very pleasing to the palate. The most popular versions of this dish are with green pumpkin or a…
Olan (Ripe Pumpkin & Ash Gourd Curry)
I love olan. In the initial days after I had turned vegan, we used to have a monthly potluck consisting of only WFPB food. And there were prizes for the top 3 dishes, decided by popular vote. I was always tempted to make olan, but desisted. Mainly because olan has a very subtle taste. And…
Gobi Danthal
I had posted a write-up of this almost forgotten dish on Facebook a few days ago. It evoked a lot of interest and many requests for the recipe. But I must say that this dish requires patience as it involves collecting the stems of cauliflower over 2-3 weeks. I managed to get 4 medium sized…
Mirchi Ka Salan (Jalapeno Curry)
I had never heard of this dish till about a couple of decades ago. My first experience with it was on an Indian Airlines flight. Normally, airline food is quite boring. But I was fascinated with this dish – it tasted really wonderful. I tucked it away in a corner of my mind, saying to…
Gota Masala Bhara Baingana (Stuffed Brinjal)
The humble brinjal (baingan, kathrikai) is a really versatile vegetable. I used to hate it as a child. I now pick up various varieties of brinjals every week. Of late, I have been fortunate to find white brinjals (one of my favourites) at the weekly organic market at Sushant Arcade. I just love the white…
Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
I have been inundated with requests for the recipe of the Shepherd’s Pie that I posted on Facebook yesterday. Through Facebook and WhatsApp. I only tried it out as an experiment as I was tired of the usual sambar, thoran, etc. So I thought that I’d try out something different, but keep the load light…
Mathan Puli Pachadi (Pumpkin Tamarind Curry)
This is a typical and very traditional Palakkad dish. It is normally made with one of two vegetables – pumpkin or okra. A very unique and tasty dish that pairs very well with mulakootal. Hari once made this dish at a vegan cooking class. It was a super-hit. The attendees all claimed that they had…
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